Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Gangsters and Wiseguys . . . and Life on the Run by Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys . . . and Life on the Run by Henry Hill. On the Run: A Mafia Childhood Karen Friedman Hill and Henry Hill on their wedding day. In 1965, after Karen Friedman and Henry Hill — the notorious New York gangster whose life story was made famous by the book Wiseguy and subsequent film adaptation Goodfellas — had been dating for a few months, a neighbor of hers named Ted tried to force himself on her. She slapped him and he relented, angrily pushing her out of his car and driving away. Then she called Henry. In a scene depicted with brutal accuracy in Goodfellas , Henry swiftly took revenge. Karen and Henry’s daughter Gina later described her mother’s account of the aftermath of the Ted incident in the memoir On the Run: A Mafia Childhood : “My mom called my dad and he picked her up and drove her home, but instead of going into the house with her, he went across the street. He saw Ted in the driveway, grabbed him by the hair, pulled a gun out of his pocket, and pistol-whipped him. Pistol-whipped him! Then my dad came trotting back across the street, all sweaty and red, and gave my mom the gun and told her to hide it. Most girls would have been terrified, but my mom said she thought it was sexy.” Perhaps this was the turning point for a soon-to-be gangster’s wife who started out as a nice girl from Long Island. Born in 1946, Karen Friedman Hill came from a Jewish family living in the Five Towns area of Long Island. Little has been made public about her young life up until the point when she met Henry Hill. It was 1965 and she was working as a dental hygienist when she met Hill on a double date as depicted in Goodfellas . But unlike in Goodfellas , Karen’s friend was seeing a gangster associate of Henry’s named Jr., the son of local Paul Vario, and not Tommy DeSimone, the inspiration for Joe Pesci’s character in the film. Nevertheless, Henry and Karen had their date and, true to the film, things didn’t go smoothly. They didn’t initially connect but did make plans for a second date — for which Henry stood her up. However, they started clicking and, following a number of lavish dates after the initial fiascos, the two became a couple. The pair eloped to North Carolina (where marriage requirements were less strict) in 1965 after having dated for just four months. Soon after, the couple held a Jewish wedding service in New York after Henry Hill converted to Judaism at the request of Karen’s parents (he later claimed that he never actually converted and only lied about doing so). At the beginning of the marriage, Karen Friedman Hill was largely clueless about her husband’s illegal mafia dealings with the Lucchese . Based on lies he’d told her, she thought he was a bricklayer and low-level union official. The ostensibly normal couple then started building a normal life and had two children, Gregg and Gina, soon after marrying. Karen eventually got wise to her husband’s criminal activities, but rather quickly managed to overcome any reservations she may have initially had. In fact, she confessed to Gina that the glitz and glamour of the gangster lifestyle were what attracted her to Henry. As Gina wrote in the On the Run: A Mafia Childhood , “One day she’s a dental assistant from a middle-class family on Long Island, and the next she’s sipping from a bottle of champagne that Sammy Davis Jr. sent to Dad’s table at the Copa.” “She tried to explain it to me. She said, ‘He could go places. He had money. He was an action guy. There I was, going out with little schmendricks. They were going to be accountants. If we were lucky, we’d go to Chinese food in the mall. With Henry, I would go to the Copa. And I would have a ringside table. And people always looked and me and thought, ‘Who is she?'” Karen indeed accepted the perks of her husband’s dangerous lifestyle and relished the “brand-new Buick Riveras” in the driveway and the “closets bursting with new clothes.” Meanwhile, she started using large amounts of the cocaine that Henry was both using and selling. According to Gregg and Gina, Karen and Henry would have people over to their house for wild, cocaine-fueled parties during which partiers would have sex in plain sight, use Gina’s Miss Piggy mirror to do cocaine, and sometimes even offer the kids a snort. But soon, Karen Friedman Hill’s party started to come to an end. Things took a turn for the worse when Henry was sentenced to ten years in prison for extortion in 1974, leaving Karen to fend for herself with no help from Henry’s gangster associates. She later recalled, “I’ve read about how these guys take care of each other when they’re in jail, but I’ve never seen it in life. If they don’t have to help you, they won’t.” What’s more, Karen quickly came to realize that there were even worse things than being ignored by her husband’s underworld associates. While Henry was in jail, Tommy DeSimone reportedly beat up and attempted to rape Karen, according to Henry’s memoir Gangsters and Goodfellas . Henry gave few details about the allegation and states that he didn’t find out about it until long after the fact. Mirror Karen Friedman Hill, Henry Hill, and their children. Date unspecified. Meanwhile, however, Karen Friedman Hill was actually having an affair with Paul Vario while Henry was in prison. And Vario did not take kindly to DeSimone’s attempted rape. This, along with several other unauthorized murders carried out by DeSimone, caused Vario to have him killed in 1979. The following year, authorities busted Henry for drug trafficking. Karen’s own role in this operation remains debatable, but as the film depicts, she did indeed help Henry hide drugs from the police at the very least. Regardless, in order to save his own skin, Henry then agreed to testify against his former associates and leave the life of organized crime behind. In order to protect Henry, Karen, and their children from the vengeance of the mafia, the government placed all of them in the Witness Protection Program. The entire family received new identities and were shipped off to Omaha, Neb. As Gregg later recalled, “our lives as we’d known them officially ended. Gregg and Gina Hill had ceased to exist…We were sent far away, someplace we’d never been or even imagined…to start over with nothing but fake names and everything to hide.” On the Run: A Mafia Childhood Gregg and Gina Hill as Children. The move to Omaha was the beginning of a life on the run for Karen Friedman Hill. Due to the fact that either Henry’s old associates were close to tracking him down or that Henry had committed some sort of criminal act, authorities relocated the family several times throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, at which point they were finally expelled from the program thanks to Henry’s criminal indiscretions. Karen Friedman Hill and Henry Hill separated in 1989 but weren’t officially divorced until 2002. In the meantime, both made separate lives for themselves outside of the Witness Protection Program and never did suffer retribution for Henry’s testimony. Henry, who’d bounced around across the U.S. and ultimately landed in southern California, died of complications related to heart disease at the age of 69 in 2012. All the while, Karen has been living under an assumed name and the details of her current life are not public. Just like her late ex-husband, Karen must now live out her days in exile from the people, places, and lifestyle she once found so glamorous. After reading about Karen Friedman Hill, discover the true stories of other real-life Goodfellas like Billy Batts and Jimmy Burke. Goodfellas: The Biggest Things The Movie Leaves Out About Henry Hill. Goodfellas is all about the life of Henry Hill, but it left out some important details and events. Here are the biggest things that were omitted. Goodfellas tells the story of Henry Hill, and while it included some of the biggest and most important moments of his life and work with the mob, there were others that were left out. has explored various genres throughout his career as a filmmaker, but he continues to be best known for his gangster films, and the one often regarded as his best is Goodfellas , released in 1990. Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days as a teenager fascinated by the mafia presence in his Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, to his involvement with the crime family of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his decision to become an FBI informant. During his time working for the mob, he met some big names in the mafia, as were Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), with whom he got involved in different types of businesses and crimes. The movie paid special attention to the Lufthansa heist, a robbery at ’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in December 1978. Although Henry wasn’t involved in it, he did play an important part in the planning process as he heard about the currency flying in to the Lufthansa cargo terminal through an insider and later shared that information with Jimmy. This, of course, wasn’t Henry’s only big crime, as he was involved in many others that were worth including in the movie, but were ultimately left behind (for reasons that could go from screen time to them simply not fitting Scorsese’s narrative). Here are the biggest things Goodfellas left out about Henry Hill. Henry Hill Wanted Out Multiple Times. Contrary to what Goodfellas showed, Henry Hill wasn’t always comfortable working for the mob and tried to get out of it various times, but he always ended up back in it. He began running errands for patrons of Paul Vario’s (Cicero in Goodfellas ) storefront shoeshine, pizzeria, and cabstand in his early teens, and when he was 13 he served drinks and sandwiches at a card game, where he learned of Jimmy “the Gent” Burke's (Conaway in the movie) open-handed tipping habit. Henry was first arrested when he was 16 and refused to give away any information about him and who he worked for, which caught the attention of Jimmy, earning his and Vario’s trust. However, when he was around 17 years old, he joined the United States Army, as there was an FBI investigation into organized crime, which resulted in the publication of a list of thousands of names of members and associates of the five major crime families. Vario’s name wasn’t on the list, so Hill continued his hustle during his three-year enlistment. Following the robbery (briefly seen in Goodfellas ), Henry used his share to purchase a restaurant called “The Suite”, with the purpose of running it as a legitimate business and thus provide some distance between himself and his mob associates. However, the place ended up becoming another mob hangout, with members of the Lucchese and Gambino families often visiting. In the end, Henry decided to become an FBI informant and entered the U.S. Witness Protection Program in 1980, and that was his ticket out of the mob. The 1978-1979 Boston College Basketball Point-Shaving Scandal. The 1978-1979 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal was a scheme in which members of the mafia recruited and bribed players from the Boston College Eagle men’s basketball team to ensure they wouldn’t win by the required margin, thus allowing gamblers to place wagers against that team and win. The minds behind the scheme were Rocco Perla and his brother Anthony, two small-time gamblers who saw the Eagles’ basketball season as the perfect opportunity to make a lot of money. To achieve their goal, they needed an insider, so they set their eyes on Rick Kuhn, Rocco’s high-school friend who was starting his senior year at Boston College and was expected to be a key member of the Eagles team. The basis of the scheme was that they, along with Kuhn, would pick certain basketball games where the projected point spread separating Boston College from its opponent was expected to be significant. Kuhn’s role was ensuring by his play on the court that his team fell short of the point spread. The Perla brothers then mobilized a betting syndicate to maximize their potential gain from the scheme, so they contacted Paul Mazzei, a local friend who had connections with New York gambling circles. It was through them that the Perla brothers met Henry Hill, who befriended Mazzei while they were both serving sentences in federal prison. Hill was expected to bring Jimmy in so he could finance the payments to the players and set up a network of bookmakers who were in on the scheme. After getting the approval of Paul Vario, Henry and Jimmy joined the scheme. More players were brought in after a test run for the plan failed, and so the scheme eventually proved to be successful (and very profitable). Henry Hill was arrested in 1980 on a narcotics-trafficking charge, and he turned state’s evidence in exchange for avoiding prison and possible retaliation from Jimmy and the rest of the Lucchese family, which basically meant getting killed. While being questioned, FBI agents inadvertently mentioned Henry’s frequent trips to Boston around the time of the Lufthansa heist, so he revealed his involvement in the point-shaving scheme. Hill told them everything, in exchange for full immunity. Ultimately, Jimmy, Mazzei, Kuhn, and the Perla brothers were indicted, and Henry was listed as a co-conspirator. The Esteé Lauder Ransack. This part of Henry Hill’s life is as strange as it sounds. In the book The Lufthansa Heist , by Daniel Simone in collaboration with Henry Hill, the latter shared what’s perhaps one of the weirdest events in his long list of crimes. In 1978, Henry and his men “ bound and gagged Esteé Lauder and her staff ” and ransacked her house, stealing around $1 million from the cosmetics queen. Simone told Page Six in 2014 that, according to Henry, Esteé Lauder was “ terrified and was convulsing ”, so Henry felt bad and took her out for a cup of coffee, promising to bring her back when his crew was finished robbing her place. Coffee ended up being cocktails at PJ Clarke’s, and Esteé Lauder began to “warm to him”, even giving Henry her personal phone number. Before dropping her off, Henry asked her not to call the police until half an hour after they left, which she did. While it’s understandable why Martin Scorsese would leave this particular event out of Goodfellas , as it doesn’t quite fit the vibe of the movie, it’s one worth noting when talking about Henry Hill’s life, as it says a lot about what he and his crew did, as well as how he presented himself to others. 10 Best Gangster Movies, According To The American Film Institute. Gangster movies are a beloved, iconic genre of film. But what are the best gangster films ever made, according to the American Film Institute? The American Film Institute is based in Los Angeles and is dedicated to honoring the art of film and filmmaking. In 2008, they released a series titled "AFI's 10 Top 10" in which they ranked the greatest movies of various genres. One of them was the gangster genre, with films spanning from the early '30s to 1994. As such, the list is home to a great variety of styles and eras. Gangster dramas from the 1930s may seem dated today, but they had an indelible and obvious influence on the more modern gangster films that appear on the list. According to the American Film Institute, these are the best of the best when it comes to gangster films. 10 Scarface (1983) A passion project of Al Pacino's, Scarface is a remake of the iconic 1932 original. Pacino grew interested in remaking the film, and both he and producer Martin Bregman worked hard to get it made. Upon release in 1983, Scarface earned significant controversy owing to its relentless drug use and graphic violence. In fact, it received three consecutive "X" ratings by the MPAA before it was given the R. That said, De Palma ended up releasing the first X-rated cut regardless. This cut is now a classic, earning praise for its epic scope, soundtrack, and Pacino's iconic performance as Tony Montana. 9 Little Caesar (1931) Often regarded as the first mainstream gangster film, Little Caesar was released by Warner Bros. in the winter of 1931. It tells the story of a small- time criminal who rises in the ranks, becoming a powerful and ultimately targeted gangster. Playing Little Caesar was Edward G. Robinson, who quickly became known for playing similar tough-guy characters. Little Caesar set the template for future gangster movies, and the film contains one of the most iconic final lines in movie history: "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" 8 The Public Enemy (1931) Released that same year (three months later, in April) was The Public Enemy . Like Little Caesar, The Public Enemy was distributed by Warner Brothers, establishing them as an eminent name in the gangster genre. And, like Little Caesar , it tells the story of a small-time gangster who rises in the ranks of Prohibition-era Chicago. The story is loosely based on the events of Al Capone's life and violent "business dealings", based on an unpublished novel by journalists John Bright and Kubec Glasmon. 7 Pulp Fiction (1994) The early '90s was a fantastic time for the gangster genre, and Quentin Tarantino stamped his legacy with Pulp Fiction . The movie was famously rejected by TriStar Pictures for being too bizarre, as the movie is a strange and unique mixture of black comedy, graphic violence, and extended sequences of seemingly meaningless dialogue - all of which is performed out of sequence. Its unique style was fresh and inventive, and it influenced many future films. It also made Tarantino an established name in the upper echelons of Hollywood. 6 Scarface (1932) Released in the midst of the early '30s gangster boom, Scarface was also based on the life of Al Capone, and it even features a version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. While the remake added many unique elements, it kept the original's general premise of a criminal who becomes powerful and egotistical. And like the remake, the original Scarface was enormously controversial. Director Howard Hawks was forced to make numerous edits before its release in April 1932, including an altered ending and a prologue that condemned the gangster lifestyle. 5 Bonnie And Clyde (1967) Perhaps one of the most controversial films ever made, Bonnie and Clyde opened in 1967 and was immediately noted for its portrayal of sex and violence. The film became an icon of the counterculture owing to its controversial nature, and it helped redefine what could be shown in a mainstream film. Of particular importance was the iconic ending, which sees both Bonnie and Clyde riddled with hundreds of bullets. Images like that weren't common in 1967, and it both shocked and delighted in equal measure. It changed what was possible in cinema. 4 White Heat (1949) Another James Cagney masterpiece, White Heat sees the esteemed actor playing the terrifying gang leader Cody Jarrett. Jarrett has a close relationship with his mother and is said to be based on an American killer named Francis Crowley. His last words were reportedly, "Send my love to my mother." Like Crowley, Jarrett also dies speaking of his mother, resulting in one of the most iconic final lines in movie history: "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" 3 The Godfather Part II (1974) Arguably the greatest sequel ever made, The Godfather Part II continued the story of the Corleone family. In many ways, this sequel makes for a more personal tale. Rather than being steeped in violence and revenge, this movie tells a sweeping story about immigration and the moral descent of Vito Corleone. Its structure is also impeccable, contrasting the rise of the Corleone crime family (told through flashbacks) with its descent in the modern timeline. It's the perfect structure for a perfect movie. 2 Goodfellas (1990) Another modern masterpiece (as modern as 1990 can be, anyway), Goodfellas is arguably Martin Scorsese's greatest work. Based on Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy , Goodfellas concerns Ray Liotta's Henry Hill, a criminal who rises in the ranks before betraying his fellow gangsters and turning state's witness. Goodfellas is often noted for its masterful acting and frenzied editing, with Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker all receiving Academy Award nominations (with Pesci winning). 1 The Godfather (1972) The Godfather is often hailed not only as the greatest gangster movie, but perhaps the greatest movie of all time. Virtually every aspect of The Godfather is masterfully done, and despite running three hours, the movie never feels its length. It's a true gangster film in every sense of the word - epic in scope, rich in thematic material, and dense with moral complexity. Like most great tragedies, it tells the story of a downfall. And The Godfather is arguably the greatest tragedy of our time. Gangsters and Goodfellas. We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method. Publisher's Summary. "In 1980, my life as a 'Goodfella' came to an end… I traded my Brioni and Armani suits for T-shirts and jeans. I became a normal citizen. I became Joe Schmoe," says Henry Hill, author of Gangsters and Goodfellas and subject of Wiseguy , which was the inspiration for the blockbuster film Goodfellas. After a quarter of a century of silence, Hill can finally tell us the rest of the story, Gangsters and Goodfellas picks up where Wiseguy left off, taking readers on the crazy ride of Henry's life - hiding out in the Witness Protection Programme, doing prison time for drug charges, testifying in high- profile, heavily guarded mafia trials, leaving his wife and children and eventually ending up in the entertainment business. Including an exclusive selection of photographs from Henry's personal collection, Gangsters and Goodfellas also reveals Henry's lifelong struggle with addiction, his 'business' relationships that have ranged from mob bosses to movie producers and how, through everything, he survived. Henry Hill, the inspiration for the book Wiseguys and movie Goodfellas is the co-author of A Goodfella's Guide to New York and The Wiseguy Cookbook . He lives in Los Angeles. Gus Russo, a critically-acclaimed investigative reporter and author of The Outfit and Live by the Sword , lives in Baltimore. Henry Hill, mobster subject of 'GoodFellas,' dies at 69. “I shot at people. I busted a lot of heads, and I buried a lot of bodies,” he told the London Telegraph in 2010. “You can try to justify it by saying they deserved it, that they had it coming, but some just got whacked for absolutely no reason at all.” Hill, 69, who spent more than a decade in the federal witness protection program and later made various attempts to cash in on his notoriety as an ex-gangster, died Tuesday at a Los Angeles hospital after a long illness, his girlfriend told the Associated Press. Hill’s story of how he worked for the Lucchese mafia family in New York was told by author Nicholas Pileggi in the book “Wiseguy.” That became the basis for director Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film “GoodFellas.” In 2004, long after he had left the witness protection program, Hill told The Times, “I have no idea why people are so interested in gangsters. Come on, people are bored.” Nonetheless, he wrote his own account of his life published that year called “Gangsters and Goodfellas: The Mob, Witness Protection, and Life on the Run.”