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player ready...Throughout the history of U.S. pop culture, mobsters have been big hits. From Jimmy Cagney to James Gandolfini, Americans have been fascinated with organized crime–especially when the stories are true or based on the truth. Here are some memorable mob-movie characters and what happened to their real-life counterparts.
THE DENIRO TRIPLE CROWN
Character: Al Capone in “The Untouchables” (1987)
Real-life bad guy: Famed gangster Capone ruled the city’s illegal liquor trade during Prohibition, ordering the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Nailed for tax evasion of all things, Capone spent eight years in Alcatraz, fell ill with venereal disease and died of a brain hemorrhage in 1947.
Character: Ace Rothstein in “Casino” (1995)
Real-life bad guy: Now 75, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, a convicted sports fixer, monitors gaming action through the computers at his Florida home, where he has lived for 17 years, according to the Miami Herald. Besides running a gambling advice Web site, Rosenthal is a consultant to four offshore casinos.
Character: Jimmy Conway (below left) in “Goodfellas” (1990)
Real-life bad guy: Jimmy Burke, one of the top guys in the Lucchese organization. Sent to prison after buddy Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) turns government witness. Died in prison.
RAY LIOTTA
Character: Henry Hill (above right) in “Goodfellas” (1990)
Real-life bad guy: Henry Hill (right) was a member of the Lucchese family syndicate who turned state’s evidence, helping to nail some of the syndicate’s biggest targets. Placed in witness protection, the feds tossed him and his family out when he couldn’t keep a low profile. He pleaded not guilty last week to possession of cocaine and methampethamine in North Platte, Neb., where he and his second wife have been living.
JOHN TURTURRO
Character: Sam Giancana in HBO’s “Sugartime” (1995)
Real-life bad guy: Giancana was one of Chicago’s top crime bosses from the 1950s through his death in 1975, when he was shot six times in the basement kitchen of his Oak Park home. Among other reasons cited in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, Giancana had been taking more than “his cut of the pie.”
AL PACINO
Character: Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero in “Donnie Brasco” (1997)
Real-life bad guy: Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano was the guy who brought Donnie Brasco–actually FBI agent Joseph Pistone, played by Johnny Depp in the movie–into the Bonanno family’s circle back in the late 1970s. Napolitano was shot to death in 1981, reportedly for that Mafia faux pas.