Henry Hill, whose life as a mobster and FBI informant was the basis for the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, has died aged 69.

A small-time gangster who became a big-time celebrity...

An associate in New York’s overbearing Lucchese crime family, Mr Hill was a small-time gangster who became a big-time celebrity by telling detailed, disturbing and often hilarious tales of mob life, first in the 1986 book Wiseguy and later in 1990’s instant classic film Goodfellas.

Mr Hill died on Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital following a long battle with an undisclosed illness, his girlfriend Lisa told the TMZ celebrity news website.

“He had been sick for a long time ... his heart gave out,” she said, adding that he had made efforts to mend relationships with estranged family members in recent years.

Ray Liotta, who played him in the 1990 film alongside Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci, offered condolences to the bereaved family. “Although I played Henry Hill in the movie Goodfellas I only met him a few short times, so I can’t say I knew him,” he said in a statement. “But I do know he chose to live a complicated life.

“My heart goes out to his family, and may he finally rest in peace.”

Publicists for Mr Scorsese did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mr Hill, who prided himself on reforming in later life and appeared regularly on the Howard Stern show, is survived by two children.

Life in the Mafia

• Henry Hill was born on June 11, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in an area of Brooklyn that was dominated by the Lucchese crime family. He began dreaming of being in the Mafia when he was 12.

• The son of an Irish father and Sicilian mother, Mr Hill could never be “made” a Mafia member because he wasn’t a full-blooded Italian, but his charm and cunning still made him welcome inside the Lucchese family.

• He soon became a close associate and friend of Paul Vario, one of the more respected capos in the family.

• In his teenage years, Mr Hill would run errands for Mr Vario and his crew, and eventually moved to more serious crime over his three decades in the Mafia, beginning in 1955.

• Mr Hill lived up to the gangster image by having a number of affairs and staying out until all hours, drinking, partying and playing cards. After beating up a non-paying gambler whose sister worked at the FBI, Mr Hill was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

• After his release, Mr Hill used his prison narcotics contacts to shift large amounts of cocaine from Brooklyn to Pittsburgh. As his operation grew, so did Mr Hill’s own addiction to the drug. It was only when he realised he was next on the hit list that he became a federal witness. His testimony brought down some of New York’s most feared mobsters, including Paul Vario.

• In his later years, Mr Hill worked to come to terms with his past, taking classes to be certified as a drug and alcohol counsellor. Despite his efforts at redemption, many still viewed him as a rat and a drug addict, even in his old age.