Valin Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Friends of Ours The racketeering trial against Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro starts this Monday for his alleged role in the 1978 Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport as reported by The Associated Press: "Asaro, 80, who has a history of convictions for lesser mob-related crimes, was arrested after his cousin, Gaspare Valenti, came forward with new information about the Lufthansa heist and agreed to wear a wire to try to coax admissions out of the reputed longtime member of the Bonanno crime family." Also slated to testify against Asaro is Bonanno-boss-turned-government-witness Joseph Massino. Further reading that may be of interest: In Praise Of The Rat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 OTOHGoodfellas, John Gotti and The Lufthansa HeistOctober 15, 2015(Snip)Talk about the upcoming case and what it means? I’m assuming you’re referring to the Vincent Asaro case. I spent almost two years interviewing Henry–and some of those sessions were videotaped. I had the collaboration of the two FBI agents who spearheaded the investigation (they wrote the forward and the afterward in my book). I also had the invaluable cooperation of Ed McDonald, the former US Attorney who was in charge of the case. (Incidentally, he played himself in Goodfellas). In my Notes and Sources page of the book, I name numerous individuals who were peripherally involved in the robbery; some on the sides of the authorities, and several down in the bowels of the underworld. Additionally, I managed to review a series of FBI inter-office memorandums circulated by those agents who were assisting the lead investigators identifying prospective suspects. And in the end of this exhausting mission, Vincent Asaro’s name never came up. In fact, in January of 2014 the blasting news about Asaro’s arrest shocked not only me but the FBI agents, the former US Attorney, and everyone else who had been attached to the investigation. My conclusion, and that of the aforementioned parties, is that Asaro had nothing to do with Lufthansa. Perhaps, he might’ve pestered Jimmy Burke for a percentage of the loot, and maybe to appease him Burke tossed him a bone. But I can’t envision Asaro having partaken in the heist, and yet remain totally obscure. Moreover, he didn’t surface throughout my research and interviews with over a hundred people who had a direct and indirect participation in this crime of epic proportion. So, you may ask, how could the current prosecutors obtain an indictment against Asaro for the Lufthansa charge? Simple. The indictment is based solely on the affidavits of two convicts, desperate felons in dire straits willing to fabricate lies that hey could offer to the prosecution in exchange for leniency. And the prosecutors, ambitious and blinded by the prospect of trying a case that will surely attract national attention, bought into those tales with hook, line, and sinker. The FBI also covertly recorded conversations wherein Asaro complains that “Burke never gave us what we were supposed to get from Lufthansa.” Such off-handed and fragmented statements, however, cannot be taken at face value and don’t necessarily mean what they imply. More realistically, it’s a commonality for the likes of Asaro to brag about crimes they did not commit. (Snip) H/T Cosa Nostra News 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggingtree Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Friends of Ours The racketeering trial against Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro starts this Monday for his alleged role in the 1978 Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport as reported by The Associated Press: "Asaro, 80, who has a history of convictions for lesser mob-related crimes, was arrested after his cousin, Gaspare Valenti, came forward with new information about the Lufthansa heist and agreed to wear a wire to try to coax admissions out of the reputed longtime member of the Bonanno crime family." Also slated to testify against Asaro is Bonanno-boss-turned-government-witness Joseph Massino. Further reading that may be of interest: In Praise Of The Rat Hey good post/read what I just read Asaro not involved -- but who knows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Friends of Ours The racketeering trial against Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro starts this Monday for his alleged role in the 1978 Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport as reported by The Associated Press: "Asaro, 80, who has a history of convictions for lesser mob-related crimes, was arrested after his cousin, Gaspare Valenti, came forward with new information about the Lufthansa heist and agreed to wear a wire to try to coax admissions out of the reputed longtime member of the Bonanno crime family." Also slated to testify against Asaro is Bonanno-boss-turned-government-witness Joseph Massino. Further reading that may be of interest: In Praise Of The Rat Hey good post/read what I just read Asaro not involved -- but who knows Thing we always need to keep in mind is who we are dealing with. Vincent Asaro, John Gotti, Joey Massino, Henry Hill....These are all bad guys who lie as a matter of course and always look to make themselves look innocent and/or more important than they may be. These are not nice reliable people. If Big Joe Massino told me it is October...I'd triple check the calendar....and call 4 other people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggingtree Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 The Joe Pesci Character in Goodfellas was Whacked by John Gotti*An excerpt from The Lufthansa Heist by Daniel Simone and Henry Hill Burke and Hill were losing their minds in Florida hunting for Eaton. Up north in New York Tommy DeSimone was dressing for his acceptance into the Mafia. He donned his double-breasted black Bill Blass suit, a starched blue shirt, and beige silk tie. His hair was trimmed and […] http://www.gorillaconvict.com/2015/10/the-joe-pesci-character-in-goodfellas-was-whacked-by-john-gotti/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggingtree Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Riveting Retelling of ’78 Lufthansa Heist, but in Court, Not on FilmBy STEPHANIE CLIFFORD OCT. 20, 2015 Wearing black ski masks and gloves and driving a stolen van, six Mafia members and associates came to a stop outside a terminal at Kennedy International Airport on a December night in 1978 for what they thought would be a $2 million robbery. A mile away, Vincent Asaro, who is now on trial in Brooklyn in connection with the holdup, waited with James Burke for the action to unfold. Minutes later, after the employees at the Lufthansa terminal had been rounded up at gunpoint, the six robbers forced one of them to open the vault. Tommy DeSimone walked in first, followed by Gaspare Valenti, who testified on Tuesday in Federal District Court, riveting the courtroom with his breathtakingly detailed account of the infamous robbery But it was the details of the Lufthansa affair that held the room rapt; even Mr. Asaro, 80, watched with apparent interest as Mr. Valenti described the night. Eight Mafia members and associates participated, led by Mr. Burke, who was not Italian and thus could not be an acknowledged Mafia member. Mr. Asaro, a member of the Bonanno family, and Mr. Burke knew one another from a Mafia social club, Robert’s Lounge, which they both owned shares in. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/nyregion/at-lufthansa-heist-trial-man-tells-of-his-role-in-crime.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 @DraggingtreeVincent Asaro Is Not Guilty!11/12/15A federal jury in Brooklyn, NY has acquitted reputed Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro on racketeering charges which accused him of a role in the legendary 1978 Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport and the 1969 rubout of suspected rat Paul Katz as reported by Stephanie Clifford for The New York Times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 FYI More Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts