Goodfellas
Martin Scorsese ’s 1990 gangster film , Goodfellas , is a classic of the criminal offense genre , but the death of Joe Pesci ’s Tommy DeVito does n’t ruminate the veridical - life murder on which it is based . ThoughGoodfellaswas inspire by a true story , some familiarity were taken with its adjustment , and one of those is the death of Thomas DeSimone .
Goodfellasfollows Henry Hill ’s ( Ray Liotta ) rise and fall in the mafia underworld of seventy New York . In an Oscar - gain operation by Joe Pesci , Tommy DeVito , one of Hill ’s associates , is a flamboyant , fierce gangster who ultimately meets his end when he think he ’s about to be a " made " man in one ofGoodfellas’most scandalous scenes .
Related : Goodfellas : What occur To Jimmy Conway After The Movie In Real Life
Like many of the film ’s characters , Tommy DeVito is a renamed interpretation of a veridical - biography mafia figure . Tommy DeSimone was mentored from a young historic period by members of the Lucchese criminal offence family , including Hill and Jimmy Burke ( renamed Jimmy Conway and played by Robert DeNiro in the film ) . While he was integral in some of the family ’s biggest rip-off , including an infamous Lufthansa airline robbery at JFK International Airport , Tommy ’s volatile irritability and proclivity to violence made him a suffer assassin .
According to Hill , DeSimone first shot an impeccant pedestrian to impress his gangster acquaintance , and his penchant for random ferocity would continue . Among those he killed were William “ Billy Batts ” Bentvena , a adolescent server known as “ Spider , ” and Ronald “ Foxy ” Jerothe , a friend of fabled crime syndicate gaffer John Gotti . Of those , two were killed in moments of rage thatPesci perfectly enamor inGoodfellas . The end of Bentvena , however , is more complicated ; it also may have led to DeSimone ’s own murder .
Bentvena was a made man in the Gambino law-breaking category , meaning he could n’t be killed without permission from the kinsperson genus Bos . While Bentvena was in prison house for drug - related charges , Burke was in heraldic bearing of his loansharking line of work . Upon tone ending , Bentvena was queasy to take over again , but Burke had other estimate . He and DeSimone beat an intoxicated Bentvena until they take over he was dead . They put him in the back of Hill ’s cable car , only for him to wake up as they drove to bury him . The three men lay off at the household of DeSimone ’s mother , where DeSimone grabbed a with child kitchen knife and jab Bentvena to end . This is depicted in one ofthe beneficial scenes inGoodfellas , with one major inaccuracy : while Bentvena did affront DeSimone for his preceding workplace as a shoe shiner , Burke ’s need to keep his loansharking power was the elemental motive for Bentvena ’s murder , which is potential the reason that DeSimone was killed .
Exactly who killed DeSimone is unknown , but there are a few theories . InGoodfellas , Tommy is belt down by Gambino soldier in retaliation for Bentvena ’s death . That may not be far from the truth , as some have speculated that Gambino gun Thomas Agro killed DeSimone , and Agro was also responsible for the end of one of DeSimone ’s comrade age before . According to Hill , however , John Gotti was straight involved in the killing , either murdering DeSimone himself or alongside Agro . Another theory paint a picture that Paul Vario , the Lucchesecapowho first employ DeSimone , had him wipe out after DeSimone attempt to rape Hill ’s married woman - and Vario ’s schoolmistress - Karen Hill .
By look into the truths of America ’s underbelly , Scorseseinspired many of today ’s most acclaimed films . He brought the violent , luxurious world of New York ’s Cosa Nostra scene to life forGoodfellas , which ranks among Scorsese ’s full . However , the expiry of Tommy DeSimone is n’t as straightforward as depict in the film . Like all based - on - a - true story films , Goodfellasgives answer where none live . With more time , perhaps fans of the gangster genre will learn what really happened to notorious gun for hire Tommy DeSimone .
More : Goodfellas : What Happened To Henry Hill After The Movie In Real Life
