The Lufthansa heist is famous. It happened thirty years ago and is still considered to be the biggest robbery in American history. The Lufthansa heist was made even more famous by Martin Scorsese. Starring Robert De Niro as Jimmy Burke, the mastermind behind the Lufthansa heist, "Goodfellas" was based on a real-life mobster who gave state's evidence and then disappeared into the witness protection program. At the heart of "Goodfellas" was $6 million Lufthansa heist.

Federal agents have been looking for the thieves for over thirty years. They have now charging a reputed goodfella in connection with the infamous 1978 Lufthansa Heist at Kennedy International Airport in 1978. Investigators believe that the reputed mobsters are linked to the Bonanno crime family. The perpetrators of the Lufthansa heist are expected to be arraigned in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. The charges have not been released yet.

According to sources FBI agents apprehended Vincent Asaro, 78, of Howard Beach, N.Y., as part of a series of predawn raids around the New York metro area. Asaro is reputed to be a ranking member of the Bonanno organized crime family. Vincent Asaro is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court later today on racketeering charges that include the Lufthansa Heist at JFK Airport that was made famous in the Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas."

At the time, the Luftanza heist was billed as the largest robbery in United States history. On December 11, 1978, a group of six or seven thieves stole about $5 million in cash and nearly $1 million in jewels from a Lufthansa cargo building in the middle of the night. The heist is the equivalent of more than $20 million today.

FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser told ABC News: "An FBI operation is ongoing. We will release further details later this morning."

The FBI has been working on the bust for months. It started when the FBI searched the home of the late Mafia associate James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke, the underworld figure whom investigators have long suspected of masterminding the Lufthansa theft and who was responsible for killing off almost anyone who could directly connect him to the notorious caper, in Queens. The property was owned by Burke's daughter The agents were acting on new information from a source. After digging in Burke's daughters' home and around it, federal agents found human remains.

Asaro will be the first accused mobster to face charges in the Lufthansa heist. The only other person ever charged in the crime was the airport worker who gave the thieves the inside information, Louis Werner. The FBI hasn't said what they believe Asaro's role was in the Lufthansa job, but  he was reputed to be a key Mafia overseer of crimes at JFK airport. The airport was a favorite target for New York crime families because of the huge amount of cargo that moves through it. Asaro is now said to be an "administrator" of the Bonanno clan.

Four other alleged mobsters were arrested this morning, including underboss Thomas "Tommy D" DiFiore of Commack, N.Y. DiFiore is believed to be the highest-ranking Bonanno family member currently living outside of prison. DiFiore will face conspiracy charges. DiFiore helped rebuild the Bonanno family after family boss Joseph Massino turned state's evidence and testify against other mobsters ten years ago.

DNA tests matched the remains to Paul Katz, who disappeared in 1969 after it was believed that Katz had turned rat. Sources told ABC News that agents believe Katz was strangled with a chain and then buried at a vacant home elsewhere in Queens. Katz's remains were allegedly moved to Burke's basement after the gangsters were covering up evidence of a separate investigation.

Jimmy Burke, who was renamed Jimmy Conway when Robert DeNiro played him in "Goodfellas," died in 1996. He was in jail for a different killing.

Retired FBI agent Steve Carbone, who helped lead the Lufthansa investigation, "We were very suspicious of Vinny Asaro for many years but we never had the connection," Carbone told ABC News. "I couldn't be more delighted, after all the work we did. Everybody we knew of (tied to the robbery) was dead and we couldn't get anyone."

Only a fraction of the money stolen at Kennedy Airport was ever recovered.