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May 31, 2010
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California Man Thinks He’s Henry Hill, Sues City for Following Him with Helicopters

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By: Matt Molnar
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"Last Day as a Wiseguy"
"Last Day as a Wiseguy"

Henry Hill’s last day as a wiseguy.

A man who may have seen the movie Goodfellas one time too many is suing the city of Huntington Beach, Calif. for sending helicopters and planes to follow him 20 times a day for the past two years, according to a report in The Orange County Register.

His story mirrors the film’s hectic, cocaine-fueled, climactic sequence in which the main character, Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta), thinks he’s being followed by a helicopter all day as he delivers guns and picks up drugs while attempting to cook a good ol’ fashioned family dinner. The plaintiff claims he is being harassed by government aircraft to the point that, “Mentally and physically, work has become almost impossible due to the emotional stress.”

It gets better: The 57-year-old plaintiff’s name is Michael Lucchese. There’s no evidence that Mr. Lucchese is involved in organized crime or being investigated for any wrongdoing, but it’s a happy coincidence (to me, at least) that Henry Hill was, of course, a member of the Lucchese organized crime family.

For their part, Huntington Beach police say they simply don’t operate any helicopters resembling the one Lucchese describes. A police spokesman told the Register, “There are also other law enforcement agencies, ambulance, military and news helicopters that are flying over Huntington Beach every day, at all times of the day. I have no doubt that he can look up and see a helicopter on a regular basis, but it is not us.” A private investigator hired by Lucchese to determine the source of the choppers was unfruitful, but not enough to dissuade him from filing the $25 million harassment suit.

Warning, some NSFW language, but this is widely considered one of the best-edited scenes in the history of film…