From his brutal murder of made man Billy Batts to his sudden “disappearance” in 1979, Tommy DeSimone lived a life that was much wilder thanGoodfellascould ever depict.
Warning : This clause contains lifelike descriptions and/or range of a function of tearing , distressful , or otherwise potentially distressing event .
Goodfellasis wide considered one of the best mob movies ever made . And part of what make it so great is Joe Pesci ’s scene - steal character , Tommy DeVito . He can be charming and he often begin a laugh , but he ’s also quick to snap into a homicidal rage at a bit ’s notice .
Of naturally , Goodfellasis base on the real storiesof mobsters and mob associates in the orbit of New York gangster Henry Hill . And while many movies based on true stories take creative liberties with the storytelling , Pesci ’s character is a pretty faithful representation of a very genuine and terrific mobster : Tommy “ Two Guns ” DeSimone .
Wikimedia CommonsTommy DeSimone was a feared associate of the Lucchese crime family — until he went missing in 1979.
Wikimedia CommonsTommy DeSimone was a venerate associate of the Lucchese crime family — until he croak lose in 1979 .
Tommy DeSimone spent nearly one-half of his short sprightliness working with the mob and played a role in several major crimes , include the Air France robbery and the infamous Lufthansa stickup . More than anything else , though , DeSimone was known for his temper — and people who stimulate him , like William “ Billy Batts ” Bentvena , normally came to wish they had n’t .
This is the chilling true story of Tommy DeSimone .
NYPDA mugshot of Tommy DeSimone.
How Tommy DeSimone Entered The Mob
Although he was hold in Cambridge , Massachusetts in 1950 , Thomas “ Tommy ” DeSimone turn up in New York , smother by mobsters .
His uncle and grandfather were both major figures in organised offence , and his pal end up becoming comrade of the Gambino crime family . Even one of his sister , Phyllis , would terminate up involved with the family , becomingJimmy Burke’s“mistress ” when she was just 16 years old .
DeSimone keep abreast his family ’s example and entered a life of criminal offence at age 15 , bring together the gang of Lucchese family mobsterPaul Vario .
Warner Bros.A scene leading to the eventual murder of Billy Batts inGoodfellas.
NYPDA mug shot of Tommy DeSimone .
Through Vario , DeSimone metHenry Hill , and together , they worked on a number of criminal schemes . Hijacking trucks and fencing the goods was a favorite scheme , and DeSimone had a habit of carrying his gun for these hijackings in a brown paper base . consort to Hill , “ walk down the street , he looked like he was bringing you a sandwich or else of a thirty - eight . ”
However , DeSimone was n’t shy about using his triggerman . Hill claims that DeSimone committed his first slaying at just 17 . While walk down the street with Hill , he spotted a total stranger strolling in front of him . He then turned to Hill and said , “ Henry , watch this , ” before gunning the human beings down .
Warner Bros.Bartender Michael “Spider” Gianco was another victim of Tommy DeSimone’s temper, as depicted inGoodfellas.
This was just one of many instances of DeSimone ’s impulsive wildness .
Why Henry Hill Thought Tommy DeSimone Was “A Total Psychopath”
Cold - blooded violence would follow Tommy DeSimone — and get him into trouble , in an infamous incident that was limn inGoodfellas .
According to Henry Hill , it all went down in May 1970 , when the crowd was hold a company at Robert ’s Lounge , Jimmy Burke ’s bar , forWilliam “ Billy Batts ” Bentvena , a made man in the Gambino family who had just been exhaust from prison after serving time for a drug - related thrill .
At the party , Bentvena ran into DeSimone and asked him if he still smooth place , a reference point to an old Book of Job he used to have . It was mean as a jocularity , but DeSimone was n’t the case of mortal you wanted to jest with .
Thomas Monaster/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesJimmy Burke, the mastermind of the Lufthansa heist (who was strangely never charged in connection with the robbery). He was alleged to have had help from Bonanno family mobsterVincent Asaro, but Asaro was later acquitted.
humor aside , DeSimone also had a life - foresightful low quality complex . One of his mobster brothers had allegedly collaborate with the authorities , which meant that DeSimone always feel the need to try out his loyalty .
He require regard more than anything , especially from mobsters .
Warner Bros. A scene leading to the eventual murder of Billy Batts inGoodfellas .
Warner Bros. PicturesThe death of Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito (inspired by Tommy DeSimone), as depicted inGoodfellas.
Rather than taking Bentvena ’s jest as intended , DeSimone leaned over to Burke and Hill and told them , “ I ’m gon na vote down that motherf**ker . ”
A few weeks later , on June 11th , DeSimone followed through on that menace . He confronted Bentvena at another nightclub , The Suite , beating him with a handgun and blackguard at him , “ Shine these f**king shoe ! ”
Assisted by Burke , who hold Bentvena down , DeSimone continued to beat Bentvena until he was bloodied and seemingly lifeless .
Just like inGoodfellas , DeSimone ’s crew help him bury the body , pose Bentvena in the torso of a car and driving to a remote location upstate .
But Bentvena was n’t dead yet . In fact , DeSimone and Burke hear Bentvena making noise in the trunk . ThoughGoodfellassuggests that DeSimone and Burke fatally shot Bentvena , Hill later said Bentvena ’s veridical death was far worse : “ They just stab him , thirty or forty fking time , fking horrible . ”
In another incident that made it into the movie , DeSimone ’s impulse for violence had virulent consequences for Michael “ Spider ” Gianco . Gianco was a young mob associate who was mold as a bartender at Robert ’s Lounge when he forgot DeSimone ’s beverage . DeSimone quickly draw out a gun and snap Gianco in the peg after demanding that he “ trip the light fantastic toe ” for him .
Warner Bros. Bartender Michael “ Spider ” Gianco was another victim of Tommy DeSimone ’s irritability , as depict inGoodfellas .
A few calendar week later , Gianco ran into DeSimone again . But this time , Gianco was wearing a branch plaster cast . After DeSimone started constitute playfulness of his cast , Gianco told him to “ go roll in the hay [ himself ] . ”
Initially , DeSimone was going to get it slide — after all , it learn some guts for a hombre like Gianco to support up for himself so brazenly . But then , Burke made a prank at DeSimone ’s disbursement , telling him he must be “ going mild . ”
DeSimone responded by fatally shooting Gianco three times in the chest .
“ Nobody say a word , ” Hill later wrote of witness this execution , “ but now I ’m convert Tommy is a total sociopath . ”
Burke , furious , give DeSimone to bury Gianco ’s body by himself — and “ all the while Tommy was holler and pissed off that he had to dig the hole . He was like a nipper who had been bad and had to clean the erasers after schoolhouse . ”
By then , it was clear that DeSimone was becoming a problem . Meanwhile , tensions were come up among the mobsters , and things would soon come in to a head when Burke wanted to put together the infamousLufthansa heist .
Tommy DeSimone’s Involvement In The Lufthansa Heist
In spite of ( or maybe because of ) his effortless brutality , Tommy DeSimone remained an significant part of Paul Vario ’s crew . And when Jimmy Burke needed someone to help him carry out the biggest heist in United States history at the fourth dimension , he admit DeSimone in his plan .
Together , Burke , DeSimone , and several other gangster and mob associates carried out the Lufthansa heist in 1978 , stealing almost $ 6 million in hard cash and jewel from the Lufthansa terminal at the JFK Airport in New York .
At first , it seemed like they had gotten away with it — until they realized that one mob associate degree , Parnell “ Stacks ” Edwards , had carelessly leave a getaway car in a no - parking zone . Police presently discovered the vehicle , along with Edwards ’ fingerprints , putting all of his accomplices at hazard of getting catch .
Thomas Monaster / NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesJimmy Burke , the mastermind of the Lufthansa heist ( who was strangely never charge in connexion with the robbery ) . He was alleged to have had help from Bonanno fellowship mobsterVincent Asaro , but Asaro was later acquitted .
In the wake , DeSimone attend to as a gunslinger , silencing not only Edwards but anyone else who could marry Burke — who had become more and more paranoid — to the robbery . But what DeSimone did n’t screw was that his own murderous past was about to becharm up with him .
A few week after the heist , DeSimone fetch the newsworthiness that he had been waiting almost his intact life for . He was going to be “ made . ” He would eventually be someone that other mobsters had to prise .
Of of course , the truth was that DeSimone was walk into a trap .
Someone , most potential Paul Vario , unveil to the Gambino family that DeSimone had mangle Bentvena . And harmonize to the computer code of the Mafia , murdering a made piece without permission intend death . In addition , DeSimone had killed another syndicate familiar name Ronald Jerothe , who was the protégé ofJohn Gotti , the future preceptor of the Gambino family .
Tommy DeSimone’s Disappearance And Death
In January 1979 , 28 - year - old Tommy DeSimone on the spur of the moment disappear . He has never been seen since then , and he was declare legally dead in 1990 . formally , no one knows exactly what happened to him .
But according to several source within the Mafia , he was murdered in revenge for the cleanup of Bentvena and Jerothe . Henry Hill maintain that John Gotti in person kill DeSimone himself . According to another mobster who claimed he was at the setting , his demise was slow and unspeakable .
Interestingly enough , inGoodfellas , Tommy DeVito is point dying quickly .
Warner Bros. PicturesThe death of Joe Pesci ’s Tommy DeVito ( inspired by Tommy DeSimone ) , as depicted inGoodfellas .
The specific details of Tommy DeSimone ’s last remain unsettled to this daytime , but according to some rumors , he may have died even more brutally than he lived — being easy cut in half with a chain saw .
If these shuddery accounts are true , then the body of DeSimone is probably buried in one of the so - called “ Mafia graveyards ” on the outskirts of New York , lie always among some of his own victims .
In the end , DeSimone was a dupe , too — one of the modus vivendi he had always wanted to hold up and his own homicidal temper .
After register about Tommy DeSimone , learn the narration of Henry Hill ’s married woman , Karen Friedman Hill . Then , read about the executions , informant , and showiness of theAmerican Mafia in the 1980s .
