Thomas DeSimone

Thomas Anthony DeSimone (* May 24, 1950 , † (probably) January 14, 1979), aka Two-Gun Tommy or Tommy D , was an Italian-American mobster of the Lucchese family , a mafia clan of the La Cosa Nostra in New York City.

DeSimone was apparently the victim of a so-called Lupara Bianca , that is, he was murdered and has disappeared without a trace to this day. DeSimone became well known for his portrayal of Joe Pesci (as Tommy DeVito ) in the 1990 film Goodfellas .

family

DeSimone was the grandson of Mafia boss Rosario DeSimone and nephew of Mafia boss Frank DeSimone , both of whom played leading roles in Los Angeles . His brothers both embarked on criminal careers: Robert DeSimone has now been sentenced to life in prison, Anthony DeSimone was murdered by Thomas Agro in the early 1980s. His sister Phyllis was the lover of gangster and partner Jimmy Burke . Burke was married to Angelica Cookie spies and is said to have had numerous lovers, including Theresa Ferrara .

He was also the (former) father-in-law of Salvatore DeVita, a member of the Gambino family . Thomas was related to James, Joseph, Ralph and Phil DeSimone, who were also involved in crime.

Life

Beginning of the criminal career

DeSimone came into the environment of James Burke in 1965, who introduced him to the gangster milieu. Henry Hill , six years his senior, was supposed to instruct him in the illegal cigarette trade. Burke was part of the crew of Paul Vario , a capo (regime) (or captain) of the Lucchese family. DeSimone was still a minor at the time, but was already known for his quick-tempered temperament.

His activities included theft , stolen goods and fraud . During the 1960s, truck robberies were commonplace for DeSimone, Henry Hill, Joey Allegro and Stanley Diamond . DeSimone is said to have committed his first murder at the age of 17 in the presence of Henry Hill when he gunned down the completely innocent pedestrian Howard Goldstein on March 15, 1968 with a .38 revolver .

Hill later described Thommy as someone who enjoyed the practice of violence, who "enjoyed" assault and murder, and who was happy to share it with fellow criminal friends for entertainment; he was a "pure psychopath" and was constantly "on coke ".

Murder of William Devino

In the book Wiseguy , which Nicholas Pileggi wrote with Henry Hill , he describes the murder of Mafia member William Billy Batts Devino. A welcome party was organized for James Burke's Robert's Lounge after serving a six-year sentence for drug possession.

Devino was part of the crew of gangster John Gotti from the Gambino family. He was a made man , a full member of the Mafia and thus protected by the Five Families ; a murder requires the consent of the heads of these families . When Devino provoked DeSimone - so he should u. a. asked if he would still clean shoes - DeSimone sought revenge. Several weeks later, on June 11, 1969, James Burke and DeSimone are believed to have lured Devino into a trap at a club called The Suite in Queens . Devino was held by Burke while DeSimone beat him.

Hill suspected financial reasons as well as revenge for the insults behind the murder. Burke had taken Devino's credit business while he was in prison, and Devino had complained to Joe Gallo  , a member of the Colombo family , about it  .

Hill, Burke, and DeSimone shoved the beaten up Devino into the trunk; when they later discovered he was still alive, they borrowed a knife from DeSimone's mother. After an hour's drive, Hill couldn't stand the knock on Devino's trunk door and Burke and DeSimone are said to have stabbed Devino thirty to forty times.

This assassination of a full member without the permission of the leaders is said to have been one of the reasons for DeSimone's assassination later.

Murders of Gianco, Cersani and Jerothe

DeSimone's third murder was also described by Hill in the book Wiseguy . DeSimone allegedly shot and killed the young bartender Michael Spider Gianco during a card game in the presence of Burke and Hill. Burke is said to have only annoyed that he had to dig another hole. DeSimone is said to have buried Spider's body at Robert's Lounge.

DeSimone is said to have committed the fourth murder together with his partner Stanley Diamond. Burke would have sent the two of them to intimidate someone into working with Burke. DeSimone and Stanley Diamond were so upset about the long distance they had to drive that they beat this man to death.

The fifth murder is said to have been commissioned by Burke. Burke had learned from a corrupt Queens police officer that Burke's best friend Dominick Remo Cersani was trying to testify against him. DeSimone strangled him with a piano string and buried him at Robert's Lounge.

Furthermore, on December 18, 1974, DeSimone murdered Ronald Foxy Jerothe, a member of Gotti's crew. DeSimone had beaten up Jerothes' sister during a rendezvous. Jerothe had therefore issued death threats against DeSimone. DeSimone then drove to his apartment and shot him between the eyes after Jerothe had hit him.

Lufthansa robbery

DeSimone is said to have played an important role in the so-called Lufthansa Heist , the biggest robbery in US history. DeSimone was instrumental in eliminating those who knew it on behalf of Burke. The purpose of this series of murders was to divert all suspicions from Burke. The robbery had brought in much more money than hoped, and Burke was concerned about the high level of attention and carelessness of the accomplices who began to spend the money with full hands.

The series began with the assassination of Parnell Stacks Edwards by DeSimone. And more murders followed, including those of Theresa Ferrara , Martin Krugman, Robert McMahon, Joe Manri and Paolo LiCastri , which, however, could not be resolved with regard to the perpetrators. Hill later testified that neither he nor James Burke knew how many people DeSimone had murdered.

Disappearance and death

DeSimone disappeared without a trace on January 14, 1979. Wife Angela DeSimone later testified that she had not seen Thommy for several weeks; most recently when he borrowed sixty US dollars from her. Presumably DeSimone fell victim to a so-called Lupara Bianca , because he had made enemies within the Mafia.

The scene and date of the alleged murder, as well as the execution of the crime, are still unknown. Thomas Agro claimed in 1985 that he was behind the murder. Another witness told Hill that Gotti personally murdered DeSimone and tortured him in the process. Gotti would come into question as a possible perpetrator because DeSimone had murdered two of his close friends - William Billy Batts DeVino and Foxy Jerothe.

When Hill entered the witness protection program as Pentito in 1980 , he testified that DeSimone was murdered by the Gambino family. Hill alleges that he and Burke drove to Florida the week after Christmas because of a failed drug deal . DeSimone stayed in New York because he should be accepted as a full member of the Mafia. When they later called to inquire about their return home, they were told of the murder.

Hill later continued to claim in his 1994 book Gangsters and Goodfellas that Paul Vario allegedly had an affair with Hill's wife, Karen, while Hill was incarcerated. When DeSimone tried to rape Karen, Vario decided to contribute to his murder. He turned to the Gambino family and confirmed that DeSimone had murdered Jerothe and DeVino without the approval of the top bosses. Peter Vario and Bruno Facciolo would then have lured him into a trap and murdered him.

In 1990 DeSimone was pronounced dead by the FBI . In 2004, the US authorities discovered a Mafia cemetery : a place where several unidentified bodies were found. In this context, it was suggested that they were victims of the Gambino clan and that one of the corpses could be DeSimone.

Representation in Goodfellas

In Martin Scorsese's hit film Goodfellas he was portrayed by Joe Pesci , his character was named Tommy DeVito in the film .

Scorsese took some artistic liberties with the film character. The real DeSimone was six years younger than Henry Hill, but his actor Joe Pesci is ten years older than Ray Liotta , who played Hill. In addition, DeSimone was a tall and beefy man and not of short stature like Joe Pesci, who was 46 years old at the time of the depiction, while he portrays DeSimone in his twenties.

Henry Hill, who had known DeSimone for a lifetime, described the portrayal as "90-95%" authentic; Joe Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance .

See also

• Air France robbery

literature

• Pileggi, Nicholas, Wiseguy : Life In A Mafia Family , Simon & Schuster (1986) ISBN 0-671-44734-3
• Hill, Henry, Gangsters and Goodfellas: The Mob, Witness Protection, and Life on the Run , Taco Salad for Mafia, M. Evans and Company, Inc. (December 25, 2007) ISBN 1-59077-129-X
• Ianuzzi, Joseph, Joe Dogs: The Life and Crimes of a Mobster , Simon & Schuster (June 1993) ISBN 0-671-79752-2
• Hill, Gina; Hill, Gregg, On the Run: A Mafia Childhood , Warner Books (October 2004) ISBN 0-446-52770-X

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rashbaum, William K. with contributions from Fisher, Janon: Sometimes, Mob Victims Have Plenty of Company . In: The New York Times . October 6, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
2. ^ Feds Search 'Mafia Graveyard' in New York . In: Fox News , October 5, 2004. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011 Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 4, 2008.  
3. ^ Allan May: Closing in on Vito's record. In: americanmafia.com. Rick Porrello, January 14, 2002, accessed December 9, 2015 . 
4. ↑ James Bone: FBI digs deep to unearth men who crossed the Mob . In: The Times , October 6, 2004. 
5. ^ Anne Castellani: Remains of Mafia captains identified . In: CNN , December 22, 2004.