William Bentvena A.K.A. The Doomed “Billy Batts” In Goodfellas
Police PhotoA photo widely said to depict William Bentvena, better known as Billy Batts, though its authenticity is disputed.
William “Billy Batts” Bentvena was born in 1921 in New York City and was raised in the same part of east Brooklyn as Henry Hill. In Goodfellas, Bentvena is only referred to by his nickname and is played by Frank Vincent.
Not much is known about Bentvena’s early life — including whether he was actually born with the name “William Bentvena” — but it’s clear that, at some point, he got involved with the Gambino family around 1951.
Unlike Henry Hill, Bentvena was a full-blooded Italian-American, and as such was able to become a made man. He reached this rank in 1961 and began carrying out hits as a street soldier with John Gotti.
He was arrested in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1964 while conducting a drug deal for the Gambino family and was sentenced to six years in prison. While Bentvena was in prison, Burke took over his loan shark operation.
Warner Bros. EntertainmentFrank Vincent portraying Billy Batts. Bentvena’s true story, depicted in Goodfellas, is perhaps most infamous for his violent death.
Bentvena’s role as it pertains to the story of Goodfellas and Wiseguys, however, is to show just how ruthless these men could be.
Upon leaving prison in 1970, Bentvena made a playful, if somewhat condescending, comment toward Tommy DeSimone about shining shoes. Bentvena, as a made man, was effectively considered untouchable in the Gambino family — but it didn’t matter to DeSimone. After Bentvena walked away, DeSimone turned to Hill and Burke and told them, “I’m gonna kill that motherf**ker.”
Lo and behold, two weeks later, DeSimone met Batts at another bar, where he proceeded to pistol-whip and beat Batts to death — or almost to death — with help from Burke. DeSimone and Burke then drove away to bury the body, only to realize that Batts was still alive in the trunk.
Though the film shows the dramatized characters shooting Batts dead, Henry Hill later revealed that the two men actually stabbed him up to 40 times until they were sure he was dead.
