Tormey was a Gorum lieutenant under the Wookiee Warburton who commanded the rebel group that lived in the on the planet Tol Ado.
In 0 ABY, Tormey was working with a group of fellow Gorums in harassing Imperial troops that were running sweeps into the in order to recover escapees from the Deathblock, the Imperial prison on Tol Ado. Tormey worked alongside these escapees in defending sub-facility from Imperial troops. While scouting with his Gorum comrades, Tormey came in contact with Luke Skywalker and his allies, Sidney Shortfang and Erling Tredway who had escaped the Deathblock. Tormey took them before Warburton, the leader of the escapees who brought up the possibility that they were Imperial spies. When Imperials began to raid the sub-facility, Warburton ordered Tormey to take Skywalker and his friends to defend their territory to prove that they were not working for the Empire.
During the attack, Tormey became infuriated by the incompetence of Erling Tredway during the attack. When the attack had ended, Tormey pointed his blaster at Tredway, demanding that he be killed. However, Skywalker gave Tormey and his group evidence on a spy within their ranks as payment for allowing Tredway to live. One of Warburton's other lieutenants, Santo was revealed as a traitor, as Skywalker had seen him conspiring with Imperials. Warburton quickly had the Twi'lek executed for treason.
Tormey was created by Troy Denning and appeared in one of the role-playing strands of the 1990 West End Games role-playing supplement Jedi's Honor. During the scenario, the outcome of the attack against the Imperials is dependent on the reader's choices. If Skywalker allows Tredway to botch the ambush, the attack does not fully defeat the Imperials, and Tormey and his fellow Gorums are left to create a last-ditch defense plan against a better equipped Imperial force. If Skywalker stops Tredway from botching the ambush, the Imperials are soundly defeated by Tormey and his Gorums, leaving the sub-facility forces in a position of strength for the future.
In an adventure strand during the story where Skywalker is captured, he encounters Gorums torturing an Imperial in the sub-facility. Skywalker can rescue the Imperial, who will help him escape Tol Ado. It is possible that Tormey is present with these Gorums as their leader, but it is not noted in the story. In any case, this adventure strand leads to a failure of the mission, implying its status to be non-canon.