Gina also got married and started her own family. Hill later did a 180, claiming that Sherry was never pregnant, and they were never even married. The day before he went to Lewisburg, the same day my mother was telling my little sister that he was going away for a while, he went out drinking with his friends. With each move, came new identities. That was still better than the Plymouth Duster with the bald tires we had to rent one time from some low-budget lot. 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 Sherry asked the woman, Do you know Martin Lewis? She replied, Yeah, hes my husband.. I was in first grade at P.S. Daughter of Henry Hill. , updated by Gregg Hill (Author), Gina Hill (Author) 344 ratings Kindle $11.99 Read with Our Free App Hardcover $28.79 64 Used from $2.36 12 New from $24.85 2 Collectible from $14.00 Paperback $18.93 6 Used from $8.11 6 New from $17.81 Mass Market Paperback $3.04 12 Used from $3.04 Bracco did not meet with Hill prior to filming. Her name was actually Karen Hill, and the woman was tired of being moved around by marshals and being played by her husband. Karen has remained out of the limelight since the family came out of the Witness Protection Program. My mother explained it to me in pretty blunt terms, considering how old I was. She has two sisters, Ellen and Cheryl. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Find your friends on Facebook. I began this blog to simply tell part of my father's story through my eyes. Over the years, he would fly to New York to testify against Paul Vario and Jimmy Burke, his old accomplices. And so, Hill was released on probation. As they headed to Nevada for a quickie wedding, Sherry was on cloud nine. The born and bred New Yorkers were now hosting impromptu polo matches in their fields. Sign Up. Karen was now left to fend for herself as she received no support from Henry's so-called gangster associates. Isnt that special?. And then wed get to the prison. Hill even managed to swindle the governor of the state he was hiding in: John Y. Between 1955 and 1980, Hill was associated with the Lucchese crime family. He started groping her in the front seat and my mom told him to stop but he didnt so she slapped him. 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 . My dad was always buying me dolls. Not long into their marriage, his behavior grew more erratic. 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. Thats how she said it: Daddy has to go away for a little while. It was late in the afternoon, and she was leaning down so her face was close to mine and I could smell her perfume. Nick was around so often that he struck up a romance with Samantha, the roommate. 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. We lived on the third floor, overlooking the pool, and I shared a bedroom with my brother. 'The electricity during those months was just absolutely volatile, just screaming,' Kellum toldPearl and Nichols. Finally, through a religious loophole Karen was able to get the marriage annulled. They beat the state case, and now the feds are going after him, she said. Married to a mobster, Karen tried to maintain any form of normalcy in her chaotic life. It is thought that during the first year Hill and his family spent in witness protection, he continued to enjoy several illicit affairs, all the while continuing his criminal dealings - which forced the FBI to repeatedly move them around to different locations. It got to the point where one day, Hills wife picked up the phone and received a blunt warning: Tell Marty hes dead.. 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. Prior to that, he had become embroiled in underworld gambling at a race track near his temporary home in Kentucky. Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 - June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant.Hill testified against his former Mafia associates, resulting in 50 convictions, including those of caporegime (captain) Paul Vario and fellow associate James Burke . 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. Every time Hill was busted by local authorities, he and his family had to relocate so as to keep them off the mafia radar, and within the first year of their time in the program, the Hills had moved from Omaha, Nebraska, to Independence, Kentucky, then to the sleepy town of Redmond, Washington. The events of their lives were chronicled in the 1990 film Goodfellas and several books. Truck hijackings were a favorite thing for him and Uncle Jimmy, stealing a load of goods that they could fence below wholesale, which was all pure profit for them. In 1989, Henry and Karen divorced after 25 years of marriage. Read an excerpt. Born on June 11, 1943, in the tough Brownsville area of New York, Hill was the fifth of seven children and the first son to his Sicilian mother Carmella and his father, also called Henry. Sherry would lie to herself it was the stress of a new relationship, thats all. He's my husband. Ted was taken aback by Karen's behavior, and he gave up the attempt to force her. The guards made her take everything out and then they searched the bag with a baton and a miniature flashlight. My father thought it was funny, eating at Godfathers Pizza, and maybe it was funny, Gregg wrote. Maybe it was because we were so young, but my mother always told us that my father wasnt a real criminal. Gram probably knew it was stolen, but she never asked, so my dad never had to answer. The rest of the book details how Hill kept on breaking the rules of the governments Witness Protection Program, and as a result, the Feds had to keep re-locating Hills family to different locations to keep them safe. The film revolves around the life of Henry Hill, who was a notorious New York gangster and his wife, Karen. With this, Karen went into panic mode. Burke wanted Janet to find Hill and get as much dirt as on the governments star witness to discredit his testimony. Her roommate ran into him in town. 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. G.M. For example, there is a scene where a neighbor named Ted tried to force himself on Karen when she was dating Henry. 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. His father, Grandpa Hill, beat him with a belt when he found out; he was an honest man, an Irish electrician with a Sicilian wife raising eight kids my father and his five sisters and two younger brothers in a walk-up. No one asked why it was so urgent for him to leave the country. But when he drank, he was a loudmouth, which was how Karen heard about the pregnancy. In line with his eternal luck, Hill was rescued by the FBI. Against his fathers wishes Hill got in with the mafia crowd aged 11 when he started hanging around with the infamous Lucchese family. She was in her mid-twenties and said her name was Janet. Anders said her initial reaction was to say no - insisting that she had to work that day - however her beau of less than two months quickly convinced her otherwise, and they packed up her car and, along with her then-13-year-old son Kris, drove to Virginia City, Nevada, where they tied the knot. The marriage was finally over. As much as she tried to move on, Hill was always in her thoughts; she couldnt get him out of her mind. The couple had two kids Gregg and Gina. In "On the Run: A Mafia Childhood," Gregg and Gina Hill tell their story of life as the children of "Goodfellas" mobster Henry 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. I got smacked at home, I got smacked at school, he said later. In the book, Gregg and Gina discuss how their maternal grandparents, and Karen's two younger sisters, Cheryl and Ellen, helped take care of them, when Karen and Henry were out dealing in crime.Henry died in 2012. This is Henry Hill. She told the voice on the phone, No you arent. This is me and my brother, Gregg Hill. Hes a married man! Gram would scream. While Henry . If I had a headache, the drive was even more unbearable. Henry Hill, Jr. (June 11, 1943 - June 12, 2012) was a New York City mobster. Sherry was dumbfounded. Seven weeks after that fateful night in the Mexican restaurant, Hill/Marty just came out with it. I was never so scared in my life, Sherry later recalled. To Sherry, she looked like a young Katharine Hepburn. He stole, fenced, bootlegged, loan-sharked, and extorted. In 2006, at the encouragement of Liotta, Hill entered rehabilitation to combat his drug addiction problems. I hated being poor, which we were since my father had gone to prison, and I hated even looking like we were poor. Funnily enough, in a way that fit his lack of concern, his latest identity combined the names of his favorite comics: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Henry Hill died of a heart attack in 2012 eight years after On the Run was written. She suffered a miscarriage; likely due to the incredible amount of stress she was under. As for Henry Hill, he continued on his downward spiral. 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. 'Isaid, "You know, I hope that's not a red flag, but there's something kind of creepy about him."'. I have work. It was his smile that damn smile that always worked on her. When Sherry was turning to Karen for support, she let slip the fact that a private eye had been investigating her for months. The electricity during those months was just absolutely volatile, just screaming. Raised a Mormon in rural Washington, the single mom was nave, if anything. His notorious smile kept the girls from asking any further questions. Then we went up a set of wide stone steps into the building, where we got in line with everyone else who had a father or a brother or a son locked up in Lewisburg. The book covers both the remembrances of the Hill children prior to their entry into WITSEC and their subsequent adventures. As for what he told his buddies at the bar, his cover was classic: he worked for the CIA. Then he went back to Karen and handed over the gun to her and told her to hide it. The federal penitentiary at Lewisburg was a big beige block with a tower in the center near the front where I could see a guard with a military rifle slung over his shoulder. 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. One time, his dad even pulled a gun on a cook. Worse, he behaved like it was some mobster joint back in New York City. See Photos. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. Along the way he peddled cookbooks, travel guides, posters anything for a buck, anything to relive, just for an instant, his days of glittering infamy. He violently pushed her out of his car and drove away. Hill was now going by the name Martin Lewis. And then my mom told me he was going away. There stood Karen, furious as can be, and she started beating Sherry with the same phone. When Karen found out her husband was a bigamist, Hill gave her this incredible excuse; Dont worry; it means nothing. Hill's arrest in 1980 by Nassau County narcotics officers officially marked the end of his life in the Lucchese family. As for Nick, the co-writer, he knew of the danger of his involvement with the mobster. Henry Hill then became an informant to the FBI, which caused Karen and the children to enter the Witness Protection Program, where they were given new identities and lived in numerous locations through the 1980s. He started betting on Kentucky horses. - The Mob: The Addict Who Took Down the Mafia (2021) . Did she know of his past, his family, his involvement as an informant? Whenever she drove, it was like she was being chased, speeding down back streets and constantly checking her mirrors. 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. 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. Hills prediction was right: it was a bestseller. 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 Hills werent given a choice of where to live, so they ended up in Omaha, Nebraska. Hed say, Whaddya want, Princess? and Id say, Barbies swimming pool! or something like that, and the next day or the day after, hed bring it home. He had a few cover stories under his belt, about how he worked for the government (not so far from the truth). The next morning, Karen noticed he wasnt home. They started double dating (with Vivian and her husband) and Hill always made an impression with his 100-dollar tips. What was once a general underlying anxiety was now full-fledged panic. But the heist turned up the heat on all the guys connected with it. Most of the time the two versions are totally different. Karen is initially troubled by Henry's criminal activities, but she is eventually drawn to the glamorous lifestyle that comes with being a mobster's wife. The events of their lives were portrayed in various novels and the 1990 film Goodfellas. [2] Early life [ edit] Henry Hill. In 1955, Hill began to warm up to Paul Vario by running some errands for the mafioso at Vario's meat stores,. Anders said: 'Heres wife Number One and wife Number Two. I was already used to my dad being away. He torched a few buildings. 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.. I knew it was a bad sign when we needed to be towed up the exit ramp of the parking lot at the Howard Johnsons Motor Lodge. Sherry accepted his apology. By the son and daughter of Henry Hill - immortalised in the book Wiseguy and the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas - On The Run is the harrowing account of a childhood spent coping with an explosive father whilst dodging Mafia payback. In walked a likable 38-year-old guy who appeared at their table and introduced himself as Martin Lewis. When Hill and Anders split Janet approached his second wife for help. So, he became an informant. She managed to flee by car. Im done with Sherry, she said in an interview. I wanted to visit my dad right away. Her Husband was an associate of the Lucchese crime family. When Hill came under federal protection, his wife, Karen, and their two children did too. Brains, not beauty, solves cases, Janet would say in interviews. Suddenly, a man who never knew life outside of the mob, was walking the streets as one of us. I dont want anything to do with you! she yelled when she saw him. She was mesmerized with the glitz and glamour of being a gangster's wife who was involved in organized crime and the life his earning potential can buy her. Disorder in the household turned into utter mayhem. That was my mom, trying to make something very big sound very small. The scar on my mothers face never completely healed. 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. She lost the suit and the judge even ordered her to pay Hills legal fees. Some of the other thefts were easier: Theyd just walk into a garage and steal the truck, or theyd buy off the driver so hed leave his keys in the cab when he stopped for coffee. When Sherry came home from work that day, the man she was hiding from the man who threatened to have her killed was sitting in her living room. 220, and maybe a little precocious. But he didnt try hard enough. In the film, Karen Hill was portrayed as a woman with a sense of rationalizing everything her husband Henry had done. See Photos. Thats no way for a married man to behave! So my parents moved in and out, depending on how much money they had. But by this point Anders was pregnant and flatly refused. And again, Sherry escaped. Kaylen Martin would frequently get into her old Ford Pinto and drive, just to get away from it all. Unfortunately, Hill later discovered the only reason the girl married Hill was because she thought he had money. At the end of the movie Goodfellas, in which Henry Hill was portrayed by handsome actor Ray Liotta, Hill is in the Witness Protection Program in an unnamed locale, which looked like some out-of-the-way place called something like Hicksville so unlike where Hill committed endless crimes (New York City) and enjoyed being one of the Wiseguys (the book about Hills life was actually named Wiseguys but was changed to Goodfellas for the movie.). Hill died at a hospital in Los Angeles in June 2012 having suffered a heart attack brought on by years of smoking, a habit he blamed on his nerves. They would hang around the house, drinking and writing. Janet Christensen had been watching Sherry for weeks and actually felt bad for the woman so much so that she almost broke protocol and spilled the beans to her in the salon. He was eventually removed from the general inmate population. They had a son named Justin, but in 1997, Hill and Dawn, now living in California, became totally out of control with their drug use. Hed been locked up a few times since Id been born, once for seventeen months; my mom took me to visit him in the Nassau County jail when I was about four. Listed below are some pieces of my father's life that I will share on this blog and a small description of what was going on in his life during the time. Sherry may have been nave, but she was no aggressor. After their divorce, he remarried and had another child. While he was worried about making any disturbances at work, his dad would be getting hammered at the bar. I couldnt help but stare back and wonder what they must be thinking: New York hood on the run from the Mob.. 'I'm Marty Lewis, and this is my first wife. 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