"Goodfellas" mobster Henry Hill dies at age 69

[MADem]

This fits under "current events," I'd say. It doesn't really work in "Entertainment" or "True Crime."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/13/entertainment-us-henryhill-idUSBRE85C0SW20120613?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

(Reuters) - Henry Hill, the mobster turned government informant portrayed in the book "Wiseguy" and later in the classic movie "Goodfellas," has died after a long illness.

Hill, 69, died at a Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday from heart failure, his fiancé Lisa Schinelli Caserta told celebrity news website TMZ.com.

"Henry was one of the most laid back chill guys ever," Caserta's son Nick wrote on his Facebook page. "It breaks my heart knowing I will never get to talk to him again."

Born on June 11, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, Hill was an associate of New York City's Lucchese crime family from the 1960s into the 1980s.

[MADem]

1. His obituary was in the LAT today with a good pic!

Henry Hill, shown in 2005, attempted to cash in on his notoriety as a mobster and FBI informant later in life. (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)

..."I shot at people. I busted a lot of heads, and I buried a lot of bodies," he told the London-based Daily 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."

...The former mobster's celebrity profile received an even bigger boost with the release of director Martin Scorsese's 1990 movie "GoodFellas," which was based on Pileggi's book and starred Ray Liotta as Hill.

The movie, which also starred Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, "was 99.9 percent dead-on," Hill told the St. Petersburg Times in 2011.

And, as the movie portrayed, he said he never whacked anybody. "I was the money man," said Hill, whose criminal past included the 1967 robbery of $420,000 from the Air France cargo terminal at the Kennedy Airport.
...

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-henry-hill-20120614,0,5859205.story

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Good riddance, RAT!

Nah, I kinda liked the guy... but he was a rat when it came down to it.

[MADem]

3. He certainly created a wonderful film in "Goodfellas."

More than a bit violent, but certainly not dull..!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. One of the all time great mob movies.

My friends used to joke and call me Henry Hill because I, a blue eyed Irish/Swedish kid, worked for an Italian owned car dealership when the movie came out. LOL. I was the "money man" too. The owner hated being called mobbed-up. Even though he had lots of mob friends/acquaintances and customers we wre legit.

[MADem]

6. We had a chat about this a while back, yes? You had some interesting experiences, IIRC! nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

7. Dat was me.

[RZM]

5. I'm glad the the mob never got him. He died of natural causes

That was probably what was promised to him when he flipped. And the Feds kept their end of the deal. So good for both of them.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. IIrc, he was out of the witness program for 20 years.

Even though most of the people he ratted on were dead, I'm surprised some up and comer didn't pop him on principle. Or to make a name in their own family.