Real-life mob associate known as ‘Pittsburgh connection' in ‘Goodfellas' dies

PITTSBURGH — A mob associate referred to as the “Pittsburgh connection” in the movie “Goodfellas” died Thursday at a bar in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Eugene "Nick the Blade" Gesuale was drinking pinot grigio when he suddenly fell over from a heart attack, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He was 73.

Gesuale earned his nickname in his youth after attacking two people with a knife, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

Formerly of East Liberty and Highland Park, Gesuale headed a marijuana and cocaine distribution network in the late 1970s and 1980s, Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE reported.

The ring had ties to Western Pennsylvania's LaRocca/Genovese La Cosa Nostra family and the Pagans motorcycle gang, TribLIVE reported, citing a 1990 report from the Pennsylvania Crime Commission. He was also involved in bookmaking, loan sharking and extortion, and ran a prostitution business in New York City.

After Gesuale fled the country, FBI agents caught him in Kingston, Jamaica, in July 1986, TribLIVE reported. He returned to Pittsburgh and pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and conspiracy, income tax evasion and being part of a criminal enterprise.

Gesuale was released from prison in October 2014, but was prohibited from returning to Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Jeffrey A. Manning told TribLIVE.

%

%

Cox Media Group