goodfella

• goodfellow

From good +‎ fella. Popularized by the American crime film Goodfellas (1990).

goodfella (plural goodfellas)

1. (US, slang) A gangster, especially one in the Mafia.
   • 1987, Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley, chapter 17, in Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, New American Library, published 1988, page 310:

     Was Anthony Mirra a wiseguy then? […] If Mirra wasn't a good fellow at the time you was there, his argument is no good.

   • 1992, Marshall Blonsky, chapter 13, in American Mythologies, New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, pages 313–314:

     […] according to law enforcement, the boss of the largest crime family in the country, some 300 wise guys, good fellows, good guys, button men, made guys—sworn members of the family—and 1,000 and 1,500 associated members.

   • 1999 June 29, Order Sons of Italy in America v. Richard Callisi‎^[1], Opposition No. 99,992, U.S. Department of Commerce: Patent and Trademark Office, archived from the original on 30 September 2006:

     As grounds for opposition [to the mark GOODFELLA], opposer [the Order Sons of Italy in America] alleges […] that “Goodfellas” is a code word used by organized criminals to refer to each other; that a synonym for “goodfellas” is “mafioso” […]; that the term “Goodfellas” became generally known throughout the United States and Canada for its criminal meaning when the movie of the same name was released in 1990; that opposer and the CSJ object to use of the term “Goodfellas” beyond its meaning and description of a small group of organized criminals both in Italy and America […]

   • 2001 June 18, U.S. News & World Report, page 20, column 3:

     Faced with damning disclosures from wiretaps and the prospect of life in prison, top goodfellas have ‘flipped’ to the prosecution's side.

   • 2009 October 8, James Bone, “Turncoat John Alite tells John Gotti Jr trial of ‘spoiled heir’”, in The Times‎^[2]:

     Alite […] could never become a “made” member of the Mafia because he is […] not of Italian origin. […] he agreed to split the profits from his $1 million-a-month cocaine ring in the New York borough of Queens. / […] / He described the good life of a “goodfella” [i.e. life of him as a gangster].