An elderly mobster who stayed mostly in the shadows for decades was acquitted Thursday of charges he helped plan the legendary 1978 Lufthansa heist retold in the film “Goodfellas.”

An Eastern District jury reached the verdict at Vincent Asaro’s racketeering trial after hearing testimony that the 80-year-old was a throwback to an era when New York’s five organized crime families comprised a secret society that committed brazen crimes and settled scores with bloodshed.