Noshing With Ed McDonald – October 15, 2026
Author, Chasing Goodfellas: Lufthansa, Henry Hill, Point Shaving, and Making Movies
What happens when a federal prosecutor takes on the mob—and winds up playing himself in an Oscar-winning movie? Former federal strike force chief and “Goodfellas” actor Edward McDonald joins Ira to discuss his extraordinary career and his book, Chasing Goodfellas: Lufthansa, Henry Hill, Point Shaving, and Making Movies. From the infamous Lufthansa robbery and encounters with Henry Hill and Jimmy “The Gent” Burke to the Boston College point-shaving scandal and his experience working with Martin Scorsese, Edward shares remarkable stories that prove truth can be stranger than fiction.
ABOUT EDWARD:
Edward McDonald headed the Justice Department’s largest and most successful Organized Crime Strike Force in Brooklyn throughout the 1980s. He was responsible for the convictions of the leaders of four of the five Mafia families in New York, over sixty La Cosa Nostra capos and soldiers, more than seventy corrupt labor union officials, and countless others associated with the LCN. He also successfully tried New Jersey Senator Harrison Williams and successfully prosecuted five US congressmen.
A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Ed played himself in Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning film Goodfellas and appeared in three other films. He has been a fixture on television, with appearances on news shows including Good Morning America and Today, and countless organized crime documentaries, including GOTTI: Godfather & Son on History/A&E/Bio and The 5 Families on Netflix.
In private law practice in New York since 1990, he has been praised by the Legal 500, which said, “the ‘excellent Edward McDonald’ lives up to his reputation as ‘one of the best criminal defense attorneys in New York.’” A graduate of Boston College and Georgetown Law School, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Mary, a short walk from his three sons and five grandchildren.