Those people actually did in fact live the lives which are portrayed in the two films and both of them are still under the witness protection program. This movie is about a boy, Henry Hill, who grows up to be one of the most important people in organized crime. He starts getting involved in crime at the very young age. Slowly as he grows up, he builds a reputation for himself as one of the main people in the organization. In his twenties, he has money, power and connections.
Life is great.
He gets married, has a few kids and goes on about his business, until the problems start. In the life of crime, there are problems and once they start, each man is for himself. As Henry gets involved in drugs to support his lifestyle, life starts to take a different turn. His friends are not the people he can trust anymore and in his world, recognizing who are his friends and who are his enemies becomes difficult. At the end he becomes an average Joe, which for him is a living hell.