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James Burke (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), also known as "Jimmy the Gent," was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
and
Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon know ...
associate who is believed to have organized the 1978
Lufthansa heist The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, ma ...
, the largest cash robbery in American history at the time. He was believed to be responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months after the robbery. Following the testimony of Henry Hill, Burke was convicted in 1982, of
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...
charges related to his involvement in the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. While in prison, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to another 20 years. He died of cancer at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, eight years before he would have been eligible for parole. Burke inspired the character Jimmy "The Gent" Conway, one of the main characters of the 1990 film ''
Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...
'', played by
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
.


Early life

At the age of two, Burke was placed in a
foster home Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...
and was exposed to violence and sexual abuse while in the care of dozens of foster parents. At the age of 13, an altercation with his foster parents while riding in a car resulted in a crash and the death of his foster father. In 1962, Burke married his girlfriend Mickey but discovered that she was being bothered by an ex-boyfriend. On their wedding day, police found the ex-boyfriend's remains, in over a dozen pieces, strewn around the inside of his car. Gives Jimmy and Mickey's story. He is the father of Lufthansa heist aide Frank James Burke (who was murdered by drug dealer Tito Ortiz in 1987), Jesse James Burke, and Catherine Burke (who married
Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...
member Anthony Indelicato).


Criminal activities

As Burke was of Irish descent, he was ineligible to become a "
made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...
" in the American mafia, so he was relegated to associate, under capo Paul Vario. During the 1950s, Burke was involved with various illegal activities, such as distributing untaxed cigarettes and liquor. Burke became a mentor to Thomas DeSimone, Henry Hill, and Angelo Sepe, during the 1960s. Burke owned the
South Ozone Park, Queens South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. Ad ...
tavern Robert's Lounge. In November 1972, Burke and Hill were arrested for beating Gaspar Ciaccio in
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...
. Ciaccio allegedly owed a large gambling debt to their friend, union boss Casey Rosado. They were charged with
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg. Burke was
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
d after six years and resumed his criminal career, as did Hill, who was released two years prior. Both Hill and Burke began trafficking illegal narcotics, despite a ban by the Lucchese family, who feared their associates becoming informants in exchange for a lesser sentence, which is exactly what Hill did in 1980.


Murder of William "Billy Batts" Bentvena

In the book '' Wiseguy'', Henry Hill said that after William "Billy Batts" Bentvena was released from prison in 1970, they threw a "welcome home" party for Bentvena at Robert's Lounge, which was owned by Burke. Hill stated that Bentvena saw
Tommy DeSimone Thomas DeSimone (May 24, 1950 – disappeared January 14, 1979) was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also ...
and jokingly asked him if he still shined shoes and DeSimone perceived it as an insult. DeSimone leaned over to Hill and Burke and said "I'm gonna kill that fuck." Two weeks later, on June 11, 1970, Bentvena was at The Suite, a nightclub owned by Hill in
Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springf ...
. Late in the night, with the bar club nearly empty, DeSimone
pistol-whipped Pistol-whipping or buffaloing is the act of using a handgun as a blunt weapon, wielding it as an improvised club. Such a practice dates to the time of muzzle loaders, which were brandished in such fashion in close-quarters combat once the weapon ...
Bentvena. Hill said that before DeSimone started to beat Bentvena, DeSimone yelled, "Shine these fucking shoes!" After Bentvena was beaten and presumed killed, DeSimone, Burke, and Hill placed his body in the trunk of Hill's car for transport. They stopped at DeSimone's mother's house to get a shovel and lime. They started to hear sounds from the trunk, and when they realized that Bentvena was still alive, DeSimone and Burke stopped the car and beat him to death with the shovel and a tire iron. Burke had a friend who owned a dog kennel in
Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...
, and Bentvena was buried there. About three months after Bentvena's murder, Burke's friend sold the dog kennel to housing developers, and Burke ordered Hill and DeSimone to exhume Bentvena's corpse and dispose of it elsewhere. In ''Wiseguy'', Hill said the body was eventually crushed in a mechanical compactor at a New Jersey junkyard, which was owned by Clyde Brooks. However, on the commentary for the film ''
Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...
'', he states that Bentvena's body was buried in the basement of Robert's Lounge, a bar and restaurant owned by Burke, and only later was put into the car crusher.


Lufthansa heist

The
Lufthansa heist The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, ma ...
was planned by Burke and carried out by several associates. The plot began when bookmaker Martin Krugman told Burke's associate Henry Hill that
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding ...
flew in currency to its cargo terminal at
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
. The information had originally come from Louis Werner, a worker at the airport who owed Krugman $20,000 for gambling debts () and from his co-worker Peter Gruenwald. Burke decided on
Tommy DeSimone Thomas DeSimone (May 24, 1950 – disappeared January 14, 1979) was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also ...
, Angelo Sepe, Louis Cafora, Joe Manri, Paolo LiCastri and Robert McMahon as the robbers. Burke's son Frank would drive one of the backup vehicles and Parnell "Stacks" Edwards's job was to dispose of the van afterwards. Depending on their role in the robbery, each participant was to receive $10,000 to $50,000. However, those amounts were based on the estimated haul, which was only $2 million compared to the actual take of $5.875 million. Werner was to receive a flat 10% of the take. On December 11, 1978, an estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed on American soil at the time. Burke is also alleged to have either committed or ordered the murders of many of the robbers to avoid being implicated in the heist. The first was Edwards, on December 18, after he failed to get rid of the robbery van. Burke was never implicated or charged in the robbery, and the stolen cash and jewelry were never recovered.


Boston College point shaving scandal

In 1980, Burke was arrested for a parole violation. In 1982, Burke was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement with the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal, based primarily on the testimony of former mob associate Henry Hill. Hill's testimony in federal court resulted in a total of fifty convictions in this and other cases, including those of Burke and their boss, capo Paul Vario. While Burke was serving that sentence, he was charged with the 1979 murder of drug dealer Richard Eaton. He was convicted at a trial in which Hill testified and was sentenced in 1985 to a further 20 years in prison.


Death

Burke was serving his sentence in Wende Correctional Facility in
Alden, New York Alden is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 10,865 at the 2010 census. The town is derived from a family name known to early settlers. Alden is in the northeast part of Erie County, east of Buffalo. It contains ...
, when he developed
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. He died on April 13, 1996, while being treated at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. Had he lived, he would have been eligible for
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
on March 11, 2004. Burke was buried at Saint Charles Cemetery in
East Farmingdale, New York East Farmingdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 6,484 at the 2010 census. Located in the Town of Babylon, the residents are served by the Farmingda ...
.


Aftermath

James Burke was portrayed by
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
in the 1990
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
film ''
Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...
'', renamed Jimmy Conway. Burke was played by
John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahon ...
in the 1991 television film ''The 10 Million Dollar Getaway'', which details the events of the Lufthansa Heist.
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
also portrayed Burke for the 2001 television film ''
The Big Heist ''The Big Heist'' is a 2001 crime drama television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by Jere Cunningham and Gary Hoffman. The film, based on the 1986 non-fiction book ''The Heist'' by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, tells the sto ...
''. In 2013, possible human remains were unearthed by the FBI and
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
organized crime investigators at his former home. In October 2014, Burke's involvement in the Boston College Point Shaving Scandal was discussed in the
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
''
30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...
'' episode "Playing for the Mob."
Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primet ...
, who played Henry Hill in ''Goodfellas'', is the narrator of the documentary.


References


Further reading

* ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish-American Gangster'' by
T. J. English T. J. English (born October 6, 1957) is an American author and journalist known primarily for his non-fiction books about the Irish mob, organized crime, criminal justice and the American underworld. Biography T. J. English was born in Tacoma, ...
(2005) * ''On the Run: A Mafia Childhood'' by Gregg & Gina Hill (2004) * ''Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys...and Life on the Run'' by Henry Hill & Gus Russo (2005) * '' Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family'' by Nicholas Pileggi (1990) * ''Fixed: How Goodfellas Bought Boston College Basketball'' by David Porter (2000) * ''Lufthansa Heist'' by Daniel Simone and Henry Hill (2013) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Jimmy 1931 births 1996 deaths American adoptees American crime bosses American drug traffickers American gangsters of Irish descent American gangsters American people convicted of murder American people who died in prison custody American robbers Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Gangsters from New York City Lucchese crime family Lufthansa heist People convicted of murder by New York (state) People from Brooklyn Prisoners who died in New York (state) detention Vario Crew