Turnbull some time back added an interesting comment surrounding the reliability of Henry Hill's story surrounding Billy Batts. I think it was something like there was no record online about "Billy Batts"...however there was something on a mobster named William Battista who went into the WPP around the same time as Billy Batts was whacked. Does anyone have an opinion on this, or any information about it?


Also, what are the odds that Henry really didn't kill anybody in all those years working with Jimmy and Tommy? It's very plausible that he was just a good earner, but given the amount of scepticism regarding Hill's truthfulness, does anyone believe that he's telling the truth when he claims to have never killed?

Not entirely true. Check out the link below:

THOMAS DESIMONE INFO

Very interesting. Thats why I love this website.So much information...

I remember this pic in the book written by Hill's kids. Looks a lot like Pesci. :p

http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=105

Wow..I'm always curious about Henry Hill's children and ex-wife...Where can I get information on the kids book?

They say if you read this book, you'll hate Hill a lot more.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/044652770X/qid=1126318102/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104- 7384501-8753507?v=glance&s=books

The photo section is great. The real Karen looked a lot like Bracco.

Is there some way you can see the photos on that link? I could only find the front and back cover shots.

Interesting, so Batts was based on Ronald Jerrothe? But why did it not state so in the book, which made no efforts to cover up any other criminal name?

SC, that link you sent me was great. However, I do want to hear what Turnbull has to say on the matter, given that information. It's one of those grey areas.

Well, what we saw in "Goodfellas" was that Tommy D killed "Billy Batts," a made man, because Batts was breaking his coglione. A colorful and dramatic story. But this is a very sketchy business because, like everything else in Mobdom, it's almost impossible to discern the truth. And "truth" is something that is in very short supply from Henry Hill, who is the source for this tall tale.
Hill said that "Billy Batts" was based on Ronald Jerrothe. But the movie Billy Batts was a made man, and Jerrothe appeared to be a hanger-on in the Gambinos. Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain, in their book "Mob Star - The Story of John Gotti," spell his name as Jerogae, and claim that his nickname was "Foxy." They say Tommy DiSimone killed him in an argument over a girl. Not as dramatic a story as the one that Hill told. What's more, their tale shows DiSimone as a hanger-on in the Gambino family, not the Luccheses, where Hill and Burke were associates.
Another hanger-on in Gotti's crew was William Battista, whose name suggests "Billy Batts." According to Mustain and Capeci, Batts was a gambling proprietor and sometimes hijacker. He hijacked a truck while the driver was in a diner having coffee (sound familiar?). They suggest, but don't out-and-out claim, that Battista was the famous "Source BQ," who fed info to Diane Giacalone, the prosecutor in Gotti's RICO trial. Battista disappeared after Gotti was acquitted. Doesn't sound much like a made man like the movie Billy Batts.