5. Wise Guy and Goodfellas misidentified Hill’s children
In Wise Guy, the book narrated largely by Henry Hill and the basis for Goodfellas, he is described as having two children with Karen. Both are girls, named Judy and Ruth. They entered WITSEC in May 1980, with their parents and vanished. But the identification presented in the book and film was inaccurate. When Wise Guy was published, and when Goodfellas was released, the Hills were still in WITSEC under another name. Possibly the identities of the children were changed to protect them, though all of Hill’s former associates, including those who wanted him dead, knew his children as well as his wife. At any rate, in 2004 another book addressing the Henry Hill saga appeared. It was titled, On The Run: A Mafia Childhood. The authors were Gregg Hill and Gina Hill, described as “Son and Daughter of ‘Wiseguy’ Henry Hill”.
The book covers both the remembrances of the Hill children prior to their entry into WITSEC and their subsequent adventures. Gregg Hill remembered the trips to visit their father in Lewisburg while he was incarcerated there. He described the long drives as “miserable”. Gregg’s growing awareness of his father’s criminal activities is covered following his release from Lewisburg up until their abrupt departure from their home in 1980. It was not to be their only abrupt departure, accompanied by new names, new backgrounds, new schools, and new friends to whom they were forced to lie. Throughout his tenure in WITSEC, Henry could not curtail his criminal activities, as well as his evident need for publicity. But for a while, his value to the authorities as a witness exceeded the troubles he caused the US Marshals tasked with protecting him and his family.