Goodfellas’ Tommy DeVito was killed in retribution for the murder of Billy Batts, but how did the Gambino crime family know Tommy was the one responsible? Martin Scorsese is one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry, and even though he has explored various genres throughout his career, he continues to be best known for his gangster films – and the one regarded as his best is Goodfellas.
Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the life of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days as a teenager fascinated by the mafia presence in his Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, to his involvement with the crime family of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino). During his time with the mob, Henry met some big names within the criminal underworld, as were Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). The latter was aggressive and impulsive, and thus had a reputation of being a very dangerous man – and it was that violent personality what got him killed.
After an altercation at Henry’s bar with Billy Batts (Frank Vincent), who insulted Tommy’s past, Jimmy and Tommy beat Batts to the point of unconsciousness. As Batts was a “made” man, he couldn’t be killed without the permission from the boss of the family he was part of (that was, the Gambino crime family), so Jimmy, Tommy, and Henry had to act quick and get rid of the body. Later on the movie, Tommy is getting ready to become a “made” man, but it turns out to be a set-up, and he’s shot on the way to the ceremony, presumably in retribution for the murder of Batts – but how did the Gambino family know it was Tommy who killed Batts?
In Goodfellas, the one who shoots Tommy is Tuddy Cicero (Frank DiLeo), Paul’s brother, meaning they were from the same family. This has made viewers wonder if someone betrayed Tommy, quite possibly Paul himself. As all those involved have now passed away and took a bunch of secrets with them, there are a few theories on how the Gambino family knew Tommy killed Batts. One suggests that the Gambino family had suspected Tommy was involved from the very beginning, but needed proof. After tracking Batts’ last known location and finding out it was Henry’s bar, it was only a matter of waiting until they could kill Tommy (whose reputation and long list of crimes only helped the Gambino family convince themselves that Tommy was the one).
Another one leaning more into what happened in real-life and not so much in Goodfellas suggests that it was Paul who told the Gambino family. Paul had an affair with Karen Hill while Henry was in jail, and she told Paul that Tommy tried to rape her. Paul then told the Gambino crew that Tommy was involved in the murder of Batts, and so they planned Tommy’s murder. Paul’s son Peter (who in the movie was changed to be Tuddy) and Bruno Facciolo then took him to an unknown location under the promise that he was going to be “made”, but killed him instead. This would also explain why Jimmy wasn’t killed, even though he also had a part in it. Many years later, Henry Hill claimed that John Gotti himself killed Tommy, as Batts was his longtime friend, but nothing is confirmed. This part of Tommy’s story in Goodfellas, then, is open to interpretation, and depending on what each viewer chooses to believe, Tommy’s death might or might not be tragic.