The Truth About Henry Hill's Death

May 2024 · 2 minute read

He served a hitch in the Army while maintaining mob contacts. Once home he got back in the game, until he was sent to prison for 10 years for extortion. Out after four years, he used his prison contacts to expand his drug business. Arrested in 1980 for trafficking in narcotics — he was an addict and alcoholic — and a substantial suspect in a theft from Lufthansa Airlines, Hill was convinced he was on a mob hit list. With trouble from both ends, Hill turned informant. His information eventually led to 50 convictions. He and his family entered the Witness Protection Program, which seems wise. His wife left him in 1990; in the early '90s he blew his cover, including arrests for burglary, assault, and three DWIs, and was kicked out of the program; in 2001 he was arrested on narcotics charges; and according to ABC News, the mafia put out a $1 million bounty on him.

Some say Hill turned a new leaf in his later years, selling his own brand of spaghetti sauce online and frequently calling the Howard Stern Show. He took classes to become a drug and alcohol counselor. He created paintings. But June 12, 2012, Hill died in Los Angeles, not from a mob bullet, but from heart complications related to smoking, according to his obituary in the LA Times. He was 69.

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