Yes Henry Hill is a scumbag but there's still people alive today who were associated with the story behind Goodfellas who also said it's very accurate. Maybe the Mafiosi today are scum, but back then they were not, they were good people back then but the newer generations of Mafiosi don't uphold the same rules and honor as the older generations did. As for the Black Hand, yes they did collect money from shopkeepers, but most shopkeepers probably were not Italian depending on the location. In Sicily the Mafia would protect for no cost, but in the US the Mafia did put a price on protection, if people wanted protection they would pay the Mafia money, if they didn't pay the Mafia money for that protection yes they would get hurt in some way, I'm sure many people who are hired to protect certain people would get pissed if they weren't paid for all that protection they're giving, it's not necessarily a bad thing, it makes sense why the Mafia would hurt people if they weren't paid.