A few weeks ago we brought you the story surrounding the trial of Vincent Asaro, the former mob boss on trial at the ripe old age of 80.

If that name sounds at all familiar that’s because the exploits of Asaro were immortalised in the mob classic Goodfellas, largely based around the infamous Lufthansa robbery of 1978. Despite what many thought was overwhelming evidence against him Asaro walks away a free man, with this below from the New York Times:

The verdicts, delivered after little more than two days of deliberations, left many in the courtroom stunned, most visibly prosecutors from the United States attorney’s office, which had spent years building a case against Mr. Asaro, 80, with testimony from high-ranking Mafia figures and recordings by an informer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But the case relied heavily on the cooperation of some of those Mafia figures, some of them admitted killers, and the jury rejected the government’s accusation that Mr. Asaro helped carry out a criminal enterprise engaged in murder and robbery…

As he walked out of the courthouse on Cadman Plaza, Mr. Asaro, who had been jailed since January 2014, raised his hands in the air and shouted, “Free!”

I’d watch my back if I was one of those former Mob associates who ratted on Asaro. Snitches get stitches…

[source:newyorktimes]