Pittsburgh Mobster With 'Goodfellas' Gang Drug Ties Dies In Ormond Bar

Lyda Longa at the Daytona Beach News-Journal offers a piece on the death of a mobster associated with the crime ring portrayed in the classic crime film Goodfellas.

A mobster known as the "Pittsburgh connection" for the real-life gangsters portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie "Goodfellas" died Thursday evening after he suffered a heart attack at an Ormond Beach bar.

Eugene "Nick the Blade" Gesuale, 73, was having his customary Pinot Grigio at Past Times Restaurant and Bar, when he suddenly fell over," said bar manager David Ruiz.

... Ruiz said Gesuale, who was released from federal prison in October 2014 after serving 24 years for racketeering and drug trafficking, was a regular at the bar, which just opened in May at 709 S. Nova Road.

According to published reports and websites that chronicle gangsters, Gesuale was referred to as the "Pittsburgh connection" in the classic Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas." The title referred to cocaine being supplied from Pittsburgh.

In real life, Gesuale — a member of the famed Genovese crime family — was linked to mobsters Henry Hill, James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke and Thomas "Two-Gun Tommy" DeSimone, portrayed by Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, respectively, in the movie. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20160729/pittsburgh-mobster-with-goodfellas-gang-drug-ties-dies-in-ormond-bar

'We Thought We Were Going To Get $2 Million In Goodfellas Raid On JFK - When We Got $6 Million We Thought We Would Be Robbed Too', Mob Turncoat Reveals

Rob Crilly at the British newspaper the Daily Mail offers a piece on the trial of New York mobster Vincent Asaro and the backstory of the famous Lufthansa robbery featured in Martin Scorsese's classic crime film, Goodfellas. 

The inside details of the infamous Mafia raid which provided the plot for Goodfellas were laid bare by an mob turncoat today.

In dramatic court testimony, Gaspare Valenti described how a Mafia crew planned and executed the notorious 1978 Lufthansa heist, which later provided the plot to Martin Scorsese's film.

He was giving evidence at the trial of his 80-year-old cousin Vincent Asparo, which has begun to expose the inner workings of one of the crime families that ruled New York for decades.

Asparo denies charges of extortion, murder and countless acts of violence that allegedly span his 45-year career that saw him rise to become a capo of the Bonanno crime family.

Valenti appeared as the prosecution's star witness, describing his own role in multiple murders and the raid on the Lufthansa hangar at JFK airport.

Valenti, 68, told a Brooklyn federal court jury how he was a mob associate when defendant Vincent Asaro asked him to join a robbery crew for an armed holdup at a cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport.

He testified that it was believed there was $2 million at the terminal. He said when the bandits ended up with $6 million in US currency alone - as well as German cash and gold - there was elation. 

The joy turned to fear that they'd be robbed themselves once word got out about the score. Valenti testified that he and Asaro each got a $750,000 cut. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3281559/We-thought-going-2-million-Goodfellas-Mafia-raid-JFK-got-6-million-thought-robbed-mob-turncoat-reveals.html

'Goodfellas' Heist case Could Be Last Old-School Mafia Trial

Selim Algar at the New York Post offers a piece on the trial of New York gangster Vincent Asaro.

Accused “Goodfellas” mobster Vincent Asaro personally handed off a case stuffed with jewelry from the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist to future Bonanno boss Joey Massino, a witness testified Monday as the first ever trial in the long unsolved crime got underway in Brooklyn federal court.

Veteran mafia snitch Salvatore “Good Lookin’ Sal” Vitale took riveted jurors inside the more than $6 million heist that gained legendary status after its depiction in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film.

“When Joe got in the car he had the case that Vinny gave him,” Vitale testified. “He had it in his lap…He opened up the case and he showed me all kinds of chains and he said ‘this is from the Lufthansa score.’”

Later that day, Vitale went to Massino’s Queens house and was shown a portion of the breathtaking haul.

... Vitale, now in the witness protection program, casually told jurors of his associations with major mob figures including former Gambino boss John Gotti.

His gripping recollections of the heist kicked off what could be the last old-school New York City mafia trial in history.

The Lufthansa job has festered as one of the longest, most notorious unsolved crimes in history.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:  

http://nypost.com/2015/10/19/goodfellas-heist-case-could-be-last-old-school-mafia-trial/  

Goodfellas Part II?: Feds Want Top Sentence For Mob Kid Who Dug up, Reburied Slain Crony

Selim Alger at the New York Post reports on the feds' case against an organized crime figure in New York.

The feds want a judge to throw the book at a Bonanno hood who’s dad was charged as one of the Lufthansa Heist crew members immortalized in “Goodfellas,” and whose own mob resume includes the requisite exhuming and reburying a body and torching of a nightclub.

Jerome Asaro, the son of longtime Bonanno capo Vincent Asaro, faces federal sentencing guidelines of 77 to 96 months in prison when his fate is handed down by Judge Allyne Ross Thursday.

Citing his grisly mob resume — including digging up and reburying a whacked family associate — prosecutor Nicole Argentieri lobbied in court papers for the top end of the sentencing scale.

Asaro dug up and reburied Paul Katz, a Bonanno crony who the feds say was slain by his father and James “Jimmy The Gent” Burke, a powerful family associate who inspired Robert DeNiro’s Jimmy Conway character in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic film.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2015/03/23/feds-want-top-sentence-for-mob-kid-who-dug-up-reburied-slain-crony/

Note: You can learn more about the film Goodfellas and the true crime story that inspired Martin Scorsese's classic crime film via the below link:

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/goodfellas.php

Goodfellas, Part II: A True-Life Lufthansa Crime Figure Comes To Court

Michael Daly at the Daily Beast offers a piece on the arrest of Bonanno crime figure Vincent Asaro and his connection to the Lufthansa heist via a series of recordings made by an informant.

Right out of the movie Goodfellas, Vincent Asaro strode into Brooklyn federal court along his with son Jerry and two co-defendants on Thursday afternoon.

In earlier days, the elder Asaro was often seen in the company of James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, the model for Robert DeNiro’s character in the seminal gangster movie and the reputed mastermind of the $6 million Lufthansa robbery in 1978.

Asaro and Burke were co-owners of Robert’s Lounge, model for the hangout in Goodfellas and a “personal cemetery” where a number of gangland victims were said to be buried before their bodies were moved elsewhere. 

Fans of Goodfellas who remember the scene where the Joe Pesci character shoots a kid named Spider in the foot for refusing to dance might be interested to know that Asaro is said to be the one who took the real-life victim to as neighborhood doctor afterward.

Burke died of cancer in 1996 while serving a 20-year prison term for murder, but Vincent Asaro had survived to now be charged with participating in the legendary heist at Kennedy Airport. Court papers filed on Thursday cite the lead informant in the case—an Asaro cousin identified only as CW-1—in reporting that each participant was supposed to receive $750,000, but “most did not live to receive their share (either because they were killed first or it was never given to them).”   

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/24/a-goodfellas-sequel-a-true-life-lufthansa-figure-comes-to-court.html

Goodfellas, Part II: Bonanno Crime Family Captain Vincent Asaro Indicted For Participation In The 1978 Lufthansa $5 Million Robbery At JFK Airport And The Murder Of Paul Katz Who Disappeared In 1969

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging five members of the Bonanno organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Bonanno family”) variously with racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to murder, robbery and extortion, and other crimes. Bonanno family administration members and captains Vincent Asaro and Thomas Di Fiore, Bonanno family captain Jerome Asaro, Bonanno family acting captain Jack Bonventre, and Bonanno family soldier John Ragano were arrested earlier today and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marilyn D. Go at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.

The charges and arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

“As alleged, Vincent Asaro devoted his adult life to the Bonanno crime family, with a criminal career that spanned decades. Far from a code of honor, theirs was a code of violence and brute force. Those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement paid with their lives. Asaro helped pull off the 1978 Lufthansa robbery - still the largest bank robbery in New York history. Neither age nor time dimmed Asaro’s ruthless ways, as he continued to order violence to carry out mob business in recent months. The arrests and charges announced today are a testament to the relentless pursuit of justice by law enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI for its extraordinary work in bringing these defendants to account for the charged crimes.

“These ‘goodfellas’ thought they had a license to steal, a license to kill, and a license to do whatever they wanted. However, today’s arrests of the five members of the Bonanno crime family brings an end to their violent and ruthless ways. As alleged in the indictment, Vincent Asaro and his co-conspirators were not only involved in typical mob activities of extortion and murder, but Asaro himself was in on one of the most notorious heists - the Lufthansa robbery in 1978. It may be decades later, but the FBI’s determination to investigate and bring wiseguys to justice will never waver,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos.

As alleged in the indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government, over the last 45 years Vincent Asaro and various co-conspirators, including his son Jerome Asaro, engaged in a pattern of violence and threats of violence in order to profit from their illegal activity and evade prosecution. The indictment announced today is the result of a long-term investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that utilized, among other law enforcement techniques, consensual recordings, cooperating witnesses and confidential sources, and electronic and visual surveillance.
1978 Lufthansa Heist

Vincent Asaro is charged for his participation in the 1978 robbery at the Lufthansa Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport of over $5 million in United States currency and approximately $1 million in jewelry. Asaro, Lucchese crime family associate James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, and their co-conspirators each expected to receive approximately $750,000 in cash and large quantities of gold jewelry from the proceeds of the robbery.

Murder of Paul Katz

Vincent Asaro is charged with the murder of Paul Katz, who disappeared in 1969, and Asaro and his son Jerome are also charged with accessory after the fact for their roles in moving Katz’s body to prevent its discovery by law enforcement. Vincent Asaro and Burke allegedly strangled Katz with a dog chain because they believed he was cooperating with law enforcement. They then buried his body in the basement of a vacant home in Queens, New York, where it remained until the mid-1980s when, alerted to a state law enforcement investigation into Katz’s murder, Vincent Asaro directed Jerome Asaro and another individual to dig up Katz’s body and move it. Almost 35 years later, in June of 2013, the FBI executed a search warrant at the Queens residence, which was still owned by the Burke family, and recovered remnants of Katz’s remains buried in the basement. Katz’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing.

Solicitation to Murder

Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged with solicitation to murder their cousin, identified in the indictment as “John Doe #1,” because he was perceived to be a “rat” for testifying against another family member in a federal trial on fraud charges.

Armed Robberies

Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro are charged variously with participating in additional armed robberies and armed robbery conspiracies, including the robbery of approximately $1 million in gold salts.

Extortion

All five defendants, including Thomas Di Fiore, the highest ranking member of the Bonanno family at liberty, are charged with using and conspiring to use extortionate means to collect an extension of credit from a Bonanno family associate. During an April 26, 2013, consensual recording of Vincent Asaro and John Ragano, Ragano asked Asaro, “When do we stab this guy [ ] in the neck? That’s what I want to know.” Asaro responded, “Stab him today.” Asaro continued, “I told you to give him a [ ] beating. Give him a [ ] beating, I told you that. Listen I sent three guys there to give him a beating, already, so it won’t be the first time he got a beating from me.”

The case has been assigned to United States Senior District Judge Allyne R. Ross. If convicted, Vincent Asaro faces life imprisonment, and each of his co-defendants faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole M. Argentieri and Alicyn Cooley.

The Defendants:

VINCENT ASARO
Age: 78
Howard Beach, New York

JEROME ASARO
Age: 55
Bethpage, New York

JACK BONVENTRE
Age: 45
Campbell Hall, New York

THOMAS DI FIORE, also known as “Tommy D”
Age: 70
Commack, New York

JOHN RAGANO, also known as “Bazoo”
Age: 52
Rockaway, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-26 (ARR)