Paul Vario in real life is different than the one portrayed in Goodfellas. The longtime Lucchese Capo was a very vicious gangster but also a big earner. He had a troubled youth and was in and out of prison from 1937 to 1962. He got made in the 1950s and became a capo in the mid 1960s. He also spent some time as an acting underboss under Carmine Trumanti. In the 1970s, Vario got out of the pokey and was spending more of his time in Florida. He gave permission to Jimmy Burke to command the Lufthansa Heist which netted about $6m in jewelry and currency. Henry Hill ends up flipping in 1984 and Paul Vario gets pinched. Henry Hill testifies in 2 different trials against Paul Vario with Vario being convicted and the last trial resulting in a 10 year sentence. While in prison, Vario a life long smoker develops lung cancer and is transferred to the Bureau of Prisons Hospital in Fort Worth Texas where he dies in 1988 at the age of 73.
#lucchese #lufthansa #fivefamilies
