‘Goodfellas’ mobster Vincent Asaro dead at 88
Reputed mob boss and Bonanno crime family member Vincent Asaro has died, the Daily News has learned.
Asaro was 88 years old when he died last week, his criminal defense attorney Liz Macedonio confirmed Sunday.
“He was a larger than life client who lived life to the fullest,” Macedonio said. “He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.”
Asaro gained notoriety for his alleged involvement in the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport depicted in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” but he was ultimately acquitted of the charges at trial decades later.
The 64-minute $6 million robbery was one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history. The stolen cash and jewelry has never been recovered.
The Five Families capo was put on trial for his involvement in the sweeping robbery and other crimes in 2015, but was acquitted of the most serious charges, including murder and racketeering.
In 2017, he plead guilty to ordering an associate to burn the car of a man who cut him off in Queens. During the trial, he was accused of threatening to kill a federal prosecutor, The News reported at the time.
While being held in federal prison in 2019, Asaro suffered a stroke which made him unable to speak in complete sentences, feed himself or use the bathroom independently.
He was released from prison by a Brooklyn judge in 2020 amid the COVID-19 epidemic and the mobster’s rapidly declining health.
Judge Allyne Ross ruled that given the Brooklyn native’s state of health he would not “put the public at a significantly increased risk of danger.”
Asaro’s lengthy rap sheet dates to 1957 for crimes including rape, bank robbery, kidnapping and assault. In many of the cases, the charges were dismissed.