The Real Story of Goodfellas

Ray William Johnson· Host0:00

You know that movie Goodfellas? Well, it's based on a true story, but the real story is actually crazier than the movie. And it all starts with this guy, Jimmy. And Jimmy's about 46 when all this begins, and he's living in New York City. And in the movie, Jimmy is played by Robert De Niro. And so Jimmy, he's a mid-level member of the mafia, and he loves stealing from people. It's all he really cares about, and he'll do anything to pull off a good heist. And so one day in 1978, Jimmy finds out about an opportunity to rob a Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK Airport. A cargo terminal is where the airline, Lufthansa, receives and stores all the commercial freight. It's just a big warehouse. It looks like this. And so Jimmy gets together with his buddy, and they start planning this heist. His buddy is actually played by Ray Liotta in the movie. And so Jimmy, he gets access to the warehouse floor plans and all this other inside information that they'll need to pull this off, and they plan it all out. Once he's ready, he rounds up the perfect crew of goons to help him out. Meanwhile, a Lufthansa cargo plane arrives at JFK from Germany, and it's hauling a bunch of money and jewels. Once it lands, the crew take all the cargo off the plane straight to a vault in the cargo area. Then Jimmy gets a call tipping him off that the shipment has arrived. And so Jimmy and his crew, they're all ready, and he has them put on black ski masks, and they load