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You know him as Tommy from Goodfellas… but the real Joe Pesci is even more fascinating than his characters. Born February 9, 1943, Pesci rose from humble New Jersey beginnings to become one of Hollywood’s most unforgettable actors, comedians, and musicians.
🎬 Discover how he became Scorsese & De Niro’s secret weapon in classics like Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019).
🏆 Learn about the Oscar & BAFTA-winning performances that cemented his legend.
🎤 Uncover the surprising hidden talents and little-known stories behind his off-screen life.
If you love true Hollywood stories, mob movie legends, and behind-the-scenes secrets, this deep dive is for you.
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0:00
in the history of mafia movies few
0:02
figures stand out as much as Joe pessie
0:05
known for his portrayal of hyper-violent
0:07
and hot tempered gangsters in 1990 pessy
0:11
electrified the world with his Oscar
0:14
winning performance as Tommy deito an
0:16
aggressive and unpredictable associate
0:19
of the lucazi crime family in the film
0:22
Good Fellas although Joe pes's character
0:25
was a disturbed individual in reality he
0:27
was a toned down version of the real
0:30
person the producers of Good Fellas have
0:33
stated that the real Tommy was so
0:34
sadistic and ruthless that audiences
0:37
wouldn't have believed someone like him
0:39
could actually exist the real Tommy was
0:42
so sadistic and ruthless that audiences
0:45
wouldn't have believed someone like him
0:47
could exist in this video we explore the
0:50
rise and fall of the real Tommy DeSimone
0:54
Tommy was born on May 24 1950 in
0:58
Cambridge massach etts into a family
1:01
with strong connections to the kosa
1:03
Nostra his paternal grandfather Rosario
1:07
desimon and his Uncle Frank DeSimone had
1:10
both been leaders of a crime family
1:12
based in Los Angeles his two brothers
1:15
Robert and Anthony were also
1:18
Associates from The Gambino family in
1:20
New York the most significant influence
1:23
in Tommy's life was his family friend
1:25
and Mafia associate Jimmy Jimmy took the
1:29
young Tommy under his wing and involved
1:31
him in various criminal schemes such as
1:34
car the theft insurance fraud and
1:36
cigarette smuggling Tommy grew he also
1:40
took on less glamorous duties like
1:42
serving drinks food and Shining shoes
1:46
although Jimmy was a big earner and very
1:48
popular due to his friendly and outgoing
1:51
personality Jimmy could never become a
1:54
full member of the mafia due to his
1:56
Irish heritage only those of full
1:59
Italian and descent are eligible to be
2:02
official members of the kostra as a
2:05
result Jimmy was considered an associate
2:08
and worked under Paul vario a capo of
2:11
the luches family operating in Brooklyn
2:14
New York despite Jimmy's Charming
2:17
personality he harbored a deep seated
2:20
darkness and was Notorious for his
2:22
explosive temper Henry Hill detailed
2:25
this in his 1985 book describing Jimmy's
2:28
reputation for being being wild he could
2:31
kill you without hesitation yet be as
2:34
polite as shaking your hand he was
2:36
terrifying and scared even the most
2:38
frightening guys nobody really knew
2:41
where they stood with him but he was
2:43
also smarter than most of the guys
2:45
around him and a big earner Jimmy always
2:47
brought in money for Paul and the crew
2:50
and that was ultimately why his Madness
2:51
was tolerated in 1963 Jimmy introduced
2:55
the 14-year-old Tommy to Henry Hill who
2:58
was 20 one at the time and had just been
3:01
discharged from the Army Jimmy and Henry
3:04
had recently gotten involved in
3:06
cigarette smuggling which was proving to
3:08
be highly
3:09
lucrative recently involved in cigarette
3:12
smuggling which was proving to be highly
3:14
lucrative Jimmy asked Henry to take care
3:17
of young Tommy and teach him the ins and
3:20
outs of the cigarette business soon the
3:23
two were earning nearly $400 each day
3:26
selling smuggled cigarettes at
3:28
construction sites and Subway stations
3:30
throughout Brooklyn they made so much
3:33
money that they eventually bought their
3:34
own semi-trailer which they frequently
3:37
drove to North Carolina and filled to
3:39
the brim with boxes of cigarettes these
3:42
boxes sold for 21 cents in North
3:44
Carolina compared to New York where the
3:47
same carton would cost much more due to
3:49
differences in cigarette taxes this plan
3:52
was so successful that it didn't take
3:54
long for the market to become saturated
3:57
with cheap cigarettes as other groups
3:59
like the Columbo gang noticed the scheme
4:02
and began smuggling cigarettes as well
4:05
by that time Henry and Tommy had moved
4:08
on to stealing cars and sending them to
4:10
Haiti which earned them a considerable
4:12
profit for each vehicle they were also
4:14
involved in numerous other crimes such
4:16
as extortion fraud receiving stolen
4:20
property and truck hijacking even in
4:23
those early days Tommy quickly gained a
4:25
reputation for having an explosive
4:27
temper and was known for losing losing
4:29
his cool easily he also seemed to enjoy
4:33
hurting others as it was a tradition of
4:35
his to test any new firearm by shooting
4:38
a random
4:39
civilian one day Henry witnessed this
4:42
firsthand while they were walking down a
4:44
Street in Brooklyn Tommy who was 17 at
4:47
the time shouted at a random passer by
4:51
when the man turned around Tommy pulled
4:53
out a gun and shot him several times the
4:56
man was a complete stranger and as he
4:59
Lay Dying
5:00
Henry remarked that it was coldblooded
5:02
Tommy responded well I'm a bad cat Henry
5:06
later speculated that Tommy's bloodlust
5:09
stemmed from the fact that one of his
5:11
older brothers had collaborated with the
5:13
police years earlier and because of that
5:16
he felt the need to prove himself who
5:19
stood only 5' 4 in in real life however
5:22
Tommy was muscular stood 6' 2 in tall
5:26
and was known for his intimidating
5:28
physical presence in 1948 New York
5:31
International Airport later renamed John
5:34
F Kennedy International Airport opened
5:38
in Queens New York by the early 1960s
5:41
over $30 billion in cargo passed through
5:44
the airport each year this proved to be
5:47
an attractive
5:49
opportunity irresistible to local
5:51
gangsters the criminal organization in
5:54
New York soon had people at the airport
5:56
watching for potential targets no one
5:59
would was better at airport theft than
6:01
Jimmy who created a complex network of
6:04
accomplice and collaborators that kept
6:06
him informed about the best loot
6:08
arriving given that many of the 50,000
6:11
airport employees were from the local
6:14
area it was easy for Jimmy to intimidate
6:16
them into compliance and some were
6:19
already indebted to Jimmy and his
6:21
associates an example of an associate
6:24
was a truck driver for Eastern Airlines
6:26
who had accumulated a massive gambling
6:28
debt with one of Jimmy's bookies in
6:31
exchange for forgiving the debt the
6:33
truck driver accidentally dropped some
6:35
mailbags on the way to the post office
6:38
when Jimmy picked them up he discovered
6:40
they contained nearly $500,000 in cash
6:43
money orders and stocks while many
6:46
airport employees accepted bribes or
6:48
were threatened into helping some honest
6:51
individuals went to the
6:52
police police officers who bravely stood
6:55
up were routinely killed by Jimmy and
6:57
his gang with Tommy often acting as the
7:01
enforcer corrupt police officers on
7:03
Jimmy's payroll regularly informed him
7:06
about potential Witnesses who were then
7:09
swiftly killed before they could cause
7:11
any problems in one year more than 10 of
7:14
these individuals were murdered on
7:16
Jimmy's orders with their bodies
7:18
eventually discovered in the trunks of
7:20
various abandoned cars in the airport
7:22
parking lot on April 7
7:26
1967 Jimmy's gang orchestrated what was
7:29
at that time their biggest single Heist
7:32
according to an internal source
7:35
according to an internal source Air
7:37
France was the carrier for us money was
7:40
routinely exchanged in Southeast Asia
7:43
and then brought back to the United
7:45
States by the airline for deposit in
7:47
American Banks according to an informant
7:50
these deliveries usually consisted of
7:52
three or four packages each containing
7:56
$6,000 making it an attractive and easy
7:58
target for theft the informant had
8:01
indicated that stealing the money would
8:03
be relatively simple due to the way it
8:05
was packaged and transported acting on
8:08
this tip on April 7 Tommy and Henry
8:11
planed to intercept one of these
8:13
deliveries they drove to the Air France
8:15
cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport
8:18
bringing with them an empty suitcase
8:20
ready to execute their plan the two
8:23
simply entered the area without being
8:25
challenged and used a duplicate key to
8:27
enter the vault they then filled their
8:30
suitcase to the brim with money and
8:32
simply walked out with
8:35
$20,000 no one was hurt and no shots
8:38
were fired the robbery wasn't discovered
8:41
until 2 days later with his share of the
8:43
loot Henry bought a restaurant on
8:46
Queen's
8:47
Boulevard although he initially planned
8:49
for it to be a legitimate business and
8:52
kept it away from his criminal
8:54
Associates within months it turned into
8:56
another Mafia hangout and became a
8:59
special popular among high ranking
9:01
members of The Gambino family it was
9:03
here that Tommy would commit his most
9:05
infamous act in early June of
9:08
1970 William Billy bats Bena also known
9:12
as Billy bats had just been released
9:14
from prison after serving an 8-year
9:16
sentence for selling narcotics to an
9:19
undercover police officer when a mobster
9:21
gets out of prison it is customary for
9:24
his friends to throw him a big party to
9:26
celebrate bats was a member of the gambi
9:29
family and also a lifelong friend of the
9:32
future Gambino family boss John Gotti
9:35
the celebration took place at a
9:37
nightclub owned by Jimmy late in the
9:40
night a visibly drunk Billy noticed
9:42
Tommy sitting at the end of the bar
9:45
Tommy was only 20 years old at the time
9:48
and Billy recognized him as the
9:50
12-year-old shine boy he had known years
9:52
before his imprisonment now all grown up
9:56
Billy then made a sarcastic comment
9:58
asking Tommy if still shine shoes Henry
10:01
later described what happened next Henry
10:04
said I looked at Tommy and could see he
10:07
was Furious about the way Billy was
10:09
talking Tommy was losing it but he
10:12
couldn't do or say anything Billy was a
10:14
maid man and if Tommy even laid a hand
10:17
on him Tommy would be dead we kept
10:20
drinking and laughing and just when I
10:22
thought maybe everything had blown over
10:24
Tommy leaned over to Jimmy and me and
10:26
said I'm going to kill that bastard well
10:28
I tried to to dissuade him Jimmy took
10:30
the opposite approach and over the next
10:32
few days he continuously reminded Tommy
10:35
of what had happened and the disrespect
10:38
Billy had shown him Jimmy probably did
10:41
this because before Billy went to prison
10:43
he had been running a lucrative loan
10:46
sharking business that Jimmy had taken
10:48
over while Billy was in custody now
10:50
Billy was eager to get his business back
10:53
something Jimmy had no intention of
10:55
allowing 2 weeks later on June 11 Billy
10:59
was in in the bar drinking near midnight
11:01
Tommy walked in and noticed Billy was
11:03
alone so he quickly whispered something
11:05
to Jimmy who then approached Billy and
11:08
started buying him more drinks Tommy
11:10
then leaned over to Henry and whispered
11:12
keep him here I'm going to get a bag
11:15
which Henry knew man was going to get a
11:17
body bag while Tommy was gone Jimmy kept
11:20
Billy entertained telling him stories
11:23
and making sure his glass was never
11:25
empty seemed like Billy was having a
11:27
great time but 20 minutes later Tommy
11:31
returned this time carrying a bag in one
11:33
hand and a gun in the other as Tommy
11:35
approached Jimmy silently put his arm
11:38
around Billy's shoulder in a friendly
11:40
manner Henry described what happened
11:42
next saying I was on the other side of
11:44
the bar when Tommy pulled the gun out of
11:46
his pocket the moment he saw what was
11:49
happening Jimmy tightened his arm around
11:51
Billy's neck shine these shoes you
11:53
bastard Tommy shouted smashing the gun
11:56
into the side of Billy's head Billy's
11:59
eyes eyes widened in shock as Tommy hit
12:01
him again Jimmy maintained his grip as
12:04
blood began to pour from Billy's head
12:07
appearing almost black the beating was
12:10
so Savage that the three men assumed
12:12
Billy was dead so they pushed his body
12:14
into the trunk of Henry's car they knew
12:17
that since Billy was a maid man the
12:20
gambinos wouldn't spare any effort to
12:22
find his Killers so it was imperative to
12:24
hide his body where it would never be
12:27
discovered Jimmy me mentioned he knew a
12:30
guy who owned a Veterinary Hospital
12:32
Upstate in New York where no one would
12:34
think to look with no other options the
12:38
three men got into Henry's car and began
12:40
their drive while on the road a loud
12:43
noise started coming from the trunk so
12:46
loud that it woke up Jimmy the three of
12:48
them exchanged worried glances before
12:50
realizing that Billy was still alive
12:53
Tommy slammed on the brakes grabbed the
12:55
shovel without saying a word and the
12:57
three men got out of the car
12:59
they waited until no other vehicles were
13:01
in sight before opening the trunk Tommy
13:04
began to beat Billy with the shovel
13:06
while Jimmy struck him with a wrench
13:08
after just a few seconds they closed the
13:11
trunk and resumed their Drive in Silence
13:14
by the time they reached their
13:15
destination it was nearly morning and it
13:18
took them almost an hour to dig a hole
13:20
big enough they covered Billy with lime
13:23
filled the hole and returned to New York
13:25
City however their work with Billy was
13:27
not yet finished 3 month months later
13:29
Jimmy discovered that his friend who
13:31
owned the veterinary hospital had sold
13:33
the property to housing
13:35
developers so he ordered Tommy and Henry
13:38
to return to the site and exume Billy's
13:41
body to bury it
13:43
elsewhere the two men went back to New
13:45
York City with Billy's body in the trunk
13:47
of Henry's new Pontiac Catalina
13:49
Convertible and buried it in the
13:51
basement of a lounge a couple of months
13:54
later they dug Billy up again and placed
13:56
him in a trash compactor at a junkyard
13:58
in New Jersey for weeks Henry couldn't
14:01
escape the smell of Billy's body no
14:03
matter how many times he washed his
14:05
clothes or took a shower he could still
14:07
smell it
14:08
everywhere eventually Henry burned the
14:11
clothes he was wearing that day and also
14:14
abandoned his car at a junkyard Tommy
14:17
thought Henry was crazy and said he
14:18
would have gladly kept the car to remind
14:20
him every day of how he had dealt with
14:23
that miserable bastard Billy another
14:26
dark episode would reveal just how
14:27
ruthless Tommy could be
14:30
while they were drinking and playing
14:31
cards their 16-year-old waiter Michael
14:34
spider jenko forgot to bring Tommy's
14:37
drink which led Tommy to shoot him in
14:39
the thigh as punishment a week later
14:42
spider was back at the card game serving
14:45
drinks with a cast on his leg at 3:00
14:48
a.m. an intoxicated Tommy began yelling
14:51
at spider demanding that he dance for
14:53
his Amusement in an act of defiance
14:56
spider told Tommy to go to hell which
14:59
led Tommy to shoot him three times in
15:01
the chest killing him instantly for a
15:04
moment there was silence until Jimmy
15:06
finally stood up and shouted all right
15:09
you idiot if you're going to be such a
15:11
big fool dig the hole
15:14
yourself Tommy felt insulted and in a
15:17
fit of anger took spider's body and dug
15:20
a hole in basement Tommy was losing
15:23
control and by this point even routine
15:25
extortion missions were ending in Murder
15:28
a couple of weeks later while Jimmy and
15:30
his crew were unloading stolen
15:31
cigarettes at a truck Warehouse the
15:33
foreman who had no idea who Jimmy or his
15:36
men were demanded to see their Union
15:39
cards the foreman warned that if they
15:41
couldn't provide their Union cards he
15:44
would clear the loading dock Jimmy tried
15:47
to reason with the foreman then
15:49
attempted to bribe him and when that
15:51
failed he resorted to threats however
15:54
the foreman refused to be intimidated so
15:56
Jimmy left and the next day he sent
15:59
Tommy and another team member Stanley
16:02
Diamond to scare him Foreman lived in
16:04
New Jersey and during the drive both
16:08
Tommy and Stanley grew increasingly
16:10
frustrated with the situation and with
16:12
the Foreman's refusal to listen to Jimmy
16:15
they had to make the trip to New Jersey
16:17
and Jimmy had instructed them to Simply
16:19
intimidate the foreman into cooperating
16:22
next
16:23
time however instead of just
16:25
intimidating him they beat him to death
16:28
in his own home home no one was safe
16:30
from Tommy's sadistic nature not even
16:33
his friends or loved ones in
16:35
1972 Henry was convicted of extortion
16:38
and sentenced to 10 years in federal
16:40
prison while serving his sentence in a
16:43
Pennsylvania Penitentiary Tommy seized
16:46
the opportunity and attempted to assault
16:48
Henry's wife Karen when she resisted he
16:52
instead brutally attacked her and left
16:54
her injured Henry was released on parole
16:57
on July 12 1978 and almost immediately
17:01
afterward a local Gambler named Marty
17:03
Krugman informed him that the German
17:06
airline luftansa was transporting large
17:09
amounts of US dollars to its cargo
17:12
terminal at John F Kennedy International
17:15
Airport Henry took this information to
17:18
Jimmy who began planning what would
17:20
eventually become the heist of the
17:23
century the robbery was a complete
17:26
success and in the end Jimmy and his
17:28
crew made off with nearly $6 million in
17:31
cash and
17:33
$875,000 in jewelry making it the
17:36
largest robbery ever committed on us
17:39
soil at that time after the heist an
17:43
associate of the lé family named Parnell
17:45
Stax Edwards was tasked with disposing
17:48
of the getaway vehicle he was supposed
17:50
to drive it to New Jersey for
17:52
Destruction but instead he got drunk and
17:55
left the car parked in front of a fire
17:57
hydrant outside his girl friend's house
18:00
the police discovered the vehicle 2 days
18:02
after the robbery and found Stacks
18:04
fingerprints all over it quickly linking
18:07
him to the heist after learning about
18:10
what had happened Paul vario ordered
18:12
Tommy to eliminate Stacks which he did
18:15
on December 18 by shooting him five
18:17
times in the head this would turn out to
18:20
be Tommy's last murder as unbeknownst to
18:23
him the gambinos were already searching
18:26
for him and seeking revenge in addition
18:28
to the murder of Billy bats Tommy had
18:31
also incurred the Wrath of the gambinos
18:34
by killing Ronald Jared in
18:36
1974 Jared was a Protegé of John G of
18:40
John GTI and a popular member of The
18:42
Gambino family with a reputation as a
18:45
high stakes Gambler 5 years later on
18:48
January 14
18:50
1979 Tommy's wife reported him missing
18:53
to the police claiming that the last
18:56
time she had seen him was a few weeks
18:58
earlier when he had borrowed money from
19:00
her exactly what happened is unclear but
19:04
it is known that the week after
19:06
Christmas Jimmy and Henry traveled to
19:09
Florida to resolve some issues related
19:12
to a recent drug deal Tommy would have
19:14
normally accompanied them but since he
19:16
was becoming a maid man he had to stay
19:19
in New York for his initiation
19:21
ceremony while the two were in Florida
19:24
Jimmy went to a pay phone to call home
19:26
and check in after leaving the the booth
19:30
he had tears in his eyes I don't know
19:32
what's going on he said they just told
19:35
me Tommy was hit the Gotti crew took him
19:38
out it's because Tommy killed Billy bats
19:40
and a guy named Ronald Gerald they were
19:42
made men with the gambinos and Tommy
19:45
killed them without authorization the
19:47
gambinos found out about Tommy's role in
19:49
Billy bat's death and it's believed that
19:52
Tommy was taken out as a result Paul
19:56
vario who secretly had an fair with
19:59
Henry's wife Karen while he was serving
20:02
a federal prison sentence had never had
20:05
much sympathy for Tommy due to his
20:07
unpredictable nature some believe that
20:10
when vario learned about Tommy's attempt
20:12
to assault Karen it was the Lost
20:15
straw however these are only theories
20:19
and we may never know the full story of
20:22
Tommy desimone's Final
20:24
hours it was thought that Tommy had been
20:27
buried in a reputed Mafia graveyard on
20:30
the border of Brooklyn and Queens near
20:32
John F Kennedy Airport where the bodies
20:35
of other Mobsters were recovered by the
20:37
police in 2004 however Tommy desimone's
20:41
remains have never been found if you
20:44
enjoyed the story of desimone's life
20:46
don't forget to like subscribe and hit
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