Feds Are Finally About to Charge Someone for the Famous 1978 Lufthansa Heist

Decades after the infamous 1978 Lufthansa airport heist went unsolved, FBI agents have reportedly apprehended and are ready to charge five people with alleged ties to the Bonanno mob for the crime.

Decades after the infamous 1978 Lufthansa airport heist went unsolved, FBI agents have reportedly apprehended and are ready to charge five people with alleged ties to the Bonanno mob for the crime. The heist, the most expensive robbery in history at the time, was a featured plot point in Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas, which was based on the life of real world gangster Henry Hill.

According to ABC News's report on the expected charges, 78-year-old Vincent Asaro will face multiple racketeering charges, at least some of which pertain to the famous robbery. The four others apprehended in a late-night FBI raid include "Tommy D" DiFiore, who will face conspiracy charges. An FBI spokesperson told ABC that the agency would release more information on the investigation later. CBS's unnamed sources also confirmed the raid, but few other details are available right now.

The mastermind of the JFK robbery is widely believed to be Jimmy Burke (played Robert De Niro as "Jimmy Conway" in Goodfellas), who died in prison in 1996. Burke allegedly disappeared or killed anyone who he believed could connect him to the break-in at the Lufthansa terminal at Idlewild Airport (now JFK) netted a lot more cash than he was expecting: $5 million, or about $20 million in today's dollars.

Last summer, the FBI searched Burke's old home, still owned by one of his daughters, where they found human remains.