THE FORMER MOBSTER whose life was immortalised in the hit film ‘Goodfellas’, Henry Hill, has died. He was 69.
Hill was associated with New York’s infamous Lucchese crime family but later went into the witness protection programme following his arrest on drug charges.
His girlfriend, Lisa Caserta, told TMZ: “He had been sick for a long time … his heart gave out.”
Her son Nate Caserta told ABC News that Hill had been suffering from a long illness and that he died at a hospital in Los Angeles yesterday.
He later wrote on his Facebook page:
Henry was one of the most laid back chill guys ever. All I can think about is how f****** awesome he was. It breaks my heart knowing I will never get to talk to him again.
As a member of the Lucchese mafia family in New York during the 1960s through to the 1980s, Hill was involved in one of the most famous mafia heists when his gang netted $5 million from Lufthansa at JFK Airport in 1978 – the biggest cash robbery in the US at the time.
Later arrested on drug charges, Hill turned infomant and testified against his former bosses. TMZ reports that in his later years Hill had focused on mending relationships with estranged family members.
His story was made famous by the 1986 book ‘Wiseguys’ by Nicholas Pileggi but became even more famous in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film ‘Goodfellas’.
Ray Liotta played the role of Hill in a film which also starred Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci:
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