Brother of Alleged Mob Figure Pleads No Contest

The brother of reputed mobster Henry Hill has pleaded no contest to charges of state income tax evasion, authorities said Wednesday.

Joseph J. Hill, 46, of Rowland Heights, entered the plea Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Frank Johnson of the Organized Crime division. Johnson said that Hill, a self-employed unlicensed private investigator, made $373,000 from 1985 to 1988. During that time, neither he nor his wife Barbara ever filed a state income tax return, which amounted to $26,000. Barbara Hill and a third defendant, Patricia Arriaga, 37, received probation for their roles in the case.

Henry Hill was a reputed mobster who served as the basis for the book, “The Wise Guy,” by Nicolas Pileggi, which inspired the film “Goodfellas.” He is in hiding with the federal witness protection program.