About this episode

Ed McDonald discusses his career as a federal prosecutor and the real-life Mafia stories that inspired Goodfellas.

Former federal prosecutor Ed McDonald sits down with VladTV to discuss his legendary career fighting organized crime and the real-life Mafia figures and investigations that helped inspire the classic film Goodfellas. McDonald traces his career from clerking for federal judge Anthony Travia to joining the Manhattan DA’s office and eventually the Brooklyn Organized Crime Strike Force in 1977. He explains how federal prosecutors coordinated with the FBI, NYPD, and IRS to investigate some of New York’s most powerful Mafia families. A major portion of the interview focuses on the 1978 Lufthansa robbery at JFK Airport. As coordinating prosecutor, McDonald investigated the multimillion-dollar heist and explains how mob associate Henry Hill eventually became a government informant, providing information that connected Jimmy Burke and others to organized crime. Hill’s cooperation also exposed the Boston College point-shaving scandal, leading investigators into another major prosecution involving Burke and college basketball players. McDonald also discusses cases involving the Bonanno and Gambino crime families, including prosecuting Joseph Massino before later becoming his defense…

People in this episode

Host: DJ Vlad

Guest: Ed McDonald

Topics covered

• organized crime
• Mafia
• prosecution
• Goodfellas
• law enforcement
• investigations
• crime families

Keywords

• Ed McDonald
• Goodfellas
• Mafia
• organized crime
• Lufthansa robbery
• Henry Hill
• Joseph Massino
• Paul Castellano
• John Gotti
• prosecution

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI, NYPD, IRS, Brooklyn Organized Crime Strike Force, Manhattan DA’s office

Books & works: Goodfellas

Places: New York, JFK Airport

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