4. By marrying Karen Friedman, Hill brought her into the mob
Hill and Friedman had two weddings, mostly to appease her Jewish parents. Most of Hill’s criminal associates attended his Jewish ceremony in North Carolina, and Karen became a part of a mob family. How much she knew of his illegal activities at the time is unclear in Henry’s self-serving relation to his tale. But getting into the marriage ensured she would be part of the Vario family for life. Divorce among mobsters was relatively rare. A divorced wife could be a loose cannon, capable of relating who knows what to the authorities. They presented a risk which the mobsters could not tolerate. Nearly all of Henry’s associates, as well as Henry himself, were unfaithful to their marriages. Some wives tolerated it and remained in the marriage out of fear or because of their children. Henry’s philandering soon had an impact on Hill’s marriage.
Karen later tried to distance himself from Henry’s illegal activities when the Hills’ discussed entering the Witness Protection Program (Officially the Witness Security Program, WITSEC in bureaucratic circles). Subsequent investigations, as well as the evidence presented at the time, indicated she was well aware of many, and an active participant in some. Among the latter was Karen’s smuggling of drugs, alcohol, and other contraband to her husband when he was an inmate in federal prison. Far from being an innocent victim of Henry’s crimes, she actively supported them, or at least some of them, especially his drug operations. The Hill family added two children during the marriage of Karen and Henry. They too were indoctrinated into Hill’s criminal family, spending vacations and holidays with the Burkes, the Varios, and others of Hill’s professional colleagues.