Vincent Asaro, an alleged member of the Bonanno crime family, is due to go on trial next month (Oct15) in connection with the $5 million (£3.1 million) robbery, which was immortalised in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas.

Now it has emerged potential jurors will be quizzed on whether they have seen the movie, along with several other gangster-related films and TV shows including The Sopranos, Scarface, and Mob Wives.

Lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman tells the New York Daily News, "Mafia characters in these movies and shows are always violent, always thieving, and most important to defence lawyers, always guilty of something. We want to pick these jurors out and strike them for cause if follow-up questions reveal they are unlikely to separate Hollywood's version of organised crime characters from real-life defendants."

The jury for Ansaro's trial at Brooklyn Federal Court is due to be selected on 8 October (15).