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

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.[em] (July) [/em]