Mobster. DeSimone worked under mob boss Paul Vario, and was a friend and associate of Jimmy Burke and Henry Hill, of “Goodfellas” fame. He was portrayed in the movie (as Tommy DeVito) by Joe Pesci. DeSimone was involved in various criminal activities, including the infamous Lufthansa heist in December 1978. He disappeared the week after Christmas that same year. His fate was unknown until Henry Hill became an FBI informant in 1980. Hill told the authorities that DeSimone was murdered by the Gambino family in retaliation for DeSimone having killed William “Billy Batts” Devino, a made man in the Gambino family, and a young gangster named Frederick “Foxy” Civano, who was a protege of John Gotti. According to Hill, Paul Vario met with the Gambinos and gave his permission for Tommy’s murder. DeSimone’s body was discovered in 2004, buried in a Queens, New York, mass grave known in Mafia circles as “The Hole.” (bio by: Jennifer M.)