1978. Kennedy Airport. A $6 million daring armed robbery. This, history’s largest unrecovered cash haul, was memorialized in “Goodfellas.” Now comes “The Lufthansa Heist.” Daniel Simone’s co-author is the caper’s mastermind, the late Henry Hill.
Simone: “I lived nearby and, dating a Lufthansa stewardess, the story mesmerized me. Authorities knew within minutes who did it. An airline shipping agent schemed the idea, told it to a bookmaker to whom he was indebted and who then brought the plan to Hill. The bookie was killed. Thirteen major suspects got done away with. Henry Hill was eventually expelled from the witness protection system since he felt all involved were dead and gone.
“Eventually I met Henry Hill and we struck a deal. I debriefed him daily for 16 months, as did the FBI. Look, my telephone’s unlisted, no address is on the Internet, still I had e-mails from unhappy people who termed him a rat.
“Mob guys, involved in the caper, got tribute. The Gambino family, the Luccheses got some. Gotti provided logistics, as in the van finding its way to an auto-wrecking place. Chunks of the loot eventually got squandered gambling or in narcotics transactions.
“No perpetrators were apprehended, the cash loot never found. Gotten back was $17,000. Larger sums have been stolen, but it’s the largest amount unrecovered. This could never happen again because of modern technology. Today, it’s computers, not walking in with guns.”
Says Simone: “One federal judge in the story read Cindy’s column every day, and that’s mentioned several times in the manuscript.”
The book’s out in March. Meanwhile, Vegas’ Mob Museum keeps playing its trailer.
Joan intros ‘Delancey’ delicacies
Even from the beyond comes Joan Rivers’ voice. “Eating Delancey: A Celebration of Jewish Food” — perfect Christmas publication, right? — has an intro by Joan. She writes: “If I had to choose a last meal, it would be gefilte fish with freshly grated horseradish. Or noodle kugel. Or halvah.” For those who know not from halvah, she suggests what we should do to ourselves.
“And I love kreplach. I’m not happy at Chinese restaurants. I want kreplach. Jewish food makes Italian eats seem like Lean Cuisine.”
Bits & pieces
New Year’s Eve Le Cirque is serving truffles plus Neil Sedaka. And Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., $600 a person, an Andrea Bocelli concert. Proceeds to a Haitian charity . . .
The Times, with bits of the news that’s fit to print, just reported 90-year-old County Clerk Norman Goodman — who runs our jury system — is retiring after 45 years. I reported that loooong ago. Looooong ago . . .
Talk of holiday gifts, Steven Meisel took a Donatella Versace passport photo. Retoucher? St. Nick . . .
Yuk, yuck
Jerry Lewis has said: “I don’t like female comedians.” He obviously didn’t think J. Edgar Hoover was funny. Anyway, with today’s hotshot funny ladies all over the airwaves, word is he may have a yeast infection.
Stray Dogg
What Snoop Dogg pants after for this Christmas, who knows. A Yuletime past, awash in gold jewelry, he wanted a scarf. The Marriott Marquis boutique knew he was Somebody. But Who? They right away knew he wasn’t Sandra Bullock or Sir Paul McCartney. The manageress asked: “You with Metallica?” Answer: “Not really.” Buying Nicole Miller’s navy and black job with the Statue of Liberty and NY taxis on it, he paid cash. Crumpled bills.
We all share the same hope. That Santa visits us and relatives don’t. So, remember the words of Irving Confucius, who said this at the NY Athletic Club: “The Christmas presents of today are the garage sales of tomorrow.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.