He was arrested as a witness in the Lufthansa Heist in May 1980 and agreed to become an informant. Investigators even played a tape of Burke telling Vario Henry had to be 'whacked' to convince him to collaborate with their efforts.Īfter a meeting with Burke, Hill was convinced he would be killed on his next job in Florida. Roseanne cast now - heroin, homelessness, incest accusations and awful tragedy.Mystery of couple abandoned in shark-infested waters after boat crew forgot about them.Henry and Karen enjoyed special treatment from staff at mob haunts including the Copacabana (Image: Unknown) Read More Related Articles Three weeks later DeSimone himself was killed by the rival Gambino family for the murders of Batts and Ronald Jerothe. Getaway van driver Parnell 'Stacks' Edwards was the first to be killed, having been gunned down within a week of the massive heist. This led investigators straight to Burke and his associates within days, which meant immense pressure and scrutiny on the mob.īurke became paranoid and furious at his gang's errors, enacting revenge against those who had tripped up - and others too. It was at the time the biggest heist ever conducted on American soil.īut sloppy mistakes were made and the getaway van was found by police instead of being destroyed.

Hill wasn't directly involved but Burke masterminded the operation. In December 1978 the infamous Lufthansa Heist took place, with almost $6 million ($23m in today's money) stolen from JFK in the form of cash and jewellery. Martin Scorsese's iconic gangster film was based on non-fiction book 'Wiseguy', co-written by Hill and Nicholas Pileggi (Image: No Fee) Tommy finishes him off with a knife and Jimmy adds 5 bullets. When they hear banging from the back, Hill pulls over and they open the boot to see Batts still alive. Scorsese's film opens with Hill driving Conway and DeVito to dispose of the body in the countryside. That incident was famously depicted in Goodfellas, with 'The Sopranos' actor Frank Vincent playing Batts. The body was put in the trunk of their car and taken to a friend's dog kennel upstate, where he was dumped. Two weeks later he killed Batts by hitting him repeatedly with a gun. The downfall of the Lucchese mob began in 1970 when Tommy brutally killed recently released gangster William 'Billy Batts' Bentvena.īatts made an offhand comment about Tommy's past shining shoes, which the sociopathic gangster took issue with. Hill later said DeSimone tried to rape his wife Karen Friedman, who he had met in 1965 and married the same year.Īccording to Hill, DeSimone even allowed his own brother Anthony to be killed after working as a police informant. Robert De Niro's Goodfellas character Jimmy Conway was heavily inspired by real-life gangster Jimmy Burke (Image: Internet Unknown)

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