Vincent Asaro
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Vincent "Vinny" Asaro (b. 1935) is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.[1]
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[edit] Capo and JFK Airport
According to US authorities, as well as Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family since the 1970s, controlling a crew in the Queens faction in the crime family.[2]. His brother Jerome "Jerry" Asaro is also a Bonanno captain.
According to Hill and US prosecutors, Asaro was the chief and main controller of John F. Kennedy Airport during his association with the Bonanno and Lucchese crime families. Hill also claimed that Asaro was in charge of all criminal business, controlled by the Bonanno crime family, at the airport.[3]
[edit] Indictments and Prison
As well as holding criminal interests at the airport, Asaro was recognized by law enforcement of controlling a network of car thieves and chop shops that stole millions of dollars worth of cars, cannibalized them, and sold the parts in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.
In 1995, Asaro was arrested and indicted on state racketeering charges, including the car-theft ring that is believed to be one of the biggest ever existed in New York. As well as being charged with counts for lying on an application for a New York State driver's license in 1994, Asaro's license had already been suspended since 1983, and the jury only took three hours to find Asaro guilty of felony forgery charges. In February, he was convicted and sentenced to six months.[4]
That same year, Asaro was found guilty of enterprise corruption, conspiracy, grand larceny and other charges. Key testimony came from Guy Gralto, who managed a network of car thieves and vehicle dismantlers and made weekly payments to Asaro from 1993 into early 1995. Asaro had a mistrial in June, when a jury failed to reach a verdict after four days of deliberations, however, Asaro will likely remain jailed while he appeals the latest conviction. Asaro was then sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for the state racketeering charges.[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- http://www.ganglandnews.com/column58.htm
- http://www.ganglandnews.com/column106.htm
- http://www.geocities.com/americanmafioso_bonanno/caporegime.html
- http://www.ganglandnews.com/column102.htm
- http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/heist/7.html
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D91331F93AA25750C0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
