An alleged mobster of the 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F Kennedy was among the five people arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Thursday.
Vincent Asaro, 78, an alleged captain of the Bonanno crime family was charged with murder, racketeering, extortion, arson and robbery among other crimes. The Bonanno family is listed in the 'Five Families' that dominate organized crime activities in New York City.
Nearly $5 million cash and around $1 million worth jewelry were robbed from the Lufthansa cargo. The heist is notorious for being the largest robbery of cash in the U.S. history, reported Fox News.
Asaro and his son, Jerome Asaro, 55, were charged for robbing a Federal Express employee of $1.25 million in gold salts in February 1984, reported Reuters. The father-son duo was also accused of robbery conspiracy in the theft of $1 million from an armored car in the mid-1980s.
Other three arrested men are Jack Bonventre, 45; Thomas "Tommy D" Di Fiore, 70; and John "Bazoo" Ragano, 52. They were charged with multiple crimes including racketeering and extortion, unrelated to the Lufthansa heist, officials said.
According to the FBI Spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser, Asaro was arrested after an investigation last summer at the Queens home of James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke, reported the New York Post. The police authorities had found remains of a human body. They identified it to be of Paul Katz with the help of DNA tests. Katz disappeared in 1969 after Burke suspected him of being a police informer, according to the New York Post. It is believed Asaro helped Burke get rid of Katz.
The arraignment of all the arrested men was done Thursday afternoon in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Asaro pleaded not guilty and his attorney said that they would fight the charges.
Mastermind of the heist, Burke died in prison in 1996 after being convicted for a murder. Remaining suspects involved in the heist either died or were found dead. The police were able to recover just a fraction of the loot.
The Lufthansa heist was later adapted into a movie 'Goodfellas' by director Martin Scorsese.
