The iconic movie Goodfellas chronicles the lives of real gangsters like Henry Hill, Billy Batts, Tommy DeSimone, and Jimmy Burke — but it only tells part of the story.
The names of several real-life gangsters were altered for the film: Tommy "Two Gun" DeSimone became the character Tommy DeVito; Paul Vario became Paulie Cicero, and Jimmy "The Gent" Burke was portrayed as Jimmy Conway. In the case of Jimmy, the name change actually had some truth to it.
Goodfellas is not just one of the greatest crime films of all time, but one of the best films ever made period. The majority of the plot points in Goodfellas are 100% real, but some events were slightly sped up or omitted for effect.
Although the response from the mob was mostly good, there were many others who weren't on board with the themes addressed in Goodfellas and its portrayal of Italian-Americans.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese crime family caporegime Paulie Cicero (based on real life gangster Paul Vario) in Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster film Goodfellas and as NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the second and third seasons of the TV series Law & Order.
The Lucchese crime family continues to operate today in New York City, with involvement in traditional rackets such as illegal gambling, labor racketeering and extortion.
Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Sirico on the HBO series The Sopranos, one of the chief henchmen of series protagonist Tony Soprano.
In 1990, Karen filed for divorce after 23 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in 2002. After their divorce, Henry remarried and fathered another child. Karen Hill continues to use an alias to protect her identity, as do her two children, Gregg and Gina.
Gary looks into the intriguing life of Michael “Spider” Gianco, a real-life figure known from the movie “Goodfellas.” Born in 1954 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Gianco was associated with the Bonanno and Lucchese families and was a Jimmy the Gent Burke protege.
In 1980, Henry is arrested again and Karen quickly flushes $60,000 worth of cocaine down the toilet so the FBI wouldn't find it, leaving them broke. After Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) plans to have her and Henry killed, they enroll in the witness protection program, with Henry serving as an informant.
Like much of the scene, the painting is very real, in a sense: It was done by the mother of Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the book Goodfellas was based on and who cowrote the film's screenplay with Scorsese.
In Goodfellas, only two of the five families appear: the Lucchese family, as the main characters were part of it, and the Gambino crew. The latter was mostly represented by Billy Batts, the man Tommy and Jimmy brutally kill and later get rid of his body as he was a “made man” and thus untouchable.
Possibly Henry found out about Tommy trying to rape Karen through Paul, or Karen, and ratted on Tommy, because he knew Tommy killed Billy Batts. In the film it's left open to speculation, but in real life Paul Vario almost certainly betrayed Tommy DeSimone to John Gotti.
The author of the theory bases their idea on Henry becoming an FBI informant at the end of Goodfellas, as he ended up ratting on Paulie's crew (and Paul himself), which led to them spending the rest of their lives in jail, so he could have turned against Tommy first.
Frank Sivero (born January 6, 1952) is an American character actor, perhaps best known for playing the roles of Genco Abbandando in Mario Puzo's and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II and Frankie Carbone (based on Angelo Sepe) in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.
Tuddy Cicero was based on Vito “Tuddy” Vario, Paul Vario's youngest brother, of whom very little is known, but he took over as acting boss of the Vario crew after Paulie's arrest in 1980.
Federal agents in New York on Wednesday arrested the alleged leaders of the Lucchese crime family, a network of criminals who were the source of inspiration for the acclaimed mobster film Goodfellas.
Summary. Some iconic gangster movies featured real-life mobsters in their cast, such as Lenny Montana who played Luca Brasi in The Godfather. Tony Sirico, known for his roles in The Sopranos, Goodfellas, and The Godfather, had a past as a mob associate with multiple arrests and convictions.
Members of the organized crime operation can even be heard praising the series in one of several FBI recordings obtained via sting operation. Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on January 18, 2024: The Sopranos, which is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is still considered a classic television series.
Between Seasons 3 and 4, Paulie was arrested in Youngstown, Ohio on a gun possession charge. Albeit no censure was rendered upon him, Paulie's separation from the family, incorporated with Ralphie's continued earning abilities, continued to erode his reputation and credibility in Tony's eyes.
