Tools

Former 'Goodfellas' gangster Henry Hill dies in LA

By Associated Press

Story Created: Jun 13, 2012 at 4:13 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 13, 2012 at 4:14 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Henry Hill, the mobster-turned-FBI informant who was the basis for the Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas," died Tuesday. He was 69.

Girlfriend Lisa Caserta told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hill died of complications from longtime heart problems related to smoking.

Hill was an associate in New York's Lucchese crime family. His story first appeared in the 1986 book "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family," by Nicholas Pileggi.

The book was adapted for the screen by Pileggi and Scorsese as "Goodfellas," starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta as Hill.

Born in Brooklyn to an Irish father and an Italian mother, Hill's life with the mob began at age 11. He became an informant after a 1980 arrest. In the early 1990s, Hill was booted from the witness protection program.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

What's On