Aging gangster accused of 'Goodfellas' heist goes on trial
NEW YORK (AP) — An aging gangster went on trial Monday on charges he was in on the $6 million Lufthansa holdup in 1978, a legendary theft dramatized in the hit film "Goodfellas."
The brazen armed robbery of cash and jewelry in the dead of night at a cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport was "the score of all scores" for Vincent Asaro and other mobsters of his generation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Gerdes said in opening statements in federal court in Brooklyn.
The prosecutor told jurors — who had been asked on questionnaires if they had seen "Goodfellas" — that Asaro became a real-life member of the Bonanno organized crime family in the 1970s, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
After rising to boss of the family, Massino stunned the underworld by becoming the highest-ranking mobster to ever break the mob's oath of omerta when he testified at the 2011 trial of his successor.
If convicted of racketeering conspiracy and other charges, Asaro faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars.