Asaro Slammed With New Charges from Old Evidence

De Niro as Burke, left, Ray Liotta as Henry Hill. No Vinny Asaro character
was in Goodfellas, though he certainly was mentioned in the book.


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Prosecutors blasted reputed Bonanno capo Vincent Asaro, 79, with new charges based on a superseding indictment, as reported last week.

The charges have not been revealed yet because evidence recorded on tape needs to be digitized, prosecutors said.

Described as looking gaunt, Asaro seemed to be suffering from involuntary shivering at the proceeding last week in which his lawyer attempted to push back the date of Asaro's racketeering trial slated for July in Brooklyn Federal Court..




Afterward, his lawyer told the press that Asaro was shivering simply because of the cold temperature of the courtroom, adding that Asaro suffers from medical problems.

An "all-star" lineup of turncoats has been assembled by the feds. Ex-Bonanno boss Joseph Massino, ex-underboss Salvatore Vitale and Asaro's cousin Gaspar Valenti all are slated to testify against the elderly, volatile Mafioso.

Part of the plot of the film "Goodfellas" hinged on the fictional reenactment of the Lufthansa robbery and its consequences: the deaths of many people.
Jimmy the Gent

Asaro already is charged with the murder of mob associate Paul Katz, a hit supposedly carried out as a favor to once powerful legendary Luchese associate James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke.

Asaro's son Jerome pleaded guilty last year to excavating and moving Katz's remains in the 1980s.

About a year ago, news of the arrests put the notorious Lufthansa robbery back in the media's glare.

Heretofore, only a Lufthansa airlines cargo agent has been prosecuted for the robbery. Louis Werner, struggling under the weight of $20,000 in gambling debts, used his knowledge of the incoming cash and jewelry to formulate an idea for a robbery he swiftly passed on to his bookmaker, Marty Krugman, who in turn told Luchese associate Henry Hill.

Werner was indicted in March 1979, within four months of the robbery. 

He was lucky. Most of the men who directly committed the job are dead or are presumed dead.

Vincent Asaro has the distinction of being the first made member of organized crime to ever be charged in the heist, which netter about $6 million ($21.4 million when adjusted for inflation.)

Asaro is known to have been the Bonanno capo in charge of the airport at the time of the robbery. Court papers say he took part in “several planning meetings” with Burke.

Asaro and Burke also had ties through a club they co-owned, Robert's Lounge, according to court papers. The late Henry Hill described it as Burke's private cemetery.

"Jimmy buried over a dozen bodies ... under the bocce courts," Hill wrote in "A Goodfella's Guide to New York."

Prosecutors believe that Asaro was paid off following the Lufthansa heist with some stolen jewelry.

Asaro allegedly admitted his involvement in the Lufthansa heist to Massino while he was still the Last Don.

Asaro as recently as 2011 was recorded complaining about the amount he netted from the historic heist.

“We never got our right money, what we were supposed to get, we got fucked all around. Got fucked around. That ­fucking Jimmy [Burke] kept everything... "

Comments

  1. I feel bad for him. A boss and an underboss testifying against a man who never hit any of those heights...it's like they're going after him for headlines

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  2. Silvio, the Feds stop at nothing, they're very vindictive, now Asaro is in the firing range of the Feds. A shame, as Asaro is a stone mobster, he'll live and die by the code.

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  3. true to the bone Damico

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  4. That Massino is a royal p.o.s.!!

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  5. Yea, imagine that...law enforcement going after and prosecuting criminals for crimes they've committed, keeping cases open until they're solved, bringing criminals to justice.... wow, that's really horrible. How could they do such things? Tsk-tsk-tsk

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  6. Crime does not pay. (Nor should it.)

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  7. Vin is as old school as they get, The whole case is so sickening to me personally, because there is nothing worse then having a Judas betray you and Vin's cousin Gaspare is probably the worst of the worst in terms of betrayal. The other two mutts fat & skinny were predictable, but never could have made a case without this Judas Gaspare.

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  8. Very true, not good, Vin deserves better, a stand up guy that is going to loose to the new system "Rat bastard meets Team America" and stand up guy looses. Bad.

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