5 Chilling Real-Life Facts About Billy Batts That The Movie Goodfellas Left Out

The iconic "shine box" scene in Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas is one of cinema's most brutal and memorable moments, but the true story behind the murder of William "Billy Batts" Bentvena is even more chilling and complex than the film suggests. As of December 15, 2025, new details and historical perspectives continue to emerge, painting a picture of a made man whose death was not just a matter of disrespect, but a major violation of the Mafia's sacred rules that ultimately sealed the fate of his killer, Thomas DeSimone (the real-life "Tommy DeVito").

The real Billy Batts was a high-ranking mobster whose life and death intersected the operations of two of the infamous Five Families of New York. His murder, carried out by Lucchese associate DeSimone and his crew, was a reckless act of violence that had immense repercussions in the New York underworld, highlighting the volatile nature of the criminal world Henry Hill documented in the book Wiseguy.

William "Billy Batts" Bentvena: The Gambino Soldier Profile

William Joseph Bentvena, known on the streets as "Billy Batts," was a figure of authority in the New York Mafia. His biography is a testament to the life of a mid-level mobster whose allegiance crossed family lines, a dangerous proposition in the Cosa Nostra.

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• Real Name: William Joseph Bentvena
• Aliases: Billy Batts, William Devino (a name used in some records)
• Born: February 22, 1933, in New York, USA
• Died: June 11, 1970 (Age 37)
• Affiliation: Gambino Crime Family (Soldier/Made Man)
• Criminal Specialty: Narcotics trafficking, loansharking, and various rackets.
• Key Associates: Carlo Gambino (Family Boss), Joe "the Crow" DelVecchio, Oreste "Ernie Boy" Abbamonte.
• Prison Sentence: Served six years for narcotics charges, released on June 9, 1970, just two days before his murder.

The Real William Bentvena: A Gambino Soldier in Lucchese Territory

The key to understanding the gravity of Billy Batts' murder lies in his status as a "made man" in the powerful Gambino crime family. The film correctly identifies him as a man of rank, but the full context of his presence in the Lucchese-affiliated crew of Paul Vario is crucial.

1. The Dangerous Dual-Family Connection

Bentvena was a sworn soldier in the Gambino Family, one of the Five Families. However, he also operated extensively with the crew run by Lucchese caporegime Paul Vario (portrayed as "Paulie Cicero" in the film).

The crew, which included Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke ("Jimmy the Gent"), and Thomas DeSimone, were technically Lucchese associates. A "made man" from one family being killed by an "associate" from another family—especially over a petty insult—was an egregious breach of Mafia protocol. This single act of violence by DeSimone was not just a street fight; it was a capital offense in the eyes of the Gambino family, which was led by the formidable Carlo Gambino at the time.

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2. The 'Welcome Home' Party and the Fatal Taunt

Bentvena had just been released from federal prison on June 9, 1970, after serving a six-year sentence for narcotics trafficking.

The murder took place on or around June 11, 1970, at Robert's Lounge, a bar in South Ozone Park, Queens, which was a known hangout and base of operations for the Lucchese-affiliated crew of Jimmy Burke.

The infamous "shine box" line, where Batts taunts Thomas DeSimone about his youth as a shoe-shiner, was real, but the motive was deeper. DeSimone was notoriously volatile and had a history of violent outbursts. The public disrespect from a "made man" like Batts was enough to trigger DeSimone's rage, but the underlying issue was Bentvena's status. Killing a made man for any reason, let alone a slight, was a death sentence for the killer unless he had high-level protection.

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The Murder: What Goodfellas Got Wrong About the Killing

While the movie captures the intensity of the attack, the real sequence of events—and the brutality involved—was far more gruesome. The film's depiction is sanitized compared to the accounts provided by Henry Hill in his testimony and the book Wiseguy.

3. Billy Batts Was Killed Twice

In the film, the beating at the bar seems to be the end of it. In reality, the initial assault at Robert's Lounge by DeSimone, which involved a brutal pistol-whipping, only left Bentvena unconscious.

The crew, believing him to be dead, wrapped him up and placed him in the trunk of a car. When they later stopped to deal with the body, they discovered that Bentvena was still alive. According to Hill's testimony, he had to be "killed again," this time with a shovel and a tire iron, in a remote location. This second, more desperate act of violence highlights the sheer panic and amateurish nature of the cleanup by DeSimone and Jimmy Burke.

4. The Burial Location Was Not a Permanent Grave

The initial burial, which the movie shows as a tense, muddy affair, was indeed a rushed, shallow grave in a field in upstate New York. The location was near a dog kennel owned by a friend of Jimmy Burke's, a place they believed to be secure.

However, the body did not stay there for long. A few months later, the area was slated for residential development. The need to exhume and re-bury the body, which was now in an advanced state of decomposition, led to the famous, stomach-churning scene in the movie where the crew has to deal with the rotting corpse. The body was allegedly moved to a New Jersey junkyard and compacted, though Henry Hill's accounts have varied over the years.

The Aftermath: The True Cost of Killing a Made Man

The murder of Billy Batts had immediate and severe consequences, not for Henry Hill or Jimmy Burke initially, but for the hot-headed killer, Thomas DeSimone. The consequences were a direct result of violating the unwritten laws of the Mafia.

5. The Gambino Family Demanded Retribution for DeSimone

The true reason for Thomas DeSimone's disappearance and presumed murder in 1979 was not, as some believe, his involvement in the Lufthansa heist, but the retribution for killing Billy Batts.

Because Bentvena was a Gambino "made man," his murder required a response from the Gambino family. Paul Vario, the Lucchese capo, was forced to turn a blind eye to the situation, effectively sacrificing DeSimone to avoid a full-scale war between the Lucchese and Gambino families.

DeSimone was reportedly lured to a meeting under the guise of being "made" into the Lucchese family himself. Instead, he was executed. While the exact details remain murky, the prevailing theory is that he was killed by a Gambino associate, possibly at the direction of John Gotti, who was a rising star in the Gambino family at the time. The ultimate irony is that DeSimone was killed for his greatest act of disrespect—murdering a made man—not for the massive crimes he committed with the Vario crew.

The story of Billy Batts, or William Bentvena, is a powerful reminder that the Mafia's internal rules were often more dangerous than the law itself. His real-life murder was a pivotal moment in the history of the mob's Lucchese-Gambino connection, a reckless act that exposed the fragility of the underworld's alliances and led to the demise of one of the most feared characters in the *Goodfellas* saga.