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Thursday, November 12, 2015

Goodfella shakes Jail time for 1978 Lufthansa heist

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

101304Robbery1DB

A graphic detailing the Lufthansa heist
Photo: New York Post

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He’s a jolly “Goodfella.”
Bonanno crime capo Vinny Asaro grinned from ear to ear as he was acquitted by a federal jury Thursday in the iconic 1978 Lufthansa heist and a slew of other Mafia crimes, including murder.
Federal prosecutors, who were seeking a landmark conviction in the legendary crime immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film “Goodfellas.”
Prosecutors had argued that Asaro was heavily involved with the band of mob hoodlums who breached the Lufthansa terminal at Kennedy Airport on December 11, 1978 and emptied a vault of $6 million in cash and jewels.
In addition to clearing him on that score, jurors also cleared Asaro of any role in the grisly 1969 slaying of Paul Katz, a reputed mob associate who was suspected of being an informant.
The man described by a Brooklyn federal prosecutor as “the ultimate tough guy” and who once fraternized with mafia legends like John Gotti has now dodged the prospect of life in prison.
Asaro has now had the last laugh against his cousin, Gaspare Valenti, who was key to the prosecution case and has already pleaded guilty to involvement in the Lufthansa heist, gave jurors an intimate tour of the planning, execution and aftermath of the robbery.
The turncoat also told jurors that he exhumed Katz on his cousin’s orders.
The three-week trial in Brooklyn federal court vividly brought many of the characters from the famed film classic to life.
Prosecutors had argued that Asaro was heavily involved with the band of mob hoodlums who breached the Lufthansa terminal at Kennedy Airport on December 11, 1978 and emptied a vault of $6 million in cash and jewels.
In addition to clearing him on that score, jurors also cleared Asaro of any role in the grisly 1969 slaying of Paul Katz, a reputed mob associate who was suspected of being an informant. read on



The Lufthansa heist makes the front page on Dec. 11, 1978.
Photo: New York Post

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