NEW YORK--A federal jury has found alleged former Bonanno crime family captain Vincent Asaro not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two extortion-related counts.
Asaro was on trial to face charges in a string of crimes over 40 years. Among them: murder, racketeering and the famed 1978 Lufthansa heist at JFK International Airport that helped inspire part of the plot in the 1990 film "Goodfellas." He was able to avoid detection by staying in the shadows for decades by adhering to the Mafia's strict code of silence
After the verdict was announced, he broke out in a big smile, pumped his fists and gave one of his attorneys a huge hug.
The prosecution's case relied on recordings provided by Asaro's cousin, Gaspare Valenti.
The mobsters involved in the Lufthansa heist were themselves surprised by the size of the take: about $5 million in cash and nearly $1 million in jewels from an airline cargo building. It was "the largest bank robbery in New York history," according to a 2014 release from the U.S. Justice Department.
The government's evidence included secret recordings of Asaro complaining he didn't get his fair share of the Lufthansa score. Jurors heard recordings made by Valenti on which Asaro complained in a profanity-laced rant, "We never got our right money, what we were supposed to get. ... Jimmy kept everything."
At trial, prosecutors described how Asaro rose through the ranks and developed an "unbreakable bond" with the more notorious James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke, the late Lucchese crime family associate who orchestrated the holdup at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport. Taking the witness stand last month, Valenti testified that Asaro and Burke killed a suspected informant with a dog chain in 1969 before ordering Valenti to help bury the body.
Valenti also testified that Asaro drafted him for the Lufthansa heist, telling him, "Jimmy Burke has a big score at the airport coming up, and you're invited to go."
When he learned about the mountain of $100 bills and jewels taken from a Lufthansa vault, Asaro was "very happy, really euphoric." Valenti testified. "We thought there was going to be $2 million in cash and there was $6 million."
Asaro, whose father and grandfather were members of the secretive Bonanno crime family, "was born into that life and he fully embraced it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicyn Cooley said in closing arguments. His devotion to the Bonannos "was as permanent as the 'death before dishonor' tattoo on his arm," she added.
However, later in his career, Asaro, now 80, found his alleged way of life more difficult. In recent recordings, he said he worried about losing his status in the mob and complained of being "broke."
Valenti decided to cooperate with the FBI in 2008. "I have remorse in me and need ways to support my family," he said in a call to the agency.
The trial, which began October 19, has involved more than 70 witnesses, most of them for the prosecution.
Asaro's lawyers argued that he was framed by mob turncoats angling for leniency in their own cases.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
