Officially, no one knows what happened to him. DeSimone returned just after closing where DeSimone, Burke, and Hill killed Devino. He then turned to Hill and said, Henry, watch this, before gunning the man down in cold blood. Mafia & Gangsters: Michael "Spider" Gianco, famously gunned down by Tommy DeSimone 4,177 views Nov 26, 2016 Here's the link to the article:. They entered the terminal and headed to the unsecured area without hitches and opened the door with a duplicate key. As for what happened to Giancos body, Burke was so pissed at DeSimone for killing him that he ordered him to dig a hole in the cellar of the bar (Roberts Lounge, owned by Burke) and bury him there, but his remains were never found. and our Furthermore, there are no records or birth certificate related to Michael Gianco, and in the neighborhood where he purportedly lived and worked, no one had ever heard of him. Michael Gianco was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York Cityin 1954 to a family of Italian immigrants from Olbia, Sardinia. Burke had learned Remo was working with the NYPD and planned to set up Burke in a sting. Thomas Anthony DeSimone was born on May 24, 1950. However, on 14th January 1979, according to his wife, Angela, Tommy went missing and presumed to have been killed probably on 6th January 1979, the reasons cited for the same being several. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Tommy was known for having a really bad temper and for being extremely impulsive, which was what ultimately led to his death. Through Vario, DeSimone met Henry Hill and together, they worked on a number of criminal schemes. Thanks! Free updates online. They buried Remo next to Burkes bar and a bocce ball court next door. DeSimone and Gianco had an argument which led to DeSimone shooting Gianco on his thigh. Hill claimed that in "the week after Christmas," he and Burke had gone to Florida to straighten out a drug deal gone bad. He was murdered by the mobster Tommy DeVito in 1970. On December 18, 1974, he murdered his ex-girlfriends brother Ronald Jerothe. The mobster was born on 24 may, 1950 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. Date of birth: 24 May 1950 Burke had Cersani's body buried next to the bocce court behind Robert's Lounge. And part of what makes it great is Joe Pescis scene-stealing character, Tommy DeVito. He is portrayed in "Goodfellas" by Michael Imperioli. When Imperioli auditioned for the groundbreaking series, he was best known for playing Michael "Spider" Gianco, a minor role in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Anthony and Robert had worked for the Gambino Mafia Family as associates. When Spider returned to his job as a bartender, he and DeSimone exchanged more words. It was on 24th May 1950 that Thomas DeSimone was born. He was also involved in grand theft auto with Hill, Clyde Brooks and Edguardo Rigaud. Its been said, every time DeSimone and Burke would play someone on that bocce ball court they would say hey Romo how ya doing?. Unless a body is found, that death will remain unsolved as Hill, who died on June 12, 2012, was the last person alive who could prove a murder took place. Im doing a APA paper on the History of the American Mafia and I need to know who publish this and when was it publish? During the 1960s, Jimmy Conway introduced him to Paul Cicero's crew of the Lucchese crime family, and he became a drinker at 16, a car thief, and a skilled burglar; his burglary skills and his long limbs led to him being nicknamed "Spider". Age at Time of Disappearance: 29 years old Chapters: Richard Eaton, Parnell Edwards, Michael "Spider" Gianco, Theresa Ferrara, Joseph Pinzolo, Ronald Jerothe, . Most sources cite Hill but I'm not even sure if Spider was even real. His sister Phyllis became the mistress of James Burke from the time she turned 16. DeSimone quickly became known for having a quick temper and a huge appetite. Once again wanting to prove himself, DeSimone shot Gianco three times in the chest. Frank, a criminal defense attorney turned mobster, replaced the deceased Jack Dragna in 1956 and became the second DeSimone family member to assume control of the Los Angeles family. He mostly served the crew drinks during their card games, and one bad night, he was shot on the thigh when Tommy (whose real last name was DeSimone) ordered him to dance. Burke later sent DeSimone and Diamond to the foreman's house in rural New Jersey, with instructions to "rough up" the man to ensure he would cooperate with Burke in the future. His grandfather Rosario DeSimone was a Los Angeles mob boss in 1922, and his uncle Frank DeSimone was the Los Angeles crime family mob boss in 1956. Both Robert and Anthony were associates for the Gambino crime family. On December 18, 1974, DeSimone murdered Gotti protg Ronald Foxy Jerothe due to a dispute between the two. When DeSimone heard about the threat, he went to Jerothe's apartment and killed him. According to Hill, He looked like he was bringing you a sandwich instead of a .38.. DeSimones third murder was also portrayed in the movie Goodfellas. In his adolescence he became a runaway youth. Michael 'Spider' Gianco was serving as a bartender at a card game. He was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn to Sardinian-Italian emigrants from Olbia and christened as "Michele Gianfranco". Cookie Notice Free updates online. Goodfellas is often considered one of the best Mafia movies ever made. Instead, Edwards parked the van in front of a fire hydrant at his girlfriend's apartment, where police discovered it two days after the heist. Hill stated after he witnessed this incident that he was truly convinced that DeSimone was a total psychopath. After a truck heist, a foreman had refused to allow Burke to unload the stolen cargo in his warehouse and vehemently protested because they had no union cards. It was under Capo Paul Vairo that Tommy got engaged with the Luchhese Mafia Family in 1965. The Real Story Of Tommy DeSimone The Psycho Gangster Behind Joe Pescis Goodfellas Character. His early life Acting on the threat, DeSimone went to Jerothes apartment, knocked on his door, and when Jerothe opened the door, DeSimone stuck a .38 caliber pistol in Jerothes face and shot him between the eyes killing him instantly. Find family history information in a whole new way. [9][10], On January 14, 1979, DeSimone's wife, Angela, reported him missing. Nationality: American She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. They buried his body upstate. The latter was a criminal attorney before he turned into a mobster. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Bentvenas joke instantly set DeSimone off. In 1970 he killed a made man with the Gambino crime family named Billy Batts Devino. The following morning, Laurel's body was discovered 15 miles away by a fisherman. Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his depiction. His issue with William Bentvena began when the latter joked to DeSimone about shining his shoes. He insulted DeSimone by reminding his earlier life as shoe shine boy that went on to be shown in the movie Goodfella. She said she last saw Tommy a few weeks earlier when he borrowed money from her. 2004-2022 American Mafia is a Registered Trademark in the United States, The Beginning Of A New Age/Era & The Legacy Of Lucky Luciano, The Day It Came Together Vitos Last Stand, Tommy DeSimone Who depicted killings from the movie The Goodfella. Did these victims invite this inevitable disposition? Burke, furious with DeSimone, made him bury Gianco's body in the cellar by himself. Bentvena was a personal friend of Gotti and wanted DeSimone to suffer for killing his friend. Get started 1900 United States Federal Census. In spite (or maybe because) of his casual brutality, DeSimone remained an important part of Varios crew. Gianco had worked as night manager and bartender. According to Sal Polisi, DeSimone was killed by Agro in the presence of Gotti. Warner Brothers/Getty ImagesRay Liotta as Henry Hill, Robert De Niro as James Jimmy the Gent Conway (Jimmy Burke), Paul Sorvino as Paul Paulie Cicero (Paul Vario), and Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito (Tommy DeSimone) in the 1990 film Goodfellas. Thomas had a sister, Dolores, and two brothers who were both Gambino crime family associates, Robert DeSimone and Anthony DeSimone. Michael "Spider" Gianfranco-Gianco ((1954 - 1970), Brownsville, Brooklyn – South Ozone Park, Queens), was a Lucchese crime family and Bonanno crime family associate who was a protegee of Jimmy Burke. It was even said that it was an inside job. A young man named Michael "Spider" Gianco was serving as a bartender at a card game, where he and DeSimone had an argument (after Gianco forgot about DeSimone's drink) that resulted in DeSimone pulling out a . [citation needed], On December 11, 1978, an estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $24.4million in 2021) was stolen from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at Kennedy airport, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed on U.S. soil at the time. His brother Anthony was murdered in 1979. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He is well known as an American-Italian mobster having worked for New York's Luchesse Mafia Family as an associate. Michael "Spider" Gianco (1954-1970) was a Lucchese crime family associate who worked as a bartender at Robert's Lounge in New York City. His uncle and grandfather were both major figures in organized crime, and his brothers ended up becoming associates of the Gambino family. Gianco had a hostile relationship with Tommy DeSimone because of the respect Gianco had among the elder mobsters like Vario, Burke, Carmine Tramunti, Vincent Asaro, Bruno Facciola and Fredrick DeLucia. During the 1960s, Air France was the carrier of American currency that had been exchanged in Southeast Asia. Devino was a feared gunman and had killed several people, but Tommy had earned respect as well and didnt take verbal punishment from anyone. According to mob informantJoseph Joe Dogs Lannuzzi, Thomas Agro claimed he had murdered DeSimone and his brother Anthony after he turned informant. DeSimone was described by Hill as a total psychopath who could do anything to feel better and respected. 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"Sometimes, Mob Victims Have Plenty of Company", "$420,000 Is Missing From Locked Room at Kennedy Airport", "Airport Cash Loot Was $5 Million; Bandits' Van Is Found in Canarsie", "John Gotti killed mobster played by Joe Pesci in 'Goodfellas', "When Big Heist Is Pulled, A Trail Of Death Follows", "The Great Getaway: The Inside Story of the Lufthansa Robbery", "Feds Search 'Mafia Graveyard' in New York", "FBI digs deep to unearth men who crossed the Mob", List of past Lucchese crime family mobsters, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_DeSimone&oldid=1140050803, Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent, Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government, People murdered by the Gambino crime family, People with antisocial personality disorder, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 04:58. 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