On January 14th, 1979, Tommy DeSimone walked out of his house in Queens, New York, and climbed into a car with two men he knew. He was 28 years old. He believed he was about to become a made man in the Lucchese crime family. Instead, he was driven to his execution. His body was never found.
DeSimone was one-third of the crew that killed Billy Batts, a made man in the Gambino family, in 1970. The murder became famous through the film *Goodfellas*. The three men involved were Tommy DeSimone, Jimmy Burke, and Henry Hill. Nine years later, only Tommy paid with his life. Burke died in prison decades later. Hill lived to 69, sold his story, and became known as a government witness.
The mafia does not kill for revenge. It kills for survival. By 1979, keeping Tommy DeSimone alive was the most dangerous decision the Lucchese family could make.
DeSimone was born on May 24th, 1950, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His family was already deep in organized crime. His grandfather was a Los Angeles mob boss. His uncle was a Gambino family member. By his teenage years, his family had moved to Brooklyn, and he was already running with criminals.
At 15, DeSimone was introduced to Paul Vario, a powerful capo in the Lucchese crime family. Vario ran a crew out of Brooklyn that controlled truck hijackings and loan sharking. DeSimone became a Vario associate, as did Henry Hill. They worked together, stole together, and eventually killed together.
Henry Hill later said the portrayal of Tommy in *Goodfellas* was 90 to 99 percent accurate, with one exception. Joe Pesci was 5'3". Tommy DeSimone was over 6 feet tall and built like a linebacker. He used his size to terrorize everyone around him. He was reckless, impulsive, and uncontrollable.
DeSimone’s first known murder happened in 1968. He was 17 years old. According to Henry Hill, DeSimone shot and killed a stranger named Howard Goldstein. There was no motive. It was violence for the sake of violence.
By 1970, DeSimone was a full-time earner for the Vario crew. He was involved in truck hijackings at JFK Airport and fencing stolen goods. But he had a problem. He could not stop killing. And he was killing the wrong people.
On June 11th, 1970, a Gambino associate named William Bentvena walked into the Suite Lounge in Queens. Everyone called him Billy Batts. He was 49 years old and had just been released from prison after serving six years for narcotics trafficking. This was his welcome home party.
Batts knew DeSimone from years earlier, when DeSimone had worked as a shoeshine boy. That night, in front of everyone, Batts reminded him. "Go home and get your shine box." It was a public humiliation. Batts was a made man. DeSimone was just an associate. Batts could say whatever he wanted.
DeSimone did not care about the rules. Henry Hill saw what was happening and tried to calm him down. They waited until the bar began to empty. Around 3:00 in the morning, they went back inside. DeSimone walked up to Billy Batts and beat him unconscious with a pistol. Jimmy Burke joined in. They kicked him and stomped him. Batts’s skull cracked.
Hill helped them load the body into the trunk of a car. Batts was still alive. They drove to a location in upstate New York near the Connecticut border. When they opened the trunk, Batts was still breathing. DeSimone stabbed him repeatedly. Burke shot him four times in the chest. Then they buried him. Six months later, they dug up the body and buried it again in a different location.
You do not kill a made man and walk away. Billy Batts was Gambino. DeSimone, Burke, and Hill were Lucchese associates under Paul Vario. Killing a made man from another family without permission was an act that could start a war.
Later in 1970, just months after killing Batts, DeSimone was at another bar. A young man named Michael Gianco was working there. Everyone called him Spider. He was a low-level associate who fetched drinks and ran errands. One night, DeSimone was drunk and playing cards. He shot Spider in the foot for fun. Spider recovered and came back to work.
A few weeks later, DeSimone was at the bar again. Spider made a smart remark. DeSimone pulled his gun and shot him three times in the chest. Spider died on the floor. Henry Hill later said that was the moment he realized DeSimone was a psychopath. Spider was not a threat. DeSimone killed him because he was bored.
In 1974, DeSimone murdered another Gambino associate named Ronald "Foxy" Jerothe. The motive was unclear. The result was the same. Another body, another Gambino connection, another reason for the Gambino family to want DeSimone dead.
By the mid-1970s, DeSimone had built a reputation as a killer and an earner. He was also a liability. He was unpredictable. He drew attention. He made enemies. He had killed two Gambino-connected men without permission. The Gambino family was waiting.
On December 11th, 1978, six armed men walked into the Lufthansa cargo building at JFK Airport. They pulled off the biggest cash robbery in American history. They stole $5,875,000 in cash and another $875,000 in jewelry. The mastermind was Jimmy Burke. Tommy DeSimone was part of the crew.
Each man was supposed to get $750,000. Most of them never saw a dime. Burke started killing everyone involved. One by one, the Lufthansa crew disappeared. By the summer of 1979, seven people connected to the heist were dead. But Burke did not kill DeSimone. He did not have to.
On January 14th, 1979, DeSimone’s wife, Angela, reported him missing. She said he had borrowed $60 from her and told her he had to go somewhere important. He never came back.
The Lucchese family told DeSimone he was going to be made. Becoming a made man was the ultimate goal. You took an oath. You became untouchable. DeSimone had been waiting for this his entire career. He got into a car with two men he trusted. They told him they were driving to the ceremony. They were not.
According to multiple mafia sources, including Henry Hill, DeSimone was taken to a house in Queens. He walked into an empty room. He realized immediately what was happening. The room was supposed to be filled with Lucchese family members. Instead, it was a trap.
John Gotti, a rising star in the Gambino family, was waiting. Some reports say Gotti shot DeSimone three times in the head with a silenced pistol. Others say Tommy Agro, another Gambino killer, was also there. Either way, DeSimone was executed. His body was never recovered.
The Lucchese family approved the hit. They had to. DeSimone had killed Billy Batts and Foxy Jerothe, both Gambino-connected. The Gambino family demanded justice. The Lucchese family could not protect DeSimone anymore. He had become too dangerous. So they gave him up. They used the fake making ceremony as bait.
So why did Jimmy Burke and Henry Hill survive?
Jimmy Burke was born on July 5th, 1931. He was nicknamed "Jimmy the Gent" because he was known for being generous with stolen goods. He was one of the most feared and respected criminals in New York. He was a master planner and a stone-cold killer.
But Burke was Irish. In the mafia, you had to be 100 percent Italian to become a made man. Burke could never take the oath. He existed in a gray area. He was incredibly valuable, but he was not technically part of La Cosa Nostra.
When you kill a made man, the punishment is death. But Burke was not a made man. The Gambinos could have pushed for his execution, but it would have caused a war. And Burke was too valuable to the Lucchese family. He was making them millions.
Burke was also smart. After the Billy Batts murder, he laid low. He did not brag. He did not draw attention. He let Tommy be the face of the problem. When the Gambino family came calling, the Lucchese family could point to Tommy and say, "He was the one."
Burke killed strategically. DeSimone killed impulsively. Burke made money. DeSimone made enemies. In the mafia, professionals survive. Psychopaths do not.
Burke was eventually convicted of multiple crimes. He died on April 13th, 1996, at Wende Correctional Facility in New York. He was 64 years old. He died of natural causes. The mafia never touched him.
Henry Hill was born on June 11th, 1943. He was half Irish and half Italian. Like Burke, he could never be a made man. He was an associate and a lower-level earner. He was involved in the Billy Batts murder, but he was the least involved. He helped clean up. He was not the main actor.
In the eyes of the Gambino family, Hill was a minor player. He was not the guy who disrespected Batts. He was not the guy who pulled the trigger. He was just the guy who helped dispose of the body. That distinction saved his life.
In 1980, Hill was arrested on narcotics charges. He was facing serious prison time. He made a decision. He became a government informant. He testified against Paul Vario, Jimmy Burke, and dozens of other mobsters. His testimony led to 50 convictions. He entered the federal witness protection program.
Even before Hill flipped, the Gambino family was not demanding his death. They wanted Tommy. Tommy was the problem. Henry was a footnote. And footnotes do not get executed.
Hill was kicked out of the witness protection program in 1987 after he blew his cover and continued committing crimes. He spent the next 25 years living in the open. He wrote books. He did interviews. The mafia knew where he was. They did not kill him because he was not worth the risk. He had already talked. Killing him would only bring more attention.
Henry Hill died on June 12th, 2012, one day after his 69th birthday. He died of heart disease in a Los Angeles hospital. The mafia never came for him.
The mafia does not kill everyone involved in a problem. They kill the biggest liability. Tommy DeSimone was the biggest liability the Lucchese family had ever seen.
DeSimone killed Billy Batts, a made man. That alone was a death sentence. But he did not stop there. He killed Spider. He killed Foxy Jerothe. He was violent, impulsive, and unpredictable. He drew attention from law enforcement. He made enemies in multiple families. By 1979, even Paul Vario could not shield him.
The Gambino family wanted blood. The Lucchese family had a choice. They could protect DeSimone and risk a war, or they could give him up and maintain peace. The decision was easy.
Jimmy Burke was too valuable. He was a top earner. He was smart. He was controllable. The Lucchese family was not going to sacrifice their best money maker.
Henry Hill was too insignificant. He was a low-level associate. He was not worth the effort. And once he became a government witness, killing him would only make things worse.
DeSimone’s death sent a message. It told every associate in every family: you cannot kill a made man. You cannot act without permission. You cannot put your ego above the organization. If you do, you will die.
Burke understood that. He played by the rules just enough to stay alive. He made money. He stayed valuable. He kept his mouth shut. He survived.
Hill understood it too. He knew when to run. He knew when to talk. He traded his loyalty for his life. It worked.
DeSimone never understood. He thought his reputation would protect him. He thought his connections would save him. He thought being a killer made him untouchable. He was wrong.
On January 14th, 1979, Tommy DeSimone climbed into that car thinking he was about to achieve his dream. Instead, he walked into a room and was executed by the very people he thought would embrace him.
The mafia does not forgive. It does not forget. Tommy had nine years to prove he could be trusted. He spent those nine years proving the opposite. When the bill came due, there was nobody left to protect him.
Jimmy Burke and Henry Hill survived because they were smarter. They understood the game. They knew when to step back. Tommy never learned that lesson, and it cost him everything.
The mafia does not kill for revenge. They kill for survival. Tommy DeSimone had to die. Jimmy Burke and Henry Hill did not. That is not luck. That is the rules.