Hill later married Kelly Alor from 1990 to 1996 and then later got engaged to Lisa Caserta from 2006 up until his death in 2012. His name was John Ciaccio, and he owed a gambling debt to a friend of my father, a guy who ran one of the unions at Kennedy Airport. Henry Hill continued to be the same reprobate he always had been. Then he went back to Karen and handed over the gun to her and told her to hide it. 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. Theyd come on fast, this stabbing, throbbing pain right behind my eyes that would spread through my whole head. See Photos. Sherry was dumbfounded. Years later, she admitted, It was so devastating I wanted to kill myself, to be quite honest. Slowly but surely, she moved on and started doing hair and makeup for movies and TV shows. In an attempt to keep their true identities hidden from everyone around them, the family changed their names - with Hill becoming Martin Lewis, a name that he borrowed from two of his favorite actors, Hollywood heartthrob Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. It was an incident which made the bond she shared with Henry stronger. 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 Sherry was a hopeless romantic. Read an excerpt. They beat the state case, and now the feds are going after him, she said. 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. Dont worry about it, one of them told Gram. Then the prison would rise up through the windshield, climbing above the trees like a fortress in the woods. As for Sherry, she went back to the Hill home to take back the horse she had sent for Hills daughter. 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. There was a point where Nick heard he might be a potential kidnapping victim in a plot to get to Hill. 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. She didnt want me to know how upset she was. Married to a mobster, Karen tried to maintain any form of normalcy in her chaotic life. The driver looked a few years older than her, weathered but attractive. Lorraine Bracco depicted Karen Hill in the film Goodfellas, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. They met up and Hill told her: 'I'll love you forever.'. 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 . I came back, and I had a second chance, he told her. Henry Hill died in 2012 of natural causes. As for Sherry, shes now around 70 years old and goes by Scarlett. This is one of the menus in my father's restaurant. Nearly broke, Sherry had no choice but to take her son to her hometown and move in with her parents. Hill alleged that Sherry seduced him and kidnapped him (the word he used was f***-napped). They started double dating (with Vivian and her husband) and Hill always made an impression with his 100-dollar tips. 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. In the film, Karen Hill was portrayed as a woman with a sense of rationalizing everything her husband Henry had done. I wanted to visit my dad right away. But eventually, Sherry needed to head back to work to make money. Youre too good for me, he told her one night, drunk. But when he drank, he was a loudmouth, which was how Karen heard about the pregnancy. The guards made her take everything out and then they searched the bag with a baton and a miniature flashlight. She suffered a miscarriage; likely due to the incredible amount of stress she was under. All he said was that he was writing about his life back in New York. He would stay out all night, and then my mom and grandma would get into terrible arguments. Henry Hill continued to be the same reprobate he always had been. When Hill came under federal protection, his wife, Karen, and their two children did too. My mother explained it to me in pretty blunt terms, considering how old I was. 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.. 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. Anders said: 'Heres wife Number One and wife Number Two. For a while, the four of them were like two pairs in a pod. 'He kind of slinked in and didn't make good eye contact when I was introduced,' she told Pearl and Nichols. He bought a foosball table for the basement and cooked everyone hearty Italian food. She managed to flee by car. At least in New York, she could hide most of the dirt behind humor and carefully placed words. We lived on the third floor, overlooking the pool, and I shared a bedroom with my brother. Her instincts proved spot on when one day an unfamiliar woman walked in to the hair salon. I looked around the apartment. 2022 History by Day all rights reserved, This Man Dug a Hole in His Backyard. Then one of them would stick a gun in his face. He told her how much he still loved Sherry and managed to convince her to let him in the house. Their lives were far from normal. The two met for the first time at a, Karen Friedman Hill was mostly unaware of her husbands illegal, Things took a nasty turn when Henry received a ten-year sentence for, Henrys children officially released a book titled On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, in the year 2004 that gives the readers an insight into the family's life. by Gina Hall (Author), Gregg Hill (Author) 299 ratings Kindle $11.99 Read with Our Free App Hardcover $38.91 51 Used from $2.06 5 New from $29.98 2 Collectible from $14.00 Paperback $22.99 6 Used from $15.57 3 New from $17.23 Mass Market Paperback $16.78 9 Used from $12.80 He had a hard enough time obeying the law, let alone my grandma. I hated being poor, which we were since my father had gone to prison, and I hated even looking like we were poor. 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. 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. 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. Karen found this incident so insulting that she angrily slapped him. Just like with the witness program, Hill assumed hed get away with it. Hill went so far as to threaten Sherry with her life if she didnt sign the divorce papers. My mom had a lot of things on her mind that day. In walked a likable 38-year-old guy who appeared at their table and introduced himself as Martin Lewis. Easy romance was just as enticing. 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. That was my mom, trying to make something very big sound very small. He immediately answered: Kris Gregory Cowin. The two met at a diner in Everett, Washington. Sherry would lie to herself it was the stress of a new relationship, thats all. And like all gangsters, he acted like he owned the world. The sun had just gone down, and the kitchen was dark. As for Henry Hill, he continued on his downward spiral. Hill grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he admired local mafiosi, including Paul Vario, a capo in the Luchesse crime family. 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. One time, his dad even pulled a gun on a cook. 'The electricity during those months was just absolutely volatile, just screaming,' Kellum toldPearl and Nichols. Dont you ever f***ing come back here! she screamed. She was crying just a little. 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. For example, there is a scene where a neighbor named Ted tried to force himself on Karen when she was dating Henry. While he was worried about making any disturbances at work, his dad would be getting hammered at the bar. Karen seems to relish the brand-new Buick Riveras in the driveway and closets which were always bursting with trending expensive clothes. Its just temporary, she said. There was a doorman at each of the three different sections of the complex and a big circular driveway out front, and we had a small terrace that overlooked the park. 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. The next morning, Karen noticed he wasnt home. When Sherry was turning to Karen for support, she let slip the fact that a private eye had been investigating her for months. I couldnt help but stare back and wonder what they must be thinking: New York hood on the run from the Mob.. We are the children of one of the most notorious mobsters turned FBI informants, Henry Hill. 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. In the midst of Karens threats to Sherry over the phone, Sherry told Hill that she was pregnant. I dont know how long wed lived there before my mom told me Dad was leaving. On the Run: A Mafia Childhood is the authors' account of their childhood as the son and daughter of Henry Hill, the infamous mobster and informant whose story was the basis of Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi and the movie Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese.. Those bastards. She made it sound like the government was picking on him over something petty. Bracco did not meet with Hill prior to filming. My father would do almost anything to make a score. Sherry wasnt going to sign anything without an attorney. Wed leave at eleven oclock, sometimes even later, and drive west into Pennsylvania. The events of their lives were chronicled in the 1990 film Goodfellas and several books. He told others that he was an insurance investigator for arson cases (completely fake, but he had some experience with torching places down). She was born in New York City and raised on Long Island around the Five Towns, the daughter of Jewish parents. Although he was convicted on drug charges stemming from his 1987 arrest, the FBI and prosecutors pleaded with the court to release him. She and Hill eventually parted ways, last living together in Rockville Centre. Sherry asked the woman, Do you know Martin Lewis? She replied, Yeah, hes my husband.. But Hill was still letting himself into Sherrys house at odd hours, one time writing I love you, Sherry Amour, HH on the bathroom mirror in lipstick. He was on a mission to apologize to all those whom he had wronged in his life. Kaylen Martin would frequently get into her old Ford Pinto and drive, just to get away from it all. Tony also probes Hill on the ultimate, moral penalty of terrorizing another human being, beyond the consequences of the law. Gram probably knew it was stolen, but she never asked, so my dad never had to answer. Karen immediately called Henry. 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. Whereas Hill was doing all the wrong things, Karen went into survival mode. Log In. According to his son and his daughter, Henry Hill was truly a despicable man. For the third time in a year and a half, the Hills were moved again. But Janet was a professional (albeit only 25 years old) and had a job to do. Gina Hill. 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. Sherry and her roommate were seated at a table in the Mexican restaurant. For as much as Dad might have irritated my grandma, she wasnt one to throw her daughter into the street. My mom and dad got their own place for a while, a small apartment, then moved back right before my mom had me. She knew she had to get out of Redmond her life there was poisoned. Soon enough, Sherry received a phone call. He even converted to Judaism, got circumcised and everything; my grandma made a little tent for the sheets when he was recuperating so his sore parts would be protected. This behavior was partly out of love, and partly out of greed for the luxurious lifestyle, his criminal background gave her. Eight years old, and I had to get past an armed guard to see my father. He violently pushed her out of his car and drove away. Then my dad came trotting back across the street, all sweaty and red, and gave my mom the gun and told her to hide it. While Henry . On the Run is a terrific read, but quite disturbing. According to Gina and Gregg, Hill spent his days at the racetrack gambling and his nights drinking. Martin was like a dad to the two boys, always giving them quarters for the arcades and making them laugh at his dirty jokes. Hill was now going by the name Martin Lewis. Im done with Sherry, she said in an interview. I began this blog to simply tell part of my father's story through my eyes. At the house, Sherry went upstairs and tossed all of Hills stuff out the window his expensive pots, his Armani suits all of it. 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. The two women decided to make their unique situation a little more amusing. 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. With Janets help, Sherry sued Hill for compensation of the money he siphoned off from her when they were married. 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. Gina also got married and started her own family. 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.). Ted was taken aback by Karen's behavior, and he gave up the attempt to force her. What do you mean? It felt like she was being interrogated. Of course, not. 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. Hill's arrest in 1980 by Nassau County narcotics officers officially marked the end of his life in the Lucchese family. Sherry was in the shower, and just like the scene from Psycho, the curtains were viciously pulled back. Through the 1970s, the Hill family was involved in organized crime, through which they became very wealthy and lived extravagantly. She said Hill had recently made his peace with his family, but I dont think he ever got over his demons. Hill was the hustler not her. Lorraine Bracco performed so stunningly as Karen Hill in the movie that she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Sherry needed to keep her son safe. As usual, Hill was drunk. With nothing much that they could do, Sherry and Samantha put him in a room to sleep it off. The guys at the cabstand, they didnt smack me. She usually fell back on a gambling charge if she got specific at all. 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. Janet, who thought Hill was a Shmuck, noticed the terror in Sherrys eyes when they met. And so, Hill was released on probation. Her dreams did come true as the film showed her transition from just an ordinary woman to the gangsters wealthy wife. 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. Karen has remained out of the limelight since the family came out of the Witness Protection Program. But it was about the same time hed bought me Baby Alive, this doll that you could feed pretend baby food and her mouth would move, like she was chewing. Initially after their marriage, Karen and Henry moved in with Karen's parents at their home in Lawrence, New York. 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