Soon, Gregg got married and started his own family. They knew Hill was going to go to a dance club, so Sherry and Karen walked in arm and arm. Sherrys next move was breaking the bad news to her mother, who adored her son-in-law, and to her son, Kris, who was heartbroken. At least in New York, she could hide most of the dirt behind humor and carefully placed words. Hed been running with mobsters for more than half his life, since he was eleven years old and started cutting school to hang out at Uncle Paulies cabstand in the Brownsville East section of Brooklyn. 21:30 GMT 26 May 2022 He started groping her in the front seat and my mom told him to stop but he didnt so she slapped him. She is an American socialite, known for her involvement in the mafia through her husband Henry Hill. And Hill was everywhere she couldnt hide from him. Sherry had no clue. Whats my sons name? she asked him. It was a long ride, five and a half hours, too long to feel comfortable in a car, especially with two dogs dozing in the backseat with my little sister. It was Janet. In fact, in his 2004 bookGangsters and Goodfellas: The Mob, Witness Protection, and Life on the Run, Hill recounted a conversation he had with a friend about his second marriage - in which he insisted that it didn't count as 'bigamy' because he had tied the knot, not as Henry Hill, but as Martin Lewis. Lorraine Bracco depicted Karen Hill in the film Goodfellas, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The problem now was that the Hills were kicked out of the Witness Protection program, based on continued arrests and breaches of security. Hill was dealing drugs, which led to his arrest in a DEA sting. He married his then-girlfriend Dawn, who was a degenerate junkie like Hill. According to Gina and Gregg, Hill spent his days at the racetrack gambling and his nights drinking. http://www.amazon.com/Mobsters-Gangs-Crooks-Creeps-ebook/dp/B006H99D1U/ref=zg_bs_11010_5, I never thought that I could enjoy a book about mob rat Henry Hill, but this one written by his son, Gregg, and his daughter, Gina, kept my interest and gave me a vivid account of two poor kids on the run.. Sherry went with Janet to see Goodfellas in theaters when it came out. It was during his relationship with Anders that Hill began working on his book Wiseguys - whichwould inspire the 1990 Martin Scorsese crime classic Goodfellas in which he was played by Liotta alongside Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci. Their divorce was finalized in 2002. She has two sisters, Ellen and Cheryl. How a man could do so much harm to his own family is shocking; even sickening. Sherry threw all my clothes out of her second-story bedroom window right into a pile of snow. He told others that he was an insurance investigator for arson cases (completely fake, but he had some experience with torching places down). He bought a foosball table for the basement and cooked everyone hearty Italian food. Im probably leaving out a few things too, like arson. He torched a few buildings. Sherry may have been nave, but she was no aggressor. 2022 History by Day all rights reserved, This Man Dug a Hole in His Backyard. Gregg, in his early teens, thoroughly hated his father and his fathers deceptive and downright mean machinations, while Gina, a few years younger, was more of a Daddys Girl, until she eventually smartened up too. And like all gangsters, he acted like he owned the world. He was back off the wagon drinking, drugging risking his cover while his family did everything they could to lay low. His greatest success, the heist that made him a minor legend in the New York underworld, was burglarizing an Air France strong room at Kennedy Airport in 1967 and walking out with $480,000. Hills last major job with his gang was the Lufthansa heist at John F Kennedy airport in New York in December 1978, which netted them a then-record $5.875 million. Hills death came 34 years after his last major job with his gang: the Lufthansa heist at John F Kennedy airport in New York in December 1978, which netted them a then-record $5.875 million. Karen first met her future husband, Henry through mutual friends. Read an excerpt. The details of my fathers line of work were sketchy to me when I was eight. It helps, but is not necessary, to have read Wiseguy (I haven't) or seen Goodfellas (I have, multiple times). Hill even managed to swindle the governor of the state he was hiding in: John Y. Conway and Henry Hill during the 1960s. Whenever she drove, it was like she was being chased, speeding down back streets and constantly checking her mirrors. Her friend Vivian Walsh, who owned the salon Sherry worked in, had a bad feeling about Martin from the moment he walked into the salon to visit Sherry. And so, she pulled Hill by the collar and dragged him to Sherrys house with papers in hand. That gangster, shed say, only shed spit out the words. There were twenty-two hundred men inside, some of the worst criminals in the federal system. Read an excerpt. But nobody got hurt, and those bastards just kept coming after him until they convicted him of something.. When Hill showed up to find all of his stuff buried under snow, he raised all hell. She had met her true love. I looked around the apartment. All the while, Anders was blissfully unaware that her new husband was leading a double life and had another wife and two children of his own at home. She was crying just a little. Ever since, Id suffered migraines, maybe once a week or so. Karen got officially separated from Henry in 1989, and she filed for divorce in 1990, which got finalized in the year 2002. Brains, not beauty, solves cases, Janet would say in interviews. What was once a general underlying anxiety was now full-fledged panic. After he and Karen divorced, Karen went off the grid. I had a much different childhood than most children, for starters, I and my brother grew up in the Witness Protection Program; however, this blog is about my father, not us. This is a copy of the contract my father signed when he agreed to become an FBI informant in exchange for protection from his crew. It was only a matter of time until Hill landed in prison. As a host and someone who has been in that world,. In April 1981, months before he arrived in Washington and met Anders, Hill had been arrested for getting into a fight with a woman he was thought to have been having an affair with while living in Kentucky. Copyright 2004 by Gregg Hill and Gina Hill. The man was flirting with disaster. My mother explained it to me in pretty blunt terms, considering how old I was. He's my husband. He went out every night dressed in sharp suits and stayed out until dawn if he came home at all, and he always had money to throw around, twenty for the doorman, fifty for the waiter. And here comes my second wife, he bragged when she walked up to him. Before he could properly get kicked out of Sherrys house, he passed out. I began this blog to simply tell part of my father's story through my eyes. When my parents first got married, in 1965, they lived with my grandparents, my moms parents, in Valley Stream, on Long Island. ', And when Hill turned up later he found his two wives in the home he shared with Karen. His thriving business made the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer he was seen in a photo with a perm and a fake mustache, clearly trying to escape the photographers frame. She wiped the tears from her eyes and streaks of mascara from her cheeks. Back in Washington, Sherry had to get back to work. But the heist turned up the heat on all the guys connected with it. This book is told from two perspectives, where Gregg first gives his version of what happened and his feeling about what they were going through, and then Gina gives her versions. She once told me a story about how, after theyd been dating for a couple of months, this boy from her neighborhood, Ted, someone shed known her whole life, took her for a ride in his Corvette one afternoon and made a pass at her. What he lacked in the looks department he made up for with his charisma. I guess I had my dads charm. Making friends was hard given that they couldnt reveal much about their lives. He was always on the phone, walking around the house, dragging the long spiral cord behind him. But when he arrived in Washington, Hill was able to wipe his slate clean - or at the very least overhaul the image he was presenting to the world. Vivian had always been protective of Sherry, who had a knack for choosing the wrong men. As Sherry started cutting Janets curly blond hair, the two chatted you know, a typical salon conversation. They were acquitted in that case. I had a few fancy birthday parties after that one clowns, magicians, ponies, the whole thing. Im done with Sherry, she said in an interview. It always took a little while to get past the guards. When Hill (played by Ray Liotta) said that Karen (played by Lorraine Bracco) looked just like Elizabeth Taylor, Sherry felt chills down her spine as Hill had used the same line with her. In other words, he thought he had a permanent get out of jail free card.. Written with Sean Flynn, the siblings tell their story of life with a mobster father and the realities of being in witness protection. The journal entry on this blog is one that my father wrote in his personal journal. Just a temporary situation. My mom used that expression for everything bad that happened. He got mad and threw her out of the car, miles from home, and tore off so fast that the tires threw gravel in her face. People named Gina Hill. Theyd get a tip from one of the guys on the loading docks at Kennedy Airport whenever a good load was going out, and theyd follow the driver until he stopped at a red light. Though it is speculated that Henry Hill's had five children, our research could only point us clearly to Gina and Gregg who were born to him by his first wife Karen and were 11 and 13 years in May 1980 when they entered into witness protection program with their parents and had to change their identities and locations as well as cut ties with Not long into their marriage, his behavior grew more erratic. The man who Anders knew as the charming and charismatic Martin was in fact a married mafia informant with a large target on his back, who had a wife and two children living just a few miles from where he and his second spouse met. It is not known where she is now. Charlie Lankston For Dailymail.com, said, "You know, I hope that's not a red flag, but there's something kind of creepy about him. The authors were Gregg Hill and Gina Hill, described as "Son and Daughter of 'Wiseguy' Henry Hill". Eight years old, and I had to get past an armed guard to see my father. Unfortunately, Hill later discovered the only reason the girl married Hill was because she thought he had money. Gina also got married and started her own family. Her name was actually Karen Hill, and the woman was tired of being moved around by marshals and being played by her husband. Hill immediately got drunk and started cursing out loud in front of the local yokels. But the family were still taken out of the witness protection program 'based upon continued arrests and breaches of security'. Still, there were those close to Anders who voiced their doubts about her sudden infatuation with Hill, with salon owner Vivian Walsh, who owned the space where Anders rented a chair, warning that there was 'something kind of creepy about him'. Janet meant real trouble for her family. Karen Hill eventually confessed to her daughter Gina that it was the fascination and glamour of the criminal lifestyle that attracted her to Henry. After Karen kicked out her husband for good and got a divorce, Gina Scott went back to New York City and attended New York University. Kaylen Martin would frequently get into her old Ford Pinto and drive, just to get away from it all. Self - Henry Hill's Daughter. Her neighbor, an older man named Corkie, let Sherry and her son hide in his cabin in the woods on Lake Crescent. I began this blog to simply tell part of my father's story through my eyes. Most girls would have been terrified at a similar situation if they had to find their man covered in blood and holding a gun. She even ended her friendship with Samantha, whom Hill told her he slept with one night (he never did). My father had a hard time in school because he was dyslexic he didnt learn to read until he was sent to prison, and he still cant recite the alphabet without singing that song kindergarteners learn and he had a harder time at home because of his troubles at school. The newspaper article on this blog is the very same one that my father stumbled upon to find the Cabstand job that started his segway into the mafia life. The Feds also changed the familys last name again: this time to Scott. It explained a lot, like how her roommate found a mayonnaise jar filled with a white powdery substance that could only be described as an illegal narcotic. Uncle Paulie let us use his car once, a big cream-colored Lincoln Town Car that rode like it was on a cloud. "', 'I am utterly shattered': Ray Liotta's devastated Goodfellas co-star Lorraine Bracco leads tributes as Hollywood reacts to his shock death at age 67, 'He was way too young': Robert De Niro, 78, pays tribute to Goodfellas co-star Ray Liotta, 67, who died in his sleep next to his fiancee in Dominican Republic hotel while shooting new film Dangerous Waters, Ray Liotta's last film: Goodfella's star was shooting thriller Dangerous Waters with Eric Dane about 'a teen uncovering her mother's dark past' before he died in the Dominican Republic. Mafia turncoat Henry Hill and his two children are interviewed. Hill was now going by the name Martin Lewis. The next day, Michael was fired. Henry Hill was an FBI informant whose life was immortalized by the 1990 movie Goodfellas, where he was played by Ray Liotta. Sherry and her roommate were seated at a table in the Mexican restaurant. She managed to flee by car. And his connections. Heres wife Number One and wife Number Two, Sherry announced. She was leading an ordinary life at that time and was working at a New York dental office. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Lured by power and money, Hill gradually became more entrenched with the family and while his half-Sicilian genes his father was Irish meant he could never be a fully-fledged member of the family, he was able to be an associate. LOS ANGELES - Henry Hill spent much of his life as a "goodfella," believing his last moment would come with a bullet to the back of his head. The truth was, as I found out later, somebody did get hurt. But Karen thought it was a sexy thing to do. My mother always brought a big bag jammed with all kinds of stuff. Actor: Sinatra Club. The Hills werent given a choice of where to live, so they ended up in Omaha, Nebraska. Nearly broke, Sherry had no choice but to take her son to her hometown and move in with her parents. Gregg ultimately became a successful attorney. In the fall of 1981, Hill walked into El Toreador, his favorite spot where he found both of his vices in one package. Find your friends on Facebook. Her dreams did come true as the film showed her transition from just an ordinary woman to the gangsters wealthy wife. Usually, though, we were in our beat-up Oldsmobile Toronado, the car we got after my father accidentally dropped a lit cigarette in the front seat of our 1969 Chrysler Newport, causing it to go up in flames. One day, Hill announced that the four of them were going on an impromptu trip to Canada immediately. Associated Press. As usual, Hill was drunk. Dad had a union card, and the bricklayers supposedly paid him $135 a week, but he didnt even pretend to work a normal job. In the Afterword of the On the Run Greg Scott wrote, In the 1990s, after he (Henry Hill) squandered whatever money he made off the book and the movie, he was in and out of prison on an assortment of charges and parole violations. According to Anders' then-roommate Samantha Kellum, who was with her when she met Hill for the first time, their chemistry was 'electric' and clearly evident to all those around them. Hill was sent to prison. Late gangster Henry Hill - who was portrayed by Liotta in Martin Scorcese's hit 1990 movie - was taken into the FBI's witness protection program with his wife Karen and their two children, Gail and Michael, in 1980 after helping to jail members of his infamous mafia gang. Theyre not going to miss this little hairdresser from Bellevue, theyre going to come in and blow you away, he told her. Jimmy Burke usually tucked a fifty in the guys shirt pocket for his trouble; thats where he got his nickname, The Gent. In the midst of Karens threats to Sherry over the phone, Sherry told Hill that she was pregnant. It was here that he participated in the murder and burial of a fellow mobster. But I wasnt in a laughing mood. For the third time in a year and a half, the Hills were moved again. In 2006, at the encouragement of Liotta, Hill entered rehabilitation to combat his drug addiction problems. She was born in New York and raised in the Five Towns area of . The creature was emaciated and neglected, so after climbing the fence and entering the property, she crept into the barn and grabbed hold of Teriyaki, the horses name. Henry Hill's business partner, Jimmy Burke has whacked every person who could possibly implicate him in the infamous Lufthansa robbery at JFK airport. The electricity during those months was just absolutely volatile, just screaming. Raised a Mormon in rural Washington, the single mom was nave, if anything. Even though born to a middle-class family, Karen was ambitious about life, and she enjoyed the perks of marrying Henry Hill. Im sure she never used the word prison, and it wouldnt have mattered because I was only six years old and wouldnt have known what prison was. Henry Hill continued to be the same reprobate he always had been. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. Announcing his death, Hills girlfriend Lisa Casserta said he struggled with alcoholism. At any rate, in 2004 another book addressing the Henry Hill saga appeared. That was my mom, trying to make something very big sound very small. He ran numbers and sold bootlegged cigarettes out of his car. 'The electricity during those months was just absolutely volatile, just screaming,' Kellum toldPearl and Nichols. Hill had to borrow money from her in between his installments from the publisher. While Henry . If youre wondering if Janet was Hills wife, she wasnt. While Tony wasnt a member of any crime family, he refused to turn states evidence on any of his friends and associates, even when staring jail time square in the face. After hearing about the incident, Henry decided to take revenge. Id have to stay in a dark room with a cold compress tied around my head. But he didnt try hard enough. Henry Hill, Jr. (June 11, 1943 - June 12, 2012) was a New York City mobster. The marshals in charge of keeping Hill alive were constantly shaking their heads, but Hill was a tad delusional. We lived on the third floor, overlooking the pool, and I shared a bedroom with my brother. My dad had a dangerous side too, and I think Mom liked that, the whole outlaw mystique. Throughout his time spent working for the infamous Lucchese crime family, Hill, who wed his first wife Karen in 1965, was known to have had multiple mistresses. As for Sherry, shes now around 70 years old and goes by Scarlett. Childhood," a joint memoir published in 2004, his son Gregg (who was 13 when the family went underground) and his daughter, Gina (who was 11), recounted their . Janet and two other female detectives at the agency were dubbed Charlies Angels. Gregg Hill remembered the trips to visit their father in Lewisburg while he was incarcerated there. Pistol-whipped him! On the way home in a blinding snowstorm, the wheels slipped on a curve and threw the Duster into a spin, bouncing one side off the guardrail, then whipping around so the other side smashed it too. Finding steady work at a local morning show in Seattle, she moved to the city. In 2006, at the encouragement of Liotta, Hill announced that the Hills werent a. S story through my eyes got officially separated from Henry in 1989 and. The racetrack gambling and his nights drinking in that world, but to take her son to her Gina... Ford Pinto and drive, just to get away from it all Hill appeared... 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