Ed McDonald on the Real Goodfellas

Retired Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins discussed Henry Hill, Jimmy the Gent Burke, Paul Vario, and the Lucchese Family with former Federal prosecutor Ed McDonald.

What happened to the $6 million stolen in the Lufthansa heist? Gary Jenkins talks with former federal prosecutor Ed McDonald, who investigated the robbery and worked with Henry Hill after he became a witness.

McDonald explains why Hill cooperated, how his information exposed the Boston College basketball point-shaving scheme, and why prosecutors took a chance on a case against Jimmy “the Gent” Burke. He also recalls meeting Burke in person and the unlikely path that led him to play himself in Goodfellas.

McDonald is the author of Chasing Goodfellas: Lufthansa, Henry Hill, Point Shaving, and Making Movies.

Chapters

- 00:00 Meet Ed McDonald

- 03:00 How the organized crime strike forces worked

- 08:00 The Lufthansa robbery and Boston College connection

- 11:00 Henry Hill and the Lufthansa investigation

- 28:00 How the point-shaving scheme worked

- 35:00 What happened to the Lufthansa money?

- 38:00 McDonald’s encounters with Jimmy Burke