Mobster, 82, jailed over road rage arson attack in New York
Vincent Asaro was acquitted over the infamous 1978 heist on a Lufthansa cargo terminal which was retold in the movie Goodfellas.
Friday 29 December 2017 13:26, UK
An 82-year-old mobster who played a role in the infamous airport robbery retold in the movie Goodfellas has been jailed for eight years for road rage arson.
Vincent Asaro received more than double the sentence recommended in federal guidelines over the 2012 car torching.
Prosecutors said he directed Bonanno crime family associates to track down and set fire to the car of a motorist he believed had cut him up.
Before his sentencing, Asaro has told the court he was "terribly sorry".
"I was on my way home. It happened. It just got out of hand," he said.
But after he was jailed in New York, he reacted with disgust.
"I don't care what happens to me at this point," he grumbled.
"What you sentenced me to is a death sentence anyway."
Judge Allyne R Ross said she had "no illusion" that prison would result in rehabilitation for Asaro or bring an end to his "lifelong career as a member of the Mafia".
She told the court she was mindful of Asaro's 2015 acquittal over the 1978 heist at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK International Airport.
That robbery was retold in the 1990 hit film Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci.
The court heard Asaro had become "embroiled in a high-speed chase".
William Sweeney, head of New York's FBI office, said the mobster contacted an associate with access to a law enforcement database, identified the number plate of the car and devised a plan to torch the vehicle in front of the motorist's home.
He said: "The anger that propelled Asaro to action is reminiscient of so many scripted Hollywood dramas, but unlike the fame and fortune of the big screen, Asaro's story ends on a different note.
"Today's sentence proves that living life in the fast lane is sure to be short lived."
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Macedonio said prosecutors were "asking you to sentence him for crimes he was acquitted of that occurred 50 to 60 years ago".