I know it's screenwriting but would Burke have ever said that to a made guy? I'm sure they were all shitfaced.

"You were a little out of line yourself "

All Tommy had to do was take it and just keep earning with Jimmy and he would eventually be made, then Batts wouldn't be able to embarrass him and give him shit about the shine box anymore. Being with Paulie made Tommy think he could get away with anything. After they killed Batts, Tommy figured Paulie knew 'but didn't know' and would work it out with the Gambinos. They worked it out alright. Of course, Henry's Scarface style drug dealing eventually took down Paulie's crew anyway.

Have to wonder if there's any truth to the Hill story of that Tommy really only eventually was given up to the Gambino's by Paulie because he tried to rape Karen Hill (all the while Karen was having an affair with Paulie).

Tommy DeSimone being a downright maniac made his own problems in the end.

When I first read about that, I wondered why Hill took this long to tell this new version of the story. I don't buy it.

tommy also killed a guy named foxy, this is rehashed in "the Sinatra club" by sal polisi..... foxy was a friend of gotti's crew. according to polisi. gotti drove up to him, and asked him if he wanted to be in on tommy's hit. so the question is, was tommy hit because of the murder of billy batts, or foxy, or both.

I would take what Henry Hill said about Billy Batts Bentivgna with a grain of salt. All my research puts Billy Batts as an associate of the Gambino Family in crew later ran by Fat Andy Ruggiano, which the ultimate leader of that whole faction was Joseph N. Gallo. Forget about Batts being a protege of Fatico or even Gotti. Batts was higher than gotti back then and in a different crew that ultimately answered to Joe N Gallo. Batts may have been made the same time as Fat Andy, but I have seen no proof of it as of yet. I believe Tommy Agro killed Tommy DeSimone as retaliation. The Lucchese Family I doubt cared enough to whack Tommy so they threw the Gambino's a bone. That's why Agro had a soft spot for Bobby DeSimone. Joe Dogs story makes more sense than Hill's. Bentivgna was part of the Lucchese/Gambino/Bonanno/Genovese heroin pipeline out of the Montreal Bonanno wing. Carmine Galante and Big John Ormento were the main players in the wholesale. Chalutz Gagliodotto also played a part along with Carlie DiPietro. The Panico brother were involved along with Tony Mirra.

I don't believe it was either. Those murders happened years before. Lufthansa was the real reason Tommy was hit. He fucked up by raising his ski mask during the robbery and could be identified. I don't care what reasons Burke told Hill. Wiseguys shed crocodile tears when a "friend" was killed and would give any reason known to man to deflect suspicion. Tommy fucked up during the Heist. Jimmy was a nervous wreck after the robbery and Tommy got whacked right in the middle of Burke's hit spree. They threw Tommy to the wolves under the pretext of old murders he committed, but it was definitely a Lufthansa connected hit. If I was Burke, loose cannon Tommy would be one of the first on the hit list.