It began to snow and soon enough, all of his stuff was buried under the white. I was never so scared in my life, Sherry later recalled. Later on, my father used to brag that hed bought off the guards so that my mother could smuggle things in, but it didnt seem like it at the time. 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. G.M. I hated being poor, which we were since my father had gone to prison, and I hated even looking like we were poor. The private detective had been hired by a New York law firm to look into Henry Hill, who was rumored to be in Washington. Kaylen replied: 'Yeah. She found him at the bar next door. 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. Im going to bash Sherrys face in, and then Im going to beat your father, Karen replied. What do you mean? He wasnt the kind of man they wanted their oldest daughter to end up with, but he could be awfully charming. That is where this book by Gregg and Gina Hill comes into play. 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. They were moved to Independence, Kentucky, and were given new identities. And Hill didnt just bring along his wife and kids; he tried to take two of his mistresses into protection, too. Once a migraine started, I was done for the day. Karen today continues to use an alias to protect her identity, as do her two children, Gregg and Gina. Sherry came with a small handgun in her purse, just in case, and asked her friend to call the police if she didnt hear from her by 2 p.m. At the diner, seeing a table of uniformed cops offered her some relief. Henry Hill was an FBI informant whose life was immortalized by the 1990 movie Goodfellas, where he was played by Ray Liotta. Henry Hill, Jr. (June 11, 1943 - June 12, 2012) was a New York City mobster. 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. After he and Karen divorced, Karen went off the grid. Their design and construction work history include an array of governmental, institutional, commercial, and private-sector projects. And again, Sherry escaped. Gina also got married and started her own family. The next day, Michael was fired. 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. When I was five, my mother made a left turn into a gas station in Island Park in front of a drunk driver who was speeding. Karen first met her future husband, Henry through mutual friends. She suffered a miscarriage; likely due to the incredible amount of stress she was under. But he didnt try hard enough. His romance with Anders imploded just months after it had begun when his first wife Karen, who was living under the alias Kaylen, learned of their affair and confronted her husband's new spouse. Karen Friedman Hill (born January 16, 1946) [1] is an American woman known for her involvement in the American Mafia through her husband Henry Hill, who was an associate of the Lucchese crime family. Suddenly, a man who never knew life outside of the mob, was walking the streets as one of us. Today, Karen and her two children, Gina and Gregg continue to use an alias to protect their identity. Burke wanted Janet to find Hill and get as much dirt as on the governments star witness to discredit his testimony. It was almost as if he had come to believe his own hype, bought into his own scam, convinced himself that, yeah, it was really like a movie.. You can imagine the look on Hills face when he came home to see both his wives talking at the kitchen table. The small and striking brunette, 31, was a beautician who grew up around horses and knew her way around the track. I could never understand why my mother always brought so much with her. Sherry was in the shower, and just like the scene from Psycho, the curtains were viciously pulled back. Their lives were far from normal. Marty was the fun and spontaneous one, and they just wanted to go along for the ride. Stealing was second nature to my father. Its not easy getting up on the stand, he later said of turning his back on his ex-mentors. As a result, the state took away their son. On the Run is a terrific read, but quite disturbing. They poked through everything with their batons, and they glared at us, like we were the criminals instead of the men inside. The marriage was finally over. 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. Over the years, he would fly to New York to testify against Paul Vario and Jimmy Burke, his old accomplices. Janet and a few members of her team used disguises when necessary; they staked out Sherrys home, salon, and the places she ate and shopped at. 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. My mother always brought a big bag jammed with all kinds of stuff. Those bastards. She made it sound like the government was picking on him over something petty. 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. Ted was taken aback by Karen's behavior, and he gave up the attempt to force her. Her dreams did come true as the film showed her transition from just an ordinary woman to the gangsters wealthy wife. Ever since, Id suffered migraines, maybe once a week or so. He ran numbers and sold bootlegged cigarettes out of his car. Sherry and her roommate were seated at a table in the Mexican restaurant. Sign Up. 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.. They beat the state case, and now the feds are going after him, she said. That package was a woman named Sherry Anders. 2022 History by Day all rights reserved, This Man Dug a Hole in His Backyard. 'But I moved in with her for a short period of time; it didn't last long because I kept going home to Karen and the kids. He started betting on Kentucky horses. Gina Hill. He saw Ted in the driveway, grabbed him by the hair, pulled a gun out of his pocket, and pistol-whipped him. Although he had converted to Judaism for Karen, he was a born Catholic. She was notorious mobster Henry Hill's girlfriend - the dude from Goodfellas who passed away at age 69 yesterday. He torched a few buildings. In 1980 Hill left the life, entered the witness protection program and testified against the mob. This is me and my brother, Gregg Hill. But somewhere deep down, beneath her gullibility, was the womans intuition. She and Hill eventually parted ways, last living together in Rockville Centre. And so, Hill was released on probation. According to Gregg Hill, his father constantly cheated on his wife, Karan, and he even got married again to one of his drug buddies while he was still married to Karen. He married his then-girlfriend Dawn, who was a degenerate junkie like Hill. But the family were still taken out of the witness protection program 'based upon continued arrests and breaches of security'. Karen has remained out of the limelight since the family came out of the Witness Protection Program. Gina flew to Florida, and although Justin was already in a foster home, Gina was able to obtain custody. 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. Secrets & Wives Truly*Adventurous Medium. And she did it with style, too, riding her horses in heels and white clothes. With this, Karen went into panic mode. But what did Hill want from her after all this time? The kid from Brooklyn turned wise guy turned rat, Henry Hill started out running errands for the Lucchese family of mobsters at the age of 11. Henry Hill died in 2012, but Karen is alive and well, according to her husband's former manager, says ABC News. And then wed get to the prison. Janet meant real trouble for her family. She knew something wasnt right. The two women decided to make their unique situation a little more amusing. @page { margin: 2cm } p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; line-height: 120%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2 }. Oct. 14, 2004, 4:51 AM PDT Few areas of. She lost the suit and the judge even ordered her to pay Hills legal fees. Against his fathers wishes Hill got in with the mafia crowd aged 11 when he started hanging around with the infamous Lucchese family. Gina also got married and started her own family. As for Karen she divorced Hill in 1990 and it was finalized in 2002. When Anders asked her: 'Do you know Martin Lewis?' It is not known where she is now. 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. This behavior was partly out of love, and partly out of greed for the luxurious lifestyle, his criminal background gave her. He was eventually removed from the general inmate population. However, we are getting this story from two people closest to Henry Hill: his son and his daughter, so we know it must be the awful truth. The real Henry Hill talking to Karen Hill, Karen and Henry Hills children Gregg and Gina Hill, Karen Hills Portrayal in Goodfellas Movie, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. 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. Anders said: 'Heres wife Number One and wife Number Two. Jimmy Conway's crew took part in the 1967 Air France robbery and the 1978 Lufthansa heist, both of which reaped lucrative rewards; the latter was the most profitable cash robbery in US history. 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. Nobody said anything to him, Gregg wrote. In line with his eternal luck, Hill was rescued by the FBI. As Janet went on and on about the details of Hills secret life, more and more of the puzzle came together for Sherry. Im done with Sherry, she said in an interview. Hill went the other way, and Tony takes him to task for it. Hes MY husband, Sherry told her. Hills prediction was right: it was a bestseller. Henry Hill continued to be the same reprobate he always had been. She stormed out of the house as her daughter called out to her, Mom, what are you doing?. According to Gina and Gregg, Hill spent his days at the racetrack gambling and his nights drinking. The Feds also changed the familys last name again: this time to Scott. Hill immediately got drunk and started cursing out loud in front of the local yokels. Its just temporary, she said. Henry Rafferty, 22, from Hartlepool, Cleveland, died after he was struck by a car while sleeping on the driveway of a house in the town following a night out with friends. I don't think it lasted more than a month, and it brought about an ugly breakup. 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. Gina Hill. Henry Hill, an associate in the . But by this point Anders was pregnant and flatly refused. Everyone in Redmond just figured it was a joke, of course. Conway and Henry Hill during the 1960s. And then my mom told me he was going away. They started double dating (with Vivian and her husband) and Hill always made an impression with his 100-dollar tips. 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. He was busy, after all, writing a book under contract for Simon & Schuster. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Apparently, he had a thing for pistol-whipping. Gregg Hill remembered the trips to visit their father in Lewisburg while he was incarcerated there. Wed 13 Jun 2012 11.51 EDT 50 Henry Hill has died - of natural causes. Sherry stared at her in disbelief this must be a mistake. But while their attraction to one another may well have been authentic, it was one of the only aspects of their fiery romance that was. Henry Hill. He bought a foosball table for the basement and cooked everyone hearty Italian food. She usually fell back on a gambling charge if she got specific at all. As for Henry Hill, he continued on his downward spiral. Sherry wasnt going to sign anything without an attorney. In another jaw-on-the-floor moment, Hill drank himself dumb as he watched his wives have a hell of a night on the dance floor. - Episode dated 11 January 2005 (2005) . 'Isaid, "You know, I hope that's not a red flag, but there's something kind of creepy about him."'. He immediately answered: Kris Gregory Cowin. The two met at a diner in Everett, Washington. Sherry needed to keep her son safe. Things took a nasty turn when Henry received a ten-year sentence for extortion in 1974. Karen knew that Burke and his goons wanted Hill dead. My sister and I had to empty our pockets, and my mother had to hand over her purse to get searched. Book Review On the Run by Gregg and GinaHill. It took quite a while for the DEA officials to confirm that their target Martin Lewis was actually Henry Hill, and when the news broke, choppers were hovering over the Hill house for weeks. Unlike his father, Gregg adored and took special care of his children. 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. Now that Sherry was no longer the target of her investigation, Janet started to sympathize with her and even became her friend. At least, at first. She thought a nice Jewish girl like my mom should have married a doctor or a lawyer, not some hoodlum Catholic from Brooklyn that shed met on a blind date. Hill alleged that Sherry seduced him and kidnapped him (the word he used was f***-napped). Hed been sentenced to ten years on November 3, 1972, but his lawyer kept him out for almost two more years with a long string of appeals. 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. She said Hill had recently made his peace with his family, but I dont think he ever got over his demons. The comments below have not been moderated, By Yet again, he was saved by the government. Henry Hill, Karen, Gregg, Gina. With Janets help, Sherry sued Hill for compensation of the money he siphoned off from her when they were married. 'I'm Marty Lewis, and this is my first wife. On the Run: A Mafia Childhood book by Gina Hill True Crime Books > Organized Crime Books ISBN: 1728732247 ISBN13: 9781728732244 The Devil to Pay (Shayne Davies) (Book #1 in the Shayne Davies Series) by Gina Hill and Gregg Hill See Customer Reviews Select Format Hardcover $5.59 - $6.29 Paperback -- Mass Market Paperback $6.49 - $6.79 Conway spent 1972-1978 in prison for beating up a gambler in Tampa, Florida, and Hill was held at a separate . I married her under the name Scott, Hill told Karen. I think sometimes my grandparents liked my dad in spite of themselves. Sherry accepted his apology. He violently pushed her out of his car and drove away. But in reality, Hill's involvement in the criminal underworld did not end when the credits began rolling, cementing Liotta's name in the history books - nor did his repeated infidelity. Soon enough, Sherry received a phone call. The truth was, as I found out later, somebody did get hurt. Meanwhile, his book with Nick Pileggi, Wiseguy, was published. We are the children of one of the most notorious mobsters turned FBI informants, Henry Hill. No one asked why it was so urgent for him to leave the country. That, and Hills personal involvement in a drug ring, meant the feds were on to him. Vivian had always been protective of Sherry, who had a knack for choosing the wrong men. Soon after, Gregg Hill left home to go out on his own. I said, You know, I hope thats not a red flag, but theres something kind of creepy about him, Vivian later shared. The pain was so bad Id get nauseous, couldnt keep anything down, not even aspirin. See Photos. 21:30 GMT 26 May 2022 In 1955, Hill began to warm up to Paul Vario by running some errands for the mafioso at Vario's meat stores,. Im not sure exactly what my mother told me hed been convicted of, but I know it wasnt the truth. He told Sherry of the Thoroughbreds he owned and raced and showed her a photo of a recent victory. Now, almost 25 years later, Gregg and Gina Hill are breaking their own silence in a new book called "On the Run: A Mafia Childhood. The siblings were invited to discuss the book on Today. Heres an excerpt: GINA: One of my earliest memories of my dad was my mom telling me he was going away. In time, I would grow to hate those words. 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. There would be a guard at the main entrance, an enormous black steel gate, waiting with a massive key, just like in the old movies. She had met her true love. Of course, not. My father would do almost anything to make a score. People named Gina Hill. Brown, the former owner of the Boston Celtics who bought KFC from Colonel Sanders and became the governor of Kentucky. It was titled, On The Run: A Mafia Childhood. Find your friends on Facebook. My dad was always buying me dolls. 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.). Aside from betting at the tracks, he started operating a horse-drawn trolley tour of Cincinnati (making sure to show his passengers the fountain featured in the opening credits of WKRP in Cincinnati). 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. Despite being under the supervision of the Feds, Hill became a violent drug addict and began dealing drugs to support his habit. 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. He told her how much he still loved Sherry and managed to convince her to let him in the house. But I definitely remember the Fairview. After their divorce, he remarried and had another child. Between 1955 and 1980, Hill was associated with the Lucchese crime family. 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 . She didnt want me to know how upset she was. If I had a headache, the drive was even more unbearable. In the end he died at a hospital . They were so young, my dad twenty-two and my mom just nineteen. But once the voice on the phone started suing the F word, she started to reconsider. Uncle Paulie let us use his car once, a big cream-colored Lincoln Town Car that rode like it was on a cloud. Twice Karen is said to have attacked Anders, who told Pearl and Nichols: 'I was never so scared in my life.'. That gangster, shed say, only shed spit out the words. As a host and someone who has been in that world, Tony Delvecchio wont let Henry Hill off the hook so easy. Several sources, including Alchetron, say that Karen runs her own business, but that may only be speculation. All I knew was that my father was in trouble, and I resented him for it. She was leading an ordinary life at that time and was working at a New York dental office. Kaylen Martin would frequently get into her old Ford Pinto and drive, just to get away from it all. In 1980, Hill became an FBI informant, and his testimony helped secure 50 Conviction (s), including those of mob capo (captain) Paul Vario and James . Sherry asked the woman, Do you know Martin Lewis? She replied, Yeah, hes my husband.. It was here that he participated in the murder and burial of a fellow mobster. He bragged about having a Kings X a term for being exempt from the rules of a game. Henry Hill died of a heart attack in 2012 eight years after On the Run was written. On the first night in their new home, the senior Hill, instead of playing it low-key, took his family to Godfathers Pizza and proceed to get drunk and unruly. Over the next couple of years, they moved six times out to Kew Gardens, back in with my grandparents, out to Forest Hills, back to Valley Stream. 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. Against his fathers wishes Hill got in with the mafia crowd aged 11 when he started hanging around with the infamous Lucchese family. I had a friend in the building, and wed go roaming around the hallways, knocking on doors. As for Sherry, she went back to the Hill home to take back the horse she had sent for Hills daughter. So brazen was Hill that he even wore a 'Witness Protection Program' T-shirt while dating Anders. I began this blog to simply tell part of my father's story through my eyes. He told her that he recently dealt with a medical crisis and almost died. But people stared and then they glared. 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. Whereas Hill was doing all the wrong things, Karen went into survival mode. Related: Goodfellas True Story: The Real Life Gangster Morrie . She is an American socialite, known for her involvement in the mafia through her husband Henry Hill. I just married him. But Karen repeated herself: No, hes my husband. Thats when Sherry said, We need to talk. Sherry followed the car to the familys ranch-style home. It's cable reimagined No. She managed to flee by car. The authors were Gregg Hill and Gina Hill, described as "Son and Daughter of 'Wiseguy' Henry Hill". That was my dads greatest asset, his charm. Announcing his death, Hills girlfriend Lisa Casserta said he struggled with alcoholism. She knew that she will go places and can lead an extravagant life if she married him. How a man could do so much harm to his own family is shocking; even sickening. The funny thing is he never even showed up to court. Wide-eyed and jaw on the floor would be correct. Sherry refused to sign them. See Photos. After their meal, she gave him a ride to Barnes & Noble, where she bought a copy of his recently published Wiseguy Cookbook (a collection of his favorite recipes), which he signed for her: Sherry, You are the love of my life, HH., By the time she finished looking at what he wrote to her in the book she just bought, she looked up to see he was gone. Anders, however, was entirely unaware of her husband's dark past - and his murky present - and had no idea that his arrival in her hometown came as the result of the multiple crimes he had committed, not only in New York as a gangster, but in the various other locations where he and his family were squirrelled away by law enforcement. One day shes a dental assistant from a middle-class family on Long Island, and the next shes sipping from a bottle of champagne that Sammy Davis Jr. sent to Dads table at the Copa. But Janet was a professional (albeit only 25 years old) and had a job to do. My head hurt so bad I didnt care how I looked to anyone driving by. Thats who my dad was to me then, a wonderful man who brought me dolls and called me Princess. He had a better ride through the Pennsylvania farmlands than I ever did. There were twenty-two hundred men inside, some of the worst criminals in the federal system. In walked a likable 38-year-old guy who appeared at their table and introduced himself as Martin Lewis. Theyre not going to miss this little hairdresser from Bellevue, theyre going to come in and blow you away, he told her. Ever since the family came out of the Witness Protection Program due to various criminal activities performed by Henry while still in the program, Karen has not appeared in public much. Youre too good for me, he told her one night, drunk. Read an excerpt. After hearing about the incident, Henry decided to take revenge. If youre wondering if Janet was Hills wife, she wasnt. And so, she pulled Hill by the collar and dragged him to Sherrys house with papers in hand. Beyond that was a small courtyard that led to another gate, and another guard would open that one only after the first had been locked, so for a few seconds it was like we were trapped in a cage. Finding steady work at a local morning show in Seattle, she moved to the city. Their divorce was finalized in 2002. According to Henry and Karen's daughter, Gina, in the book On the Run: A Mafia Childhood (via Today), Karen witnessed Henry's dangerous side after an incident with her neighbor. He was put behind bars in 1987 and later claimed he dodged at least two attempts by Vario and Burke goons who were in the same prison to have him killed. When Sherry was turning to Karen for support, she let slip the fact that a private eye had been investigating her for months. 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. He even bragged about his double life to his friends. Please enjoy this small glimpse into the life of a mobster/father that my family and I are able to share. When my parents first got married, in 1965, they lived with my grandparents, my moms parents, in Valley Stream, on Long Island. Wed bring pillows and blankets with us, which made me self-conscious when we pulled into a truck stop or the Perkins House of Pancakes because if anyone saw us they might think we were homeless. The real-life mafia turncoat who was immortalized by late actor Ray Liotta in his breakout role in Goodfellas was a bigamist who repeatedly cheated on his wife while in witness protection, before leaving her and their children to wed a Mormon hairdresser he had known for just seven weeks. As usual, Hill was drunk. In Gangsters and Goodfellas, Hill conceded that his 'attempt at bigamy' had been 'a complete failure', not least because he kept returning to the home that he also shared with first wife Karen and their children. He was on a mission to apologize to all those whom he had wronged in his life. At the house, Sherry went upstairs and tossed all of Hills stuff out the window his expensive pots, his Armani suits all of it. Henry Hill continued to be the same reprobate he always had been. Through the 1970s, the Hill family was involved in organized crime, through which they became very wealthy and lived extravagantly. He immediately rushed to the spot and drove Karen home and then walked across the street to find Ted in the driveway. Did she know of his past, his family, his involvement as an informant? That night, they packed their bags and hit the road in Sherrys car with her 13-year-old son from a previous marriage. The driver looked a few years older than her, weathered but attractive. They wanted more information and his testimony. It was an incident which made the bond she shared with Henry stronger. My mom and dad got their own place for a while, a small apartment, then moved back right before my mom had me. Now that the secret was out, Janet no longer had to tiptoe around. What he lacked in the looks department he made up for with his charisma. Janet, who became a good friend of Sherrys, helped the scorned woman find some closure by tracking Hill down.