Dale "Giff" Gifford was an accountant who also was a money launderer who kept out of jail by agreeing to be an informant of James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, who made good on six of Gifford's clients, but his latest one, Louis McCarthy he said was clean as far as his books were concerned (with a little extravagance), but was skimming off some of McCarthy's money to his girlfriend Vanessa, under the guise of running an exclusive men's clothing store, and was also seeing her behind McCarthy's back. During McCarthy's party, Vanessa tried to break off their relationship, and when Gifford threatened to go to McCarthy, Vanessa shot Gifford dead with a Baretta, later found (and witnessed by) Izzy Moreno, and Vanessa went to jail, charged with Gifford's murder.