Frank James Burke - Biography

Biography

Since his father, James, had no family or relatives, the Vario Crew and members of the Lucchese crime family were deemed his "uncles" and "aunts." This included "uncles" Henry Hill, Anthony Stabile, Thomas DeSimone and Angelo Sepe and "aunts" like Theresa Ferrara and Karen Hill. When he was born, Francis James, like his brother and two sisters, adopted a hyphenated last name, "Conway," the last name of their unidentified paternal grandmother; and "Burke," the last name of the kind adoptive family that cared for his father during his years as a troubled adolescent.

Like his father, he was a career criminal and a suspect in the famous Lufthansa heist. He was the older brother of Bonanno crime family associate Jesse James Burke, born circa 1960, and Catherine, who was wed to the mobster Anthony Indelicato in 1992. (Another daughter who remains unidentified.) As of 2006 Catherine is still living in Howard Beach, Queens, New York.

Frank James was said to have a striking physical resemblance to his father. His father named him after the famous American outlaw Frank James; his brother was named for Jesse James. When Bonanno soldier and enforcer Frankie Saggio years later asked Frank's brother, Jesse James Burke, why their father named them after the notorious outlaws, Jesse said "Because he thought it was funny."