New York 1978 "Lufthansa Heist" Mobsters Arrested in NYC

Reputed New York mob leader arrested in 1978 JFK Lufthansa heist

(Reuters) - Five reported members of a New York crime family were taken into custody on Thursday and charged with crimes including racketeering, murder and the long-unsolved 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Court papers unsealed in New York charge that the men were members of the Bonanno crime family, which also committed acts of extortion and arson, including the airport heist, a brazen crime made famous by the 1990 film "Goodfellas."

I had no idea the case had never been resolved - even with knowing the alleged mastermind, "Jimmy the Gent" died in prison on other charges.

It took finding a body on a property belonging to a relative of James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke to break the case... after 36 years... and a major motion picture...

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Now go get your f@#%ing shine box.

They always said robbing the airport was better than Citibank

Looks like Whitey Bulger has done so talking...

Who else could of ratted?

They killed everyone else.

reply to post by whyamIhere

Who else could of ratted?

Spoiler alert if you haven't seen "Goodfellas":
That would be Henry Hill.

Blackmarketeer
reply to post by whyamIhere

 

Who else could of ratted?

Spoiler alert if you haven't seen "Goodfellas":
That would be Henry Hill.

Henry wasn't there....

Word was Whitey had the 411....Who knows 🐀

Hill was an integral part of the plot, as far as the police outlined it.

The investigation into the Lufthansa heist seemed to be gaining steam by mid-1980: Henry Hill, an associate in the Lucchese organized crime family, admitted his involvement in the robbery and was quickly swept up into the witness protection program when he agreed to cooperate.

But other suspects kept turning up dead and convictions were elusive. By the time Mr. Hill began cooperating, the corpses of at least six people connected to the robbery or to its participants had been discovered.

They were killing off co-conspirators before Hill began informing on his bosses. Supposedly he was the one who took Krugman the bookmaker to Burke to kick the whole plot off.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


You obviously understand the facts of the case.

I always thought it was implied Whitey had some information hidden away.

That Henry was not present at the heist.

I may of got the false impression Whiteys crew worked the robbery.

Am I way off?

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Henry Hill died a couple of years ago.. Would they have sat on evidence he gave against people that long?

reply to post by cahlmac


AFAIK, it was the discovery of the body on Burke's property that set this in motion. Direct evidence. Hill, however much information he could have provided, was still a mobster. His testimony did convict 50 other defendants. I think what the poster above me was saying was that Hill wasn't a member of the robbery crew (neither was Burke), but he was the one who took the bookie to Burke with the scheme (the bookie got it from the Lufthansa worker who owed him money, and that guy had already robbed Lufthansa once before). No matter what Hill could testify to, he couldn't directly place Burke at the scene, that would be my guess. For prosecutors it still comes down to evidence.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


It's definitely a very interesting development so long after the crime occurred. I'm going to have to go back and read Wiseguy now that my interest in this particular subject has been renewed again.

And I may even have to watch Goodfellas just to see De Niro and Pesci at their finest.

Out of interest, it has been years since I read Wiseguy. Do you know of any other books that may have been solely based on the life of Jimmy Burke?

reply to post by cahlmac


I only know of the two movies based on Burke and the Lufthansa heist, "Goodfellas" and "The Big Heist", but the name "Jimmy the Gent" must have came from a 1930's James Cagney movie. I'm sure there are a bunch of true crime books on the heist itself. Technically Goodfellas was based on the exploits of the "Vario Gang", not just Burke alone.

Arresting these guys 36 years after the fact still pales compared to Sicilian mob boss Bernardo Provenzano, who was in hiding from 1963 until his arrest in 2006, 43 years on the lam. But it's not like there's any shortage of mobsters waiting to take over their roles.

reply to post by cahlmac


There's a new book coming out that was written by Henry Hill and Daniel Simone about this event. It's coming out soon. I'm guessing within the next six months. I've read the manuscript. It's GREAT!

reply to post by Jacker44


Thanks for the reply,.. will keep an eye out for that book.