Karen Friedman Hill And The Story ‘Goodfellas’ Didn’t Tell
On the Run: A Mafia ChildhoodHenry and Karen Hill met through Lucchese family capo Paul Vario in 1965 and got married later that same year.
Wiseguy, the 1955 book about Henry Hill’s life in the mob, eventually went on to serve as the inspiration for the hit film Goodfellas, and while the movie gets the story mostly right, it isn’t a perfect retelling. This is especially true when it comes to Hill’s relationship with his wife, Karen Friedman Hill.
When the two met, Karen was working as a dental hygienist. She was, at first, unaware of her husband’s mob connections, though she naturally learned about his dealings soon enough. But she wasn’t put off by this — in fact, she wholeheartedly embraced the life. Despite having two children, Gregg and Gina, Karen and Henry would throw wild parties at their home, where they and their friends would openly snort massive amounts of cocaine and have sex in full view. Sometimes, they would do coke off of Gina’s Miss Piggy mirror. Other times, the partiers would even offer the kids a bump.
But when Henry was sentenced to 10 years in prison for extortion in 1974, Karen suddenly found herself abandoned by their associates in the mob. Even those who stuck around weren’t sympathetic to her. Tommy DeSimone, for example, reportedly tried to rape Karen. She was also purportedly having an affair with Paul Vario at the time, and the incident allegedly led Vario to have DeSimone killed.
Then, authorities busted Henry for drug trafficking. When he agreed to sell out his former associates, it was a necessary move to protect himself and his family. The government placed them all in the Witness Protection Program, and with their new identities, they attempted to rebuild their lives. Even then, however, Henry Hill couldn’t put his criminal ways behind him. He was removed from the program in 1987.
Although Henry and Karen separated around 1989, they didn’t officially divorce until 2002. Henry Hill died of complications related to heart disease in 2012, but former mob wife Karen Friedman Hill is still alive, hiding from the people and the lifestyle she once accepted with open arms.
