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Daniel Simone (born in New York City) is an American author, who specialized in writing about sensational crimes in collaboration with one of the perpetrators or investigators of the actual event. [1]
Daniel Simone co-wrote The Lufthansa Heist with Henry Hill. Hill's life and criminal career is portrayed in Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas . Simone also had the collaboration of the two FBI agents who led the investigation of the robbery. These two investigators declared their testimonials to Hill and Simone's account in the book's Foreword and Afterward, which were written by them. [2] Additionally, Simone relied on numerous other sources such as the former US Attorney in charge of the Lufthansa case, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials, a former NYPD detective, and an ex Long Island Nassau County Assistant District Attorney. Simone interviewed several alleged Mafia gangsters who came forth with their knowledge related to the plotting of the Lufthansa robbery. Simone also used court records during the production of the manuscript. Refer to the Author's Notes and Sources in The Lufthansa Heist by Daniel Simone & Henry Hill.[ citation needed ]
In this book, Daniel Simone also describes a full account of the 1978 infamous Boston College Basketball Point Shaving Scheme engineered by Henry Hill. The fixing of the Boston Eagles games stands as one of the most widely known sports scandals in American history. Hill recruited three Eagles players to manipulate the scoring so that it would end over or under the point spread odds set by the Las Vegas bookmakers. [3] Also refer to pages 76–86 in The Lufthansa Heist by Daniel Simone & Henry Hill.
The Lufthansa Heist is a dramatic rendition of the robbery, unveiling facts and comprehensive details that Henry Hill had not publicized in the past. [4]
In early 2015, Simone and a collaborator, Heidi Jordan Ley, completed a manuscript about the Charles Manson murder convictions titled The Retrial of Charles Manson. This is the first book, according to the author, endorsed and corroborated by Manson. Simone and Ley re-investigate and discredit the Helter Skelter theory put forth by Manson's prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, as the motivation of the Sharon Tate and her friends' murders. [5] [6] Furthermore, this version of the Charles Manson affair outlines Bugliosi's arrest for fabrication of evidence and perjury during the Manson trial. Among those charges he was also indicted for leaking non-public court documents to a reporter. [7]
The manuscript was adapted to a documentary series titled, Charles Manson: The Final Words. It premiered on the REELZ Channel on December 6, 2017. [8]
Simone's 2015 book The Pierre Hotel Affair is published by Pegasus. [9] This project is about the 1972 famed Pierre Hotel Robbery when eight armed robbers, with extraordinary politeness and civility, placed the entire complex under siege, captured its employees and anyone who happened to have been in the lobby area, and ransacked the guests' safe deposit boxes, escaping with $28,000,000 in jewels, cash, and bearer bonds. (Refer to The Man Who Robbed the Pierre by Ira Berkow). The sole surviving perpetrator, Nick 'the Cat' Sacco, who is currently in the Federal Witness Protection Program for an unrelated crime, has collaborated with Simone in developing the book, revealing never-before-told facts and revelations. [10] (See also April 19, 2016 issue Page 12 of New York Post). (See additional citation on May 5, 2016, Page 34 issue of Dan's Papers. This weekly print magazine is based in Southampton, New York and has no connection with Daniel Simone).
Many of the victims, who refused to cooperate with the authorities, were of high-society stock. The Pierre Hotel, located in mid-Manhattan, is rated as one of the most luxurious in the world, hosting celebrities, affluent personages, and high ranking statesmen. Furthermore, The Pierre Hotel Affair sets forth and reconstructs how fourteen months prior to the caper, two of the gunmen, Robert Bobby Comfort and Sammy the Arab Nalo, held captive and robbed the Italian actress, Sophia Loren. Comfort and Nalo relieved her of approximately $520,000 in jewelry. (Refer to New York Magazine April 30, 1973 issue page 46).
In the end, much to the frustration of the investigators, the stolen items from the Loren and the Pierre robberies were never recovered.
Simone has published approximately 130 feature stories in several print publications. In 2009, he created Between the Lines, a monthly column published in LI Pulse magazine, a print publication with a certified circulation of 100,000. In the Between the Lines series, Simone presents his interviews with celebrity authors and his reviews of their latest titles. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
From 2006 through 2013, serving as a celebrity correspondent, Simone has published in various print media an array of his interviews with celebrity actors and authors. [16] [17]
From time to time, Simone has been on television programs discussing his current literary projects or as a highlight commentator in documentaries of renowned crimes and reputed gangsters. [18] In 2012, Simone appeared in a documentary series produced and broadcast by the Biography Channel, titled Mobsters , wherein he contributed particulars about the felonious life of Jimmy ''the Gent'' Burke and his masterminding of the Lufthansa robbery. [8] In 2015, he was cast in an indie film, titled The Assault . [8] He played the part of a professional gambler, Al Visconti, who was secretly gambling on behalf of the New York Lucchese Crime Family. In 2017, Simone Appeared in another film titled, Room 7. In that movie he is portrayed as the Author. [8] On May 21, 2017, the REELZ Channel launched a documentary series titled, The Shocking Truth , and Daniel Simone appeared in the first episode titled, Goodfellas . (Refer to REELZ TV Schedule) He is often interviewed on nationally syndicated radio talk shows, discussing a variety of topics surrounding famous capers, Mafia personalities, and their impact on society. [19] He also delves into the questionable effectiveness of the judicial system pertaining to Mafia associates. On February 21, 2016, and May 28, 2017, Mr. Simone has been a guest on journalist George Knapp's syndicated Coast to Coast radio show.
Simone has appeared also on the ED Bernstein TV Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. [20]
In his earlier years, Simone received a degree in Aerospace and Aerodynamics engineering from Farmingdale State University in Long Island, N.Y.
In 1972, he was employed at Grumman Aerospace Industries [21] and contributed to the assembly of the later versions of the Apollo lunar modules that landed on the moon surface. He operated an Electron Beam Welding machine, which was then an innovative method of fusing two metals with dissimilar properties. [22]
He later majored in English literature at Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1980, he enrolled in law courses at St. John's University in Queens, New York.
Charles Milles Manson was an American criminal, cult leader and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of at least nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including the film actress Sharon Tate. The prosecution contended that, while Manson never directly ordered the murders, his ideology constituted an overt act of conspiracy.
Goodfellas is a 1990 American biographical crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi. Starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino, the film narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends and family from 1955 to 1980.
Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972. He became best known for successfully prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the Tate–LaBianca murders that took place between August 9 and August 10, 1969.
Lorraine Bracco is an American actress best known for her performances as psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi on the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos (1999–2007) and for her breakthrough role portraying Karen Hill in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas (1990). Bracco began her career modeling in France and appeared in Italian-language films in the 1980s. Her English-language debut came in The Pick-up Artist (1987), which was followed by roles in Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Sing (1989), and The Dream Team (1989). She has been nominated for an Academy Award, four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
James Burke, also known as "Jimmy the Gent", was an American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, the largest cash robbery in American history at the time. He was believed to be responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months after the robbery.
Thomas DeSimone was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also committed numerous murders, including killing William "Billy Batts" Bentvena in 1970. DeSimone went missing in 1979 and is believed to have been murdered.
Paul Vario was an American mobster and made man in the Lucchese crime family. Vario was a caporegime and had his own crew of mobsters in Brooklyn, New York. Following the testimony of Henry Hill, Vario was convicted in 1984, of fraud, and sentenced to four years in prison, followed by a conviction for extortion in 1985, and an additional sentence of 10 years in prison. He died on May 3, 1988, of respiratory failure in prison.
The Lufthansa heist was a robbery which took place at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated US$5.875 million was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed on American soil at the time.
Henry Hill Jr. was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testified against his former Mafia associates, resulting in 50 convictions, including those of caporegime (captain) Paul Vario and fellow associate James Burke on multiple charges. He subsequently entered the Witness Protection Program, but was removed from the program in 1987.
William "Billy Batts" Bentvena, also known as William Devino, was an Italian-American mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a longtime friend of John Gotti in the 1960s. After spending six years in prison for narcotics trafficking, Bentvena was murdered by Lucchese crime family associate Tommy DeSimone, with the help of fellow Lucchese associates James Burke and Henry Hill.
The Air France robbery was a major robbery that took place in April 1967, when associates of the Lucchese crime family stole $420,000 from the Air France cargo terminal at New York City's JFK International Airport. While there were many cargo thefts at JFK airport in 1967, this was the largest cash robbery that had taken place at the time. It was carried out by Henry Hill, Robert McMahon, Tommy DeSimone and Montague Montemurro, on a tip-off from McMahon. Hill believed it was the Air France robbery that endeared him to the Mafia.
Karen Friedman Hill is an American woman known for her involvement in the American Mafia through her husband Henry Hill, who was an associate of the Lucchese crime family. The events of their lives were chronicled in the 1990 film Goodfellas and several books.
The Lucchese crime family's Brooklyn faction is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Lucchese crime family that control organized crime activities in the New York metropolitan area but are predominantly based out of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The Brooklyn faction was created after two separate crews in the Lucchese family were merged together. The merger occurred during the early 2000s, when the Lucchese family administration decided that Vario Crew Caporegime Domenico "Danny" Cutaia would also take control of the 19th Hole Crew. The Lucchese family administration saw the 19th Hole crew without leadership because it had been crippled by numerous indictments and informants during 1990s, leaving many members imprisoned. After the merger of the two crews, the Lucchese Borgata referred to this crew as the Brooklyn faction.
Robert Germaine, Sr. was an American drug trafficker, burglar, and freelance writer in New York City.
Thomas Agro, also known as "Tommy A", "T.A.", "Tipp", and "Thomas Ambrosiano", was a New York gangster with the Gambino crime family who ran lucrative bookmaking and gambling operations in Florida.
The Pierre hotel robbery was a January 2, 1972 robbery at The Pierre in New York City. The robbery netted $3 million, and was organized by Samuel Nalo; Robert "Bobby" Comfort, an associate of the Rochester Crime Family; and Christie "the Tic" Furnari, an associate of the Lucchese Crime Family. The heist was carried out by several of Furnari's gang burglars. This robbery would later be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history.
Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family is a 1985 non-fiction book by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi that chronicles the life of Henry Hill, a Mafia associate turned informant. The book is the basis for the 1990 Oscar–winning film Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese.
Vincent Asaro was an American mobster who served as a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, he was arrested by the FBI on January 23, 2014 and indicted on charges related to the 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was found not guilty in November 2015 of the charges, and was also acquitted of all charges in the 1969 murder of Paul Katz, who owned a warehouse in which Asaro and another suspect housed stolen goods. He was also indicted in March 2017 and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The Big Heist is a 2001 crime drama television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by Jere Cunningham and Gary Hoffman. The film, based on the 1986 non-fiction book The Heist by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, tells the story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist. It is a co-production of the United States and Canada, and stars Donald Sutherland, John Heard, Jamie Harris, and Janet Kidder. It aired on A&E on June 10, 2001.
The Lufthansa Heist: Behind the Six-Million-Dollar Cash Haul That Shook the World is a non-fiction book written by Daniel Simone in collaboration with Henry Hill. It was published by Lyons Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, on August 1, 2015.
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