Reputed New York mobster Vincent Asaro goes on trial for 1978 'Goodfellas' heist

The 80-year-old is also accused of killing an informant with a dog chain

Vincent Asaro is now aged 80 (Reuters)

The crimes were from a different era, the names of those involved somehow lodged between history and Hollywood tale.

But on Monday, a mob trial 37 years in the making got underway in New York, where Vincent Asaro appeared on charges stemming from a $6m heist at JFK airport in 1978.

The incident, in which six armed robbers broke into the Lufthansa cargo terminal and made off with cash and jewelry, was featured in the movie Goodfellas.

Vincent Asaro is now aged 80 (Reuters)

Mr Asaro is now 80. But in opening statements on Monday morning, a federal prosecutor told jurors that the 1978 hold-up was “the score of all scores” for him and others.

“The defendant is a gangster through and through — he lived and breathed the mafia,” said prosecutor Lindsay Gerdes.

“He only did things his way. He would only sit down with a select few. He surrounded himself with the people he believed would never turn on him.”

Mr Asaro’s lawyer countered by accusing the government of building its case on the testimony of shady turncoat gangsters, Reuters said.

“When necessary, they lie to each other, and they lie to save themselves,” Diane Ferrone told the jurors, whose identities have been ordered sealed the case has ordered sealed for security purposes.

Ray Liotta in the 1990 film Goodfellas

Prosecutors say Mr Asaro was for decades a member of the Bonanno crime family. Along with the Lufthansa heist, they say he and the late mobster James Burke killed a truck driver in 1969 after becoming convinced he was an informant. Mr Burke, an associate of the rival Lucchese crime family known as "Jimmy the Gent", was long considered the mastermind of the robbery and died in prison in 1996 while serving time for murder. Burke inspired the character played by Robert De Niro in Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas.

“Jimmy Burke and Vincent Asaro were true partners in crime - hijacking, robbing, murder,” Ms Gerdes said on Monday. "Mr Asaro has made a career out of victimising others. He has spent decades breaking the law.”

Several former members of the Bonanno family, one of five organised crime families in New York, are expected to testify for the government. The list includes former Bonanno boss Joseph Massino.

The first witness on Monday was Sal Vitale, MS Massino’s former second-in-command, who explained to jurors the family's command structure and rules.

The “Don’ts”, he said, included meeting federal agents, sleeping with another member's wife and killing someone without permission.

“The “Dos” were very simple,” he added. “Just do what you're told.”