As an expert on the history of organized crime, I‘m often asked about the infamous murder of Gambino family soldier William "Billy Batts" Bentvena, immortalized in Martin Scorsese‘s classic film Goodfellas. While the movie depicts shocking violence, the full story is even more brutal. In this deep dive, I’ll reveal the grisly details and aftermath of Batts‘ murder, showing how an unsanctioned hit went awry and brought ruin to all involved.
The Key Players in Billy Batts‘ Murder
Goodfellas focuses mainly on Tommy DeSimone‘s involvement in Batts‘ murder. But there were two other central figures who played major roles:
Jimmy "The Gent" Burke
A ruthless associate of the Lucchese crime family, Jimmy Burke was known for his violent tendencies and take-no-prisoners attitude. He had no issues with murder and dismemberment, even killing his own brother-in-law over mafia profits. Burke also masterminded the infamous Lufthansa heist in 1978, which netted over $6 million ($22 million today). Afterward, he killed many of his accomplices to avoid sharing the spoils.
Jimmy Burke‘s appetite for violence was unchecked
This image hints at how Burke would violently turn on his own friends and crew. By the 1970s, he was an extremely well-connected and respected gangster, but also highly unstable. His violent tendencies only worsened over time.
Henry Hill
Henry Hill entered the mob life as a young teenager. By his mid-20s, he was an established gangster nurtured under Burke and the Luccheses. Hill also had close ties with the Gambino family and men like Batts. His life of flashy crimes, prison terms, big scores, and horrific violence served as the basis for Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy. Eventually, the narcotics trafficking and Lufthansa murders prompted Hill to become an FBI informant and enter witness protection.
The Powder Keg
When Batts insulted DeSimone in a bar owned by Hill, it ignited an explosive confrontation. Both men were short-tempered: DeSimone was a natural psychopath and hitman since his teens, while Batts likely resented the disrespect from a fellow Lucchese associate.
Hill meanwhile was stuck in the middle, needing to show respect as a junior member but friends with both parties. Burke directly instigated further violence by getting DeSimone riled up to “take care of” Batts despite his Gambino affiliation. It was an extremely risky move given Batts‘ status.
This personality clash lit the fuse, but it doesn’t fully explain why events took such a brutal turn so quickly…
Why Tempers Boiled Over
Given their personalities, a clash between the two mobsters was perhaps inevitable. But other factors stoked tensions beyond reason:
Hierarchies and Power Struggles
Batts held seniority as a made man but saw DeSimone as an arrogant underling. DeSimone likely resented Batts acting superior despite having once shined shoes, while also coveting the status of a proper gangster. With mafia culture built around earning respect, these perceptions created an ugly dynamic from the start.
Alcohol and Bravado
Insults were exchanged at a bar, lowering inhibitions for violence. Batts returning later also brought false confidence – he expected camaraderie with fellow wiseguys, not an ambush. Alcohol fuels male bravado, and for violent men like Burke and DeSimone, the urge to prove themselves through brutality.
Burke’s Provocations
Rather than defusing tensions between his friend and colleague, Burke actively made things worse by whispering in DeSimone’s ear. Whether due to past grudges or pure psychopathy, he expertly manipulated DeSimone and Hill into complicity. This willingness to betray an ally and senior made man speaks volumes about Burke’s character.
These factors combined like a perfect storm. But even then, Batts’ vicious murder wasn’t a certainty until Burke directly green-lit DeSimone to take revenge. The murder itself though was even more savage than audiences saw in Goodfellas…
The Murder of Billy Batts
On June 11, 1970 Batts returned to Henry Hill‘s bar, likely expecting bygones after the initial argument with DeSimone and Burke. Instead, DeSimone’s attack was instant, unrestrained…and unrelenting:
He pistol-whipped and beat Batts mercilessly with his hands and feet while Hill watched the attack unfold. Batts fought back and managed to get on his feet, but then DeSimone shot him in the torso twice at close range. Amazingly, Batts again refused to stay down, crawling and clinging to life. So DeSimone finally finished him execution-style with a point blank blast to the head.
It was over in minutes. They wrapped his nearly decapitated body in tablecloths, shoved him in the trunk, and drove towards Burke‘s home to dispose of evidence. It was a risky move given Batts‘ status as a made man, but they wrongly thought themselves in the clear…
They were dead wrong.
The Bloody Aftermath of Billy Batts‘ Murder
In the 9 years after Batts’ death, almost every single person involved faced a gruesome demise:
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In late 1978, following the Lufthansa heist windfall, Burke decided to murder nearly all of his own crew to avoid sharing profits. Even Stacks Edwards, his wife‘s brother, wasn‘t spared.
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By 1980 Henry Hill had become an FBI informant once agents cornered him dealing drugs. But before giving evidence condemning his friends, Hill claimed Burke later returned to where they‘d buried Batts. Apparently interested in erasing DNA evidence, he dug up Billy‘s corpse months later just to "chop it up" into pieces with a hunting knife. This finished the job DeSimone started.
| Lufthansa robbery proceeds | $6+ million |
| Estimated murders by Burke | 9+ accomplices and contacts |
| Fate | Died of cancer in prison, 1996 |
Jimmy Burke‘s betrayal of the Lufthansa robbery crew was near total
- Tommy DeSimone himself met his end just a year later in 1979, not specifically for killing Batts, but for another unauthorized hit. When proof reached Gambinos boss John Gotti that DeSimone killed a made man without permission, he sanctioned his assassination. DeSimone was shot in the skull at point blank range, much like Batts himself. Ironically, his own killers included future Gambino underboss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
Tommy DeSimone‘s 1979 murder, ordered by Gotti
- Eventually the feds traced Hill‘s information back to Batts‘ crude grave under the dog kennel at Burke‘s home. Dental records and X-rays confirmed the identity of his "chopped up" remains decades later.
Billy Batts’ death left a wake of murder, betrayal and self-destructive paranoia among everyone involved. The savage attack, cruel taunting, and makeshift woodland grave for his corpse wasn’t fiction – it was the grim truth about mob life. Ultimately his murder wrecked a crew of gangsters and cemented a legend.
Rules Are Only Words in the Mafia World
The murder of Billy Batts broke strict mafia protocol around made men and hierarchy. But what happened afterward revealed even more about the reality of organized crime: reckless violence often usurps rules, reason, and loyalty.
After a big robbery score like Lufthansa, the spoils should be shared among the crew. Instead, almost everyone was killed on Burke‘s orders.
Made men like Batts and his Gambino peers are supposedly off-limits without permission. But DeSimone slit his throat and crushed his skull anyway at Burke‘s nod.
Even close friends and family weren‘t immune. Burke butchered his brother-in-law Stacks and Hill says he returned months later to hack up Batts‘ corpse into pieces.
In the end, the mafia runs on primordial codes of ego, intimidation, and murderous self-preservation. Any alliances eventually play second fiddle when brute force is on your side. Batts‘ unsanctioned murder – and the similar hit on DeSimone afterwards – shows how this world descends into paranoia and blade-wielding betrayal. It serves as a microcosm of the mafia machine.
How Batts‘ Murder Reminds Us of Mob Reality
Beyond personal feuds or facades of honor, what motivated such carnage? Greed, power-hunger, showy masculinity that cracks at any perceived slight to one‘s reputation. The mix of drinks, male pride, psychopathic rage was on full display in Batt‘s death by pistol-whipping and bullets. We sometimes forget what draws people into the mafia, but this murder highlights the irrepressible urge toward violence in some.
Bloodshed here didn‘t resolve anything or profit the killers – it wasted them all. Years later only the authorities benefited, when Hill turned informant to escape a narcotics conviction. This emphasizes the nihilism that underpins organized crime, despite the myths of codes and loyalty. When sociopaths like Burke or DeSimone rule through terror, no one wins long term.
The Batts‘ Hit in Mob Lore and Pop Culture
Despite being less glorified than the Lufthansa heist, Batts’ murder still resonates for demonstrating the mob‘s grim and feral realities. As brutal as Goodfellas made it look, true history was even more savage:
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Repeated pistol-whipping and kicks to the skull despite cries for mercy.
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Point blank blast just to finally silence Batts.
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Returning months later to hack up and scatter the already decomposing body.
It‘s no wonder Scorsese drew heaviest on Hill‘s testimony about Batts in crafting Tommy DeSimone’s character. The director intuitively grasped this reckless murder – and how it unraveled their world – as the Goodfellas moral core. Batts‘ death distills everything we both mythologize and condemn about the mafia.
That shocking resonance keeps his ghost and story alive. Through unflinching films, books, and podcasts we hopefully better understand what draws some into organized crime…the false glamour, primal thrill, paper-thin camaraderie. And ultimately, the selfish brutality waiting when that facade fails.
Further Reading
If this shocking tale has you hungry for more mafia history, I suggest watching Goodfellas first to witness Batts‘ demise on screen. Then dive deeper into the real stories by listening to true crime podcasts like The Members Only Podcast or reading books like Nicholas Pileggi’s seminal Wiseguy which chronicles Henry Hill‘s mob life.
Just don‘t expect the comforts of fiction. As violent as they appeared on screen, these criminals were even more savage beyond the camera and in daily operations. The murder of poor Billy Batts reminds us that the celluloid mob myths were watered-down snippets of a far uglier reality.