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''Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family'' is a 1985 non-fiction book by crime
reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
Nicholas Pileggi Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book '' Wiseguy'' and co-wrote the screenplay for ''Goodfellas'', its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nominati ...
that chronicles the life of Henry Hill, a
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
associate turned informant. The book is the basis for the
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–winning film ''
Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...
'' directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
.


Summary

Henry Hill began his life of crime at age 11 in 1955, by working as a go-fer for Paul Vario, the local boss of Hill's working-class Irish/Italian neighborhood. Vario quickly "promoted" Hill to selling loose cigarettes and other stolen goods on his behalf. In 1959, Hill was arrested for the first time for using stolen credit cards. Hill refused to cooperate with the police, earning the respect of Vario and Vario's close associate, Irish hijacker and fence Jimmy Burke. In 1960, when Hill was 17, he enlisted in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
, to the surprise of his peers. When questioned about his decision by Vario, Hill explained that he wanted to please his father, who disapproved of his son's association with the Mafia. While stationed at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cu ...
in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, however, Hill continued his criminal activities, which led to his dishonorable discharge in 1963. He returned to the streets of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, where he was happily welcomed back by Vario and Burke. In 1964, Hill met
Tommy DeSimone Thomas DeSimone (May 24, 1950 – disappeared January 14, 1979) was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also ...
, aka "Two Gun Tommy," a young aspiring gangster with psychopathic tendencies, and both worked as stick-up men for Vario, hijacking trucks and stealing their contents for resale. In 1965, Hill reluctantly joined Vario's son on a double date, where he met
Karen Friedman Karen Friedman Hill (born January 16, 1946) is an American woman known for her involvement in the American Mafia through her husband Henry Hill, who was an associate of the Lucchese crime family. The events of their lives were chronicled in the 1 ...
, a young
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
woman from the Five Towns section of New York. Hill and Friedman continued to date, and they eloped only four months after meeting. They had their first child, Gregg, in 1966, and a second, Gina, in 1968. In 1969, Hill began an affair with Linda Coppociano behind Karen's back and invested the profits of his crimes into purchasing a restaurant/lounge called The Suite. It was there that, on June 11, 1970, Burke and DeSimone murdered
William Bentvena William "Billy Batts" Bentvena (January 19, 1921 – June 11, 1970), also known as William Devino, was an American mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a longtime friend of John Gotti in the 1960s. After spending six years in prison for ...
(also known as William "Billy Batts" Devino), a
made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...
with the
Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as th ...
and a close friend of Gambino family captain
John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and Crime boss, boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of ...
. In 1978, Burke masterminded a robbery of the Lufthansa cargo terminal at
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
after being tipped off to the lax security by an inside man. The heist was carried out by DeSimone and Burke's associates Robert "Frenchy" McMahon and Montague Montemurro in December of that year. In 1980, Hill got arrested for heroin trafficking, and, knowing that he was facing a long sentence and also that Burke and Vario were planning to kill him, decided to become an
informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
and entered the
Witness Protection Program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
.


References


External links

* {{Portalbar, 1980s, Books, United States 1985 non-fiction books Non-fiction books adapted into films Non-fiction books about Italian-American organized crime Cultural depictions of the Mafia