The Lufthansa Heist
Burke became famous as a result of the Lufthansa Heist, which involved the theft of approximately 6,000,000 dollars in cash and jewels from Building 261 at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Based on inside information from Lufthansa Cargo Supervisor Louis Werner, who owed a large gambling debt to Burke-controlled bookmaker Martin Krugman, Burke planned and recruited a crew of criminal acquaintances that included Tommy DeSimone, Angelo Sepe, Louis Cafora, Joe Manri, Robert McMahon, and Paolo LiCastri. Burke's son, Frank James Burke, drove a "crash car" whose function was to ram all police cars in pursuit of the escape vehicle. Parnell Steven "Stacks" Edwards did not directly participate in the robbery but was ordered to dispose of the van used in the robbery at a junkyard compactor in New Jersey.
The robbery took place during the early hours of December 11, 1978. Because J.F.K. Airport was divided between the Gambino crime family and the Lucchese Family, permission was asked and granted by the Gambino capo who controlled the airport, John Gotti. John Gotti's crew expected $250,000 from the proceeds of the robbery and Paolo LiCastri, a soldier under John Gotti in the Gambino Family, became the sixth gunman to ensure the Gambinos' interests were looked after.
A van containing the robbers and a "crash car" arrived at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at 3:00 A.M. The crash car, driven by Frank Burke, remained in the parking lot. Three men got out of the van and entered the front door of the cargo terminus. The two men left in the van drove to the rear of the building, cut the lock on the security fence and replaced it with one of their own. The robbers, all armed, wore dark clothing and ski masks. Three men entered the building and rounded up all 10 employees at gunpoint. Since 3:00 A.M. was "lunch hour" for the shift, most personnel were already in the cafeteria. When the two men in the van returned to the front of the building, they encountered a cargo agent returning from an airline transfer, who was pistol-whipped and handcuffed. One of the robbers led the cargo agent inside the building, where he was forced to the floor.
Since the robbers had inside information, all the employees were accounted for, handcuffed, and forced down on the floor. At gunpoint, the shift supervisor was forced to deactivate the general alarm system as well as all additional silent alarms within the vault and escort the robbers inside the vault. The supervisor was forced to open the cargo bay door. The robbers drove the van into the loading bay and packed it with every bag of untraceable currency and jewelry they found in the vault.
After the van was loaded, the supervisor was taken back to the lunchroom, handcuffed, and forced to the floor next to the other employees. The robbers ordered the employees not to make a move for at least fifteen minutes. To ensure compliance, the robbers confiscated the wallets of every employee and threatened their families' lives if instructions were not followed. This fifteen minute buffer was crucial because Werner's inside information made the robbers aware that the Port Authority Police could seal the entire airport within 90 seconds, preventing any vehicle's or person's entrance or exit.
At 4:21 A.M., the van containing the robbers and stolen cash pulled out of the cargo terminus and left J.F.K., followed by the crash car, and drove to a garage in Canarsie, Brooklyn, where Jimmy Burke was waiting. There, the money was switched to a third vehicle that was driven away by Jimmy Burke and his son Frank. The rest of the robbers left and drove home, except Paolo LiCastri, who insisted on taking the subway home. Parnell "Stacks" Edwards put stolen license plates on the van and was to drive it to a wrecking yard in New Jersey, where it would be compacted to scrap metal.
Burke and his son Frank drove the third car with all the stolen money to a safe house to be counted. This is when James Burke realized the true scope of the robbery. Over the course of time, shares were distributed to the robbers and to others who played a supporting part in the heist. Burke's take of the robbery money was believed to have been a little over $2–4,000,000. A further $1–2,000,000 went to capo Paul Vario. The remainder was disbursed among people who supported the robbery, and to the six robbers themselves, who received the smallest share, anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on their roles in the robbery. Besides Paul Vario and James Burke, few participants in the robbery received more than $50,000 and few lived more than six months.
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