Chasing Goodfellas: Lufthansa, Henry Hill, Point Shaving, and Making Movies

by Edward McDonald, Jake Brown (Primary Contributor)

Celebrated mafia prosecutor Edward McDonald provides not only a front-row seat to his exciting takedown of the underworld legends who executed the nation’s largest robbery and exploited big-time college basketball players, but also an inside look into the making of the classic film Goodfellas.

America has its share of feared and famous G-men and mob prosecutors, but at the height of the New York Mafia’s reign over New York City and beyond, arguably none was more successful than Edward McDonald.

A folk hero in law enforcement circles and scorned within the underworld, Ed has become a well-known television personality. He is perhaps most recognizable for playing himself in the Oscar-winning blockbuster film Goodfellas. Here for the first time, Ed—along with writer Jake Brown—takes readers inside the investigations and trials of front-page courtroom battles, and offers never-before-explored tales of the exploits of famed gangsters like Henry Hill and Jimmy “The Gent” Burke.

In his memoir, this iconic lawyer rivets readers with a cinematic roller coaster of a read in a gripping and entertaining storytelling style. Ed faced off against the fiercest mob bosses in history, and the legal victories he achieved in the courtroom quite literally devastated organized crime and public corruption at their peak. Here in the pages of Chasing Goodfellas, he takes readers inside two of those real-life investigations and prosecutions.

First, he describes the electrifying details of the Lufthansa heist—the largest robbery in American history and the campaign of murder waged in its wake—and then presents the inside scoop on one of the most famous college sports betting scandals in history with the Boston College point-shaving case. Ed chronicles the exciting investigations that he and his FBI partners carried out step by step, and intimately describes how he successfully conducted the two drama-filled, landmark trials. He follows up with entertaining descriptions of his unlikely appearance as himself in the classic film Goodfellas, and even more unexpected—his three-decade relationship with Henry Hill, the Lufthansa and BC fixer he turned to make those cases.

352 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2026

Reviews

[Ward Whipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

As entertaining as the Goodfellas film and Pileggi's Wiseguy book were, Henry Hill was always an unreliable narrator. That's why this book is so valuable, as it fills in the details of Henry Hill's fall from grace as the golden boy of Paul Vario's crew. More insight into the Luftansa heist is here, along with the ins and outs of the Boston College point shaving scandal that helped bring down the characters played by Robert DeNiro and Paul Sorvino in the film, but never directly referenced. The author's own dalliances with movie stardom are addressed briefly, but even he knows that while he served a larger purpose in real life, the story was never about him. (advance proof provided by NetGalley)

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance read in exchange for an honest review. Goodfellas is the preeminent mob movie and this behind-the-scenes look told by Mafia prosecutor Edward McDonald is fascinating. The focus is on gangster Henry Hill, notorious for his roles in the $6M Lufthansa heist and a Boston College point-shaving scandal. McDonald was a key player in both events and even developed a peculiar relationship with Hill. A definite read for Goodfellas fans and those fascinated with Mafia lore.