Five mobsters were arrested in connection with the 1978 Lufthansa Heist at Kennedy International Airport, including ranking member 78-year-old Vincent Asaro.
Asaro was arrested at his home in Queens, New York, according to the FBI. He’s allegedly part of the Bonanno organized crime family, which was responsible for the JFK raid more than three decades ago and other pre-dawn heists that took place around that time.
FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser confirmed the arrests to ABC News, noting the process isn’t over yet and more details will be released at a further time.
Asaro has become the first mobster to be apprehended in the 1978 raid, which was responsible for obtaining $5 million in cash and $1 million in jewelry.
According to Reuters, the heist was depicted in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas in 1990. It goes down in history to this day as the biggest in U.S. history.
Alleged underboss Thomas "Tommy D" DiFiore was also arrested at his home in Commack, Long Island. He’s said to be the highest ranking member of the Bonanno family that isn’t currently in jail.
The alleged mastermind of the heist was James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke who died in prison in 1996. Robert De Niro played him in the Goodfellas movie as Jimmy Conaway. A search in Burke’s home last June revealed human remains of Paul Katz were buried in the backyard. Katz was a drug dealer who Burke and his associates believed was cooperating with the FBI.