Vincent Asaro walks with his lawyers outside of a Brooklyn court house after a jury found him not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two extortion-related counts on November 12, 2015 in New York City. (AFP)
An 80-year-old reputed mobster accused of a spectacular 1978 New York airport heist immortalized in Martin Scorsese's movie "Goodfellas" was acquitted Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn.
Vincent Asaro, reputedly a member of the notorious Bonanno crime family, had been accused of murder, violence and extortion that allegedly spanned 45 years from the late 1960s.
He was found not guilty on all counts, said a spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in Brooklyn.
In the biggest heist on US soil, armed mobsters stole $5 million in cash and nearly $1 million in jewels from a Lufthansa Airlines vault at John F. Kennedy airport on December 11, 1978.
The value of the booty today is estimated at around $20 million. Asaro was the first, and probably last, alleged member of the mafia to be prosecuted over the heist.
Asaro had been facing life in prison if convicted.
The trial began on October 19. Jurors began deliberations on Monday night and took a break for the Veterans Day holiday on Wednesday.