The Big Heist: The Real Story of the Lufthansa Heist, the Mafia, and Murder

by Anthony M. DeStefano

Overview

This Pulitzer Prize-winner’s account of the heist that inspired Goodfellas reveals the rest of the story that couldn’t be told—until now (Publisher Weekly).
 
One of the biggest scores in Mafia history, the Lufthansa Airlines heist of 1978 has become the stuff of mafia legend—and a decades-long federal investigation. Now Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony DeStefano sheds new light on this unsolved case using new evidence revealed during the 2015 trial of eighty-year-old mafioso Vincent Asaro. 
 
For the first time, Asaro speaks out on his role in the brazen heist that removed millions of dollars from John F. Kennedy International Airport. This authoritative account goes behind the headlines and Hollywood movies, taking readers inside the ranks of America’s infamous Mafia families—with never-before-told stories, late-breaking news, and bombshell revelations.
 
“A comprehensive account…impressive.”—Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806538310
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	384,689
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano has covered organized crime for over three decades, including the crime beat for New York Newsday for the past twenty years. His books on organized crime include Gangland New York, King of the Godfathers, Mob Killer, and Vinny Gorgeous among others.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Message from the Bones 11

2 "The Feds Are All Over …" 17

3 A Goodfella's Lament 27

4 "Super Thief" 41

5 "We Will Get You" 52

6 Tales of the Gold Bug 59

7 "I Got a Couple of Million" 74

8 The Ring 78

9 "My God, You Lost Millions" 84

10 The Friends Who Hurt You 93

11 "See, Big Mouth" 105

12 Dead Fellas … and Gals 117

13 The Shakedown Guy 130

14 "We're in Trouble" 137

15 Never Say Never 146

16 Dead Men Told No Tales 156

17 "Score of Scores" 164

18 "Come Dressed" 179

19 "This Is It" 190

20 All in the Family 198

21 "What Is This, Watergate?" 211

22 "Free!" 223

Epilogue 231

Lufthansa Roll Call 235

Notes 241

Bibliography 247

Acknowledgments 251

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2017
Veteran Mafia chronicler DeStefano (Gangland New York: The Places and Faces of Mob History) serves up a comprehensive account of the legendary 1978 heist at New York’s JFK Airport, including the recent indictment of Vincent Asaro, an elderly member of the Bonanno crime family, who was charged and acquitted in 2015, decades after the theft. DeStefano traces the arc of Asaro’s Mafia career before delving into allegations made by his cousin Gaspare Valenti, a fellow organized-crime associate, who testified that Asaro took part in the robbery. Though the book melds an impressive amount of material into a coherent narrative, it’s not all that suspenseful, especially for those familiar with the crime, which is documented in other accounts such as Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguys (1985). DeStefano’s insights into the more recent material, such as the trial of Asaro, aren’t enough to sustain interest. (July)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2017
Newsday reporter DeStefano (Gangland New York) details the 2015 trial of longtime (and almost 80-year-old) Bonanno crime family captain Vincent Asaro on federal racketeering charges. Asaro joined the family business: his father was a Bonanno captain, his uncle Michael Zaffarano was the Times Square porn/peep show magnate who made a lot of money from the sale of his properties when New York City cleaned up the area, and his son Jerome eventually usurped him in rank and power. Asaro's cousin Gaspare Valenti, who had been his "partner in crime" for many years, became the star government informant against him. In addition to the usual racketeering charges (robbery, fencing, loan-sharking), the charges against Asaro included the long-unsolved murder of low-level associate Paul Katz and the accusation that Asaro was involved in the 1978 Lufthansa "big heist" when approximately $6 million in cash and jewelry were stolen from the JFK airport. By the time of the trial, most of those involved in the heist had either taken a deal or were long dead. VERDICT While a good coda to Goodfellas, a must-purchase only for extensive true crime collections.—Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle Sch., Topsham, ME

Library Journal

2017-05-09
A straightforward update to the notorious 1978 Lufthansa Airlines heist.Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter DeStefano (Gangland New York: The Places and Faces of Mob History, 2015, etc.) understands the difficulty of opening new aspects of a crime immortalized in journalism, memoirs, and the film Goodfellas: "Of all the Mafia heists, rip-offs, scores, and plunders, none has been more iconic a part of American popular culture than the brazen [Lufthansa] robbery." The author focuses on the 2015 trial of Vincent Asaro, an aged survivor of the era's Five Families crews. Asaro, whose alleged participation in the crime had not been recognized, was wiretapped over several years for the FBI by his cousin Gaspare Valenti, another low-level mobster. The tapes revealed both men scuffling for years as their influence faded within the mob, itself more constricted in today's New York City, as well as the chilling moment when Asaro realized Valenti's betrayal. DeStefano leads up to Asaro's trial with a narrative re-creation of the crime, its murderous aftermath, and the notorious figures involved, including Lucchese family underboss Paul Vario, robbery mastermind Jimmy Burke, and turncoat Henry Hill, the protagonist of Goodfellas. The author tries to counter the ambiguity surrounding the crime, noting, "while Hill's public statements on the heist excluded Asaro...he had actually claimed to law enforcement as far back as 1983 that Asaro was involved." Following the heist and the murders of many participants, Asaro ran stolen car operations for a Bonanno family crew, finding himself marginalized over time: "Part of the problem was Asaro's volatility and temper." Despite Valenti's testimony, Asaro was acquitted at trial, a startling development. Though Asaro's connection to Lufthansa still seems inconclusive, DeStefano paints him as a poignant if unlikable character, a criminal journeyman who survived a violent life to watch his status, wealth, and cherished lifestyle slip away. The book will please Mafia completists, but the overall arc will feel more familiar than revelatory to most true-crime readers.

Kirkus Reviews