the scene where James woods and the other two guys were killed(burnt) after the robbery was a set-up. the guy that supposed to be James Woods was not him. he made them believe that he was dead, changed his name to a new one to have a new and wonderful life. he married the girl that Noodles love so much and got all the money that they earned in the business. when he invited Noodles to the party, i believe it was payback time. he was expecting that Noodles will kill him. but Noodles did'nt buy it. out of guilty conscience maybe, he killed himself in the garbage truck . . .

GoodFella