SMALL PRINT:WHITEY BULGER'S arrest has been a long time coming, but many people know him only as the inspiration behind Jack Nicholson's character, Francis Costello in The Departed. So what other gangsters have inspired movies?
The Godfather
Although Mario Puzo's novel is one of fiction, he drew from real-life events. New York Mafioso Joe Valachi (the first mobster to publicly acknowledge the existence of the mafia) inspired the character Willi Cicci in The Godfather Part II. Johnny Fontane was based on Frank Sinatra. Genovese family gangster and Las Vegas developer Bugsy Siegel inspired the character Moe Greene, and the structure of the mob was drawn from the "Five Families" of New York and also the Rennaisance-era Borgia family.
Scarface
Tony Montana’s personality was based on the much earlier activities of Al Capone, the mob boss whose extremely violent behaviour and that of his group of “Capones” allowed him to run riot in 1920s Chicago.
Goodfellas
Henry Hill was born to an Irish-American father and Italian-American mother and made his name in the Lucchese family. The book based on his criminal escapades, Wiseguy, became the basis for Scorsese's movie. Expelled from the witness protection programme, he now lives in California and owns a restaurant, Wiseguys. He also sells paintings on eBay.
Casino
De Niro’s Sam “Ace” Rothstein was based on Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, a professional gambler who honed his trade in Chicago, and later ran several illegal casinos in Las Vegas, most notably The Stardust.
