Goodfellas gave viewers a look at the lives of a group of gangsters from the 1970s, among those Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), who was killed in the third act of the film – but why was he killed, and not his close partners and friends, Henry Hill and James Conway? Martin Scorsese is one of the most respected and admired directors in the film industry, and is mostly known for his crime films focused on the mafia, among those the 1990 film Goodfellas.

Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas tells the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days as a young boy living in a working class Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, to the Lufthansa heist and him working as an informant for the FBI. Goodfellas included many real-life gangsters, but changed the names of most of them, such as Jimmy “the Gent” Burke (played by Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway), Paul Vario (Paul Cicero, played by Paul Sorvino), and Tommy “Two Gun” DeSimone (Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci).

Related: Goodfellas: What Happened To Henry Hill After The Movie In Real Life

Given that it’s a story about the mafia, Goodfellas included many deaths, among those Tommy DeVito’s, who was the only one from the group to be killed by another crime family. But why was he killed, and Henry and Jimmy weren’t?

Goodfellas: The Real Reason Why Tommy Was Killed

Tommy gets whacked in Goodfellas

Tommy DeVito was mostly known for his very short temper and aggressive personality – case in point, he shot bartender Spider on the foot after he insulted him, and later killed him when Jimmy gave him money for having the guts to stand up for himself. Tommy’s temper got the best of him when Billy Batts, a made man from the Gambino family, insulted him at a nightclub, making references to when Tommy used to shine shoes. With the help of Jimmy, Tommy killed Batts, and after remembering that the unsanctioned murder of a made man invites retribution, Tommy, Jimmy, and Henry buried the body in Upstate New York.

Years later, Tommy was led to believe that he was to become a made man, but it was a set-up, and was shot on the way to the ceremony in retribution for Batts’ murder. Out of the three associates, only Tommy could become a made man thanks to his Italian ancestry, while Henry and Jimmy couldn’t because they were of Irish ancestry. That, along with his known bursts of violence, made Tommy a menace, and the Gambino family had an unfinished business with him due to the murder of Batts. His death also served as a warning for Henry and Jimmy.

In real life, it’s still unclear who killed him, but it’s believed that the Gambino family was responsible, precisely as revenge for the murder of Billy Batts, two of John Gotti’s men, and Foxy Jerothe. Intimidation is a weapon often used in these environments, which is what the killers of Tommy DeVito/DeSimone were looking for (besides revenge, of course), as they were sending a message to those close to him, like Henry and Jimmy.

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