Goodfellas author Nicholas Pileggi has lifted the lid on the real gangster who inspired Martin Scorsese’s mafia masterpiece, and one shocking moment that didn’t make the book.

Widely regarded as one of the best films in cinema history, Goodfellas turns 35 today.

In the 1990 classic, Ray Liotta led the way as mobster Henry Hill, who rose through the ranks of a New York crime syndicate before turning on his associates and becoming a police informant – Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino also made up the all-star cast.

The movie was based on Pileggi’s legendary 1985 non-fiction book Wiseguy, following the gangster’s longtime association with the Lucchese crime family.

Speaking to Metro ahead of the milestone anniversary, the true crime writer, who was also behind t

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