So-called “mafia cop” Louis Eppolito, who was convicted of murdering several people for the Lucchese crime family and who appeared in the mob movie Goodfellas, has died in federal prison while serving a life sentence. He was 71 years old.

Eppolito was convicted of helping to orchestrate eight mob killings roughly between 1986-1990 along with his partner Stephen Caracappa.

Eppolito and Caracappa also passed on information about ongoing police investigations into the mafia, including the names of informants, while working as police officers for the NYPD.

The Lucchese crime organisation was one of the so-called “Five Families” that dominated crime in New York City for decades.

In some cases, the murders were perpetrated based on information from Eppolito and Caracappa.

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One the victims did not have connections to organised crime but was unfortunate enough to share a name with a member of the rival Gambino crime family. Nicholas Guido was 26 when he was shot outside his mother’s house in a hit ordered by the Lucchese family on information passed on by Eppolito and his partner.

Guido’s family won a $5 million lawsuit against New York City for his death.

In other cases Eppolito and Caracappa acted as hitmen themselves. The pair killed a diamond dealer named Israel Greenwald after using the NYPD police database to find his licence plate number and tail him.

Mr Greenwald’s remains were excavated from beneath a Brooklyn warehouse in 2005.

Somewhat ironically, during the same time that Eppolito was working with the Lucchese family, he had a bit part in the movie Goodfellas as Fat Andy.

The New York Post reports that Eppolito had had health problems for some time.