Joe Pesci a comedic sidekick and best friend to protagonist detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in the "Lethal Weapon" sequels, released in 1989, 1992 and 1998. In 1990, he reunited with Scorsese and De Niro for "Goodfellas", wherein he played mobster Tommy DeVito, based on real-life mobster Thomas DeSimone. (Tommy DeVito is also the name of Pesci's old acquaintance from Belleville, New Jersey, and a member of The Four Seasons, but contrary to popular belief, the naming is coincidental.) Old friend Frank Vincent also appears in the film; Pesci's character kills Vincent's character in a rage in
Mafia film genre, Robert De Niro as Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa and Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino. Mafia film Mafia films — a version of gangster films — are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with the Mafia. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with "film noir". Popular regional variations of the genre include Italian "Poliziotteschi", Chinese "Triad films", Japanese "Yakuza films", and Indian "Mumbai underworld films". The American movie "The Black Hand" (1906) is thought to be the earliest surviving gangster film. In 1912, D. W. Griffith directed