Who Was Henry Hill, The Erratic Gangster Immortalized In Goodfellas?
At the age of 11, Henry Jr. dropped out of school and started hanging out with the local mafia members. He was fascinated by their flashy cars, expensive clothes, and seemingly endless supply of cash. It wasn’t long before he began running errands for them and eventually became a member of the Lucchese crime family. As a young gangster, Henry quickly rose through the ranks, earning the trust and admiration of his superiors. He became involved in various illegal activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery.
But it wasn’t until he was introduced to Jimmy Burke, portrayed in the film as Jimmy Conway, that Henry’s life truly took a turn for the worse. Burke, a ruthless and powerful mobster, took Henry under his wing and became his mentor. Under Burke’s guidance, Henry became a key member of the infamous Lufthansa heist, which took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978. The robbery, which netted $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, was the largest cash robbery in American history at the time.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. In 1980, Henry was arrested for narcotics trafficking. Fearing a long prison sentence, he made the decision to turn informant and enter the Witness Protection Program. This decision would ultimately lead to his downfall. For the next few years, Henry provided the FBI with valuable information about the inner workings of the Lucchese crime family. He was also featured in Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, which was later adapted into Scorsese’s film. But as the years passed, Henry found it difficult to adjust to his new life in the Witness Protection Program.
He missed the power and excitement of his former life and constantly felt like a prisoner in his own home. In 1987, he was arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to 13 years in prison. During his time in prison, Henry became increasingly erratic and paranoid, often accusing his fellow inmates of being informants. He was also caught smuggling drugs into the prison, which resulted in additional charges and an extended sentence.
After serving time in various prisons across the country, Henry was released in 1998. He tried to make a fresh start, but found it difficult to shake off his past. He was arrested again in 2005 for drug trafficking and sentenced to another four years in prison. Henry Hill passed away on June 12, 2012 at the age of 69. Despite his infamy, he was given a small, private funeral attended by only a handful of family and friends.
His life was filled with highs and lows, from rubbing elbows with powerful mobsters to being hunted by the FBI and living in fear. In the end, it’s clear that Henry Hill was a cautionary tale of how a life of crime ultimately leads to destruction. His story will forever be immortalized in Goodfellas, a film that serves as a reminder of the dangers of getting involved with organized crime.
Henry Hill Jr. was born into a working-class family in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn on June 11, 1943. His father, Henry Hill Sr., was an electrician, and his mother, Carmela Costa Hill, was a housewife. They were a typical Irish-Sicilian family, working hard to make ends meet.
As a child, Henry Jr. was a troublemaker and often got into fights at school. His father, who believed in the value of hard work, hoped that Henry would find a respectable job when he grew up. But fate had other plans for him.
At the age of 11, Henry Jr. dropped out of school and started hanging out with the local mafia members. He was fascinated by their flashy cars, expensive clothes, and seemingly endless supply of cash. It wasn’t long before he began running errands for them and eventually became a member of the Lucchese crime family.
As a young gangster, Henry quickly rose through the ranks, earning the trust and admiration of his superiors. He became involved in various illegal activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. But it wasn’t until he was introduced to Jimmy Burke, portrayed in the film as Jimmy Conway, that Henry’s life took a turn for the worse.
Burke, a ruthless and powerful mobster, took Henry under his wing and became his mentor. Under Burke’s guidance, Henry became a key member of the infamous Lufthansa heist, which took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978. The robbery, which netted $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, was the largest cash robbery in American history at the time.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. In 1980, Henry was arrested for narcotics trafficking. Fearing a long prison sentence, he made the decision to turn informant and enter the Witness Protection Program. This decision would ultimately lead to his downfall.
For the next few years, Henry provided the FBI with valuable information about the inner workings of the Lucchese crime family. He was also featured in Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, which was later adapted into Martin Scorsese’s film Goodfellas. The film went on to receive critical and commercial acclaim, earning nominations for six Academy Awards. Henry Hill, meanwhile, had become a household name as a result of the movie’s success.
But as the years passed, Henry found it difficult to adjust to his new life in the Witness Protection Program. He missed the power and excitement of his former life and constantly felt like a prisoner in his own home. He also struggled to make ends meet and often resorted to illegal activities to make money.
In 1987, he was arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to 13 years in prison. During his time in prison, Henry became increasingly erratic and paranoid, often accusing his fellow inmates of being informants. He was also caught smuggling drugs into the prison, which resulted in additional charges and an extended sentence.
After serving time in various prisons across the country, Henry was released in 1998. He tried to make a fresh start, but found it difficult to shake off his past. He was arrested again in 2005 for drug trafficking and sentenced to another four years in prison.
Despite his infamy, Henry Hill was given a small, private funeral attended by only a handful of family and friends when he passed away on June 12, 2012, at the age of 69. His life was filled with highs and lows, from rubbing elbows with powerful mobsters to being hunted by the FBI and living in fear. In the end, it’s clear that Henry Hill was a cautionary tale of how a life of crime ultimately leads to destruction.
His story will forever be immortalized in Goodfellas, a film that serves as a reminder of the dangers of getting involved with organized crime. Henry Hill’s true story was far crazier than the film could ever portray, and it serves as a cautionary tale for anyone who may be tempted by the allure of the mob. Despite his infamy, Henry Hill will always be remembered as the erratic gangster who inspired one of the greatest mob films of all time.
