In a decision that shocked even the defendant, a jury has cleared an old-school mobster of charges he helped carry out a record-setting heist nearly 40 years ago that inspired the movie Goodfellas.
It was a Hollywood ending for Vincent Asaro, 80, who could have spent the rest of his life in prison if convicted of racketeering charges, which included allegations of murder, solicitation of murder, extortion and robbery.
“Free!” Asaro exclaimed with his hands thrust into the air as he left the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. “I’m dying to get home.”
Asked what he planned to do once he got there, Asaro said: “Have a good meal and see my family.”
At the time it occurred, the heist was the biggest in US history, and it inspired Martin Scorsese’s film Goodfellas. The perpetrators got away with about US$6 million in cash and jewels, most of which never was recovered.
The prosecution’s case hinged on whether jurors believed the testimony of witnesses who linked Asaro to the holdup and other crimes but who were longtime mobsters with criminal histories.