Two
Irishmen: James (Whitey) Bulger and James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke: Boston vs New
York
How is it that Whitey received widespread national coverage during his trial, even reports in some international media? What makes him such a figure that well over two dozen books have been written about him in which he plays a prominent part in one way or another? I’ve posited that Whitey was a run-of-the-mill viscous gangster. Yet forces united to elevate him to stratospheric levels.
One prominent media maven wrote that he “Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.” From what I can tell there’s never been any public official in the state or city convicted of corruption because of an involvement with Whitey. It seems that the corruption we’ve seen among Massachusetts public office holders or officials has not implicated anyone involved with organized crime.
However four different surveys ranks Massachusetts as follows: Center for Public Integrity gives it a C placing it in the top ten least corrupt states; the New York Times ranks it 18th in the number of officials convicted; the federals show it ranks 27th in per capital convictions; and Business Insider ranks it as the 21st most corrupt.
If Whitey didn’t corrupt any public officials and if he didn’t terrorize the city, then what is it that makes him such a matter of fascination? It boils down to the smallness of Boston where something rather ordinary can be made into something extraordinary. But why pick out Whitey? He wasn’t the worst of the lot: John “Murderman” Martorano and Stevie “Benjiman”Flemmi, not to mention Larry Baione (Zannino), Gerry Angiulo and Frankie Salemme all surpassed him in cruelty and crime. I’ve suggested Whitey was made into much more than he ever was because it sated the Boston media’s appetite to foil his brother; and there was a need of other parties to jump on the ship to inflate his reputation for their own less than straight forward purposes.
I’m sure most of you are scratching your head and wondering who is Jimmy the Gent? You’re probably saying “there’s no way he’s in the same league as Whitey.” And I’d have to agree. He makes Whitey look like a small timer.
Burke was an outright mean murderer. You might have heard how Whitey didn’t like a story Paul Corsetti of the Herald was planning to write. He made a plan to confront him at the Dockside in Quincy Market (according to Ralph Ranalli in 2001) or at P.J. Clark’s (according to Howie Carr in 2006) or “a bar in Quincy Market” (according to Howie Carr in 2011). Whitey was upset because the story was about his brother Billy, or about the Litif murder, or whatever.(Hard to pin down the reason.) We’re told that Whitey interacted with Corsetti, a combat vet from Vietnam, and whispered one of those “do you know who I am” talks allegedly telling him “I’m Jimmy Bulger and I kill people.”
Many of the murders attributed to Whitey were done by others. He was allegedly in a crash car for a half-dozen who were murdered by Murderman nor did he have much to do with the Wheeler or Callahan murders. Jimmy the Gent was all hands on. He is suspected in over 50 murders. Most of the people who pulled the Kennedy heist with him he murdered so they either wouldn’t talk or complain about their cut of the loot. Yet no one has suggested that he terrorized New York City. He was but a minor blip in the annals of crime.
How
is it that Whitey received widespread national coverage during his
trial, even reports in some international media? What makes him such a
figure that well over two dozen books have been written about him in
which he plays a prominent part in one way or another? I’ve posited
that Whitey was a run-of-the-mill viscous gangster. Yet forces united to
elevate him to stratospheric levels.
One prominent media maven wrote that he “Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.” From what I can tell there’s never been any public official in the state or city convicted of corruption because of an involvement with Whitey. It seems that the corruption we’ve seen among Massachusetts public office holders or officials has not implicated anyone involved with organized crime.
However four different surveys ranks Massachusetts as follows: Center for Public Integrity gives it a C placing it in the top ten least corrupt states; the New York Times ranks it 18th in the number of officials convicted; the federals show it ranks 27th in per capital convictions; and Business Insider ranks it as the 21st most corrupt.
If Whitey didn’t corrupt any public officials and if he didn’t terrorize the city, then what is it that makes him such a matter of fascination? It boils down to the smallness of Boston where something rather ordinary can be made into something extraordinary. But why pick out Whitey? He wasn’t the worst of the lot: John “Murderman” Martorano and Stevie “Benjiman”Flemmi, not to mention Larry Baione (Zannino), Gerry Angiulo and Frankie Salemme all surpassed him in cruelty and crime. I’ve suggested Whitey was made into much more than he ever was because it sated the Boston media’s appetite to foil his brother; and there was a need of other parties to jump on the ship to inflate his reputation for their own less than straight forward purposes.
I’m sure most of you are scratching your head and wondering who is Jimmy the Gent? You’re probably saying “there’s no way he’s in the same league as Whitey.” And I’d have to agree. He makes Whitey look like a small timer.
Burke was an outright mean murderer. You might have heard how Whitey didn’t like a story Paul Corsetti of the Herald was planning to write. He made a plan to confront him at the Dockside in Quincy Market (according to Ralph Ranalli in 2001) or at P.J. Clark’s (according to Howie Carr in 2006) or “a bar in Quincy Market” (according to Howie Carr in 2011). Whitey was upset because the story was about his brother Billy, or about the Litif murder, or whatever.(Hard to pin down the reason.) We’re told that Whitey interacted with Corsetti, a combat vet from Vietnam, and whispered one of those “do you know who I am” talks allegedly telling him “I’m Jimmy Bulger and I kill people.”
Many of the murders attributed to Whitey were done by others. He was allegedly in a crash car for a half-dozen who were murdered by Murderman nor did he have much to do with the Wheeler or Callahan murders. Jimmy the Gent was all hands on. He is suspected in over 50 murders. Most of the people who pulled the Kennedy heist with him he murdered so they either wouldn’t talk or complain about their cut of the loot. Yet no one has suggested that he terrorized New York City. He was but a minor blip in the annals of crime. - See more at: http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140124/BLOGS/301249982/2011/OPINION#sthash.1cJSsaBF.dpuf
One prominent media maven wrote that he “Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.” From what I can tell there’s never been any public official in the state or city convicted of corruption because of an involvement with Whitey. It seems that the corruption we’ve seen among Massachusetts public office holders or officials has not implicated anyone involved with organized crime.
However four different surveys ranks Massachusetts as follows: Center for Public Integrity gives it a C placing it in the top ten least corrupt states; the New York Times ranks it 18th in the number of officials convicted; the federals show it ranks 27th in per capital convictions; and Business Insider ranks it as the 21st most corrupt.
If Whitey didn’t corrupt any public officials and if he didn’t terrorize the city, then what is it that makes him such a matter of fascination? It boils down to the smallness of Boston where something rather ordinary can be made into something extraordinary. But why pick out Whitey? He wasn’t the worst of the lot: John “Murderman” Martorano and Stevie “Benjiman”Flemmi, not to mention Larry Baione (Zannino), Gerry Angiulo and Frankie Salemme all surpassed him in cruelty and crime. I’ve suggested Whitey was made into much more than he ever was because it sated the Boston media’s appetite to foil his brother; and there was a need of other parties to jump on the ship to inflate his reputation for their own less than straight forward purposes.
I’m sure most of you are scratching your head and wondering who is Jimmy the Gent? You’re probably saying “there’s no way he’s in the same league as Whitey.” And I’d have to agree. He makes Whitey look like a small timer.
Burke was an outright mean murderer. You might have heard how Whitey didn’t like a story Paul Corsetti of the Herald was planning to write. He made a plan to confront him at the Dockside in Quincy Market (according to Ralph Ranalli in 2001) or at P.J. Clark’s (according to Howie Carr in 2006) or “a bar in Quincy Market” (according to Howie Carr in 2011). Whitey was upset because the story was about his brother Billy, or about the Litif murder, or whatever.(Hard to pin down the reason.) We’re told that Whitey interacted with Corsetti, a combat vet from Vietnam, and whispered one of those “do you know who I am” talks allegedly telling him “I’m Jimmy Bulger and I kill people.”
Many of the murders attributed to Whitey were done by others. He was allegedly in a crash car for a half-dozen who were murdered by Murderman nor did he have much to do with the Wheeler or Callahan murders. Jimmy the Gent was all hands on. He is suspected in over 50 murders. Most of the people who pulled the Kennedy heist with him he murdered so they either wouldn’t talk or complain about their cut of the loot. Yet no one has suggested that he terrorized New York City. He was but a minor blip in the annals of crime. - See more at: http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140124/BLOGS/301249982/2011/OPINION#sthash.1cJSsaBF.dpuf
How
is it that Whitey received widespread national coverage during his
trial, even reports in some international media? What makes him such a
figure that well over two dozen books have been written about him in
which he plays a prominent part in one way or another? I’ve posited
that Whitey was a run-of-the-mill viscous gangster. Yet forces united to
elevate him to stratospheric levels.
One prominent media maven wrote that he “Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.” From what I can tell there’s never been any public official in the state or city convicted of corruption because of an involvement with Whitey. It seems that the corruption we’ve seen among Massachusetts public office holders or officials has not implicated anyone involved with organized crime.
However four different surveys ranks Massachusetts as follows: Center for Public Integrity gives it a C placing it in the top ten least corrupt states; the New York Times ranks it 18th in the number of officials convicted; the federals show it ranks 27th in per capital convictions; and Business Insider ranks it as the 21st most corrupt.
If Whitey didn’t corrupt any public officials and if he didn’t terrorize the city, then what is it that makes him such a matter of fascination? It boils down to the smallness of Boston where something rather ordinary can be made into something extraordinary. But why pick out Whitey? He wasn’t the worst of the lot: John “Murderman” Martorano and Stevie “Benjiman”Flemmi, not to mention Larry Baione (Zannino), Gerry Angiulo and Frankie Salemme all surpassed him in cruelty and crime. I’ve suggested Whitey was made into much more than he ever was because it sated the Boston media’s appetite to foil his brother; and there was a need of other parties to jump on the ship to inflate his reputation for their own less than straight forward purposes.
I’m sure most of you are scratching your head and wondering who is Jimmy the Gent? You’re probably saying “there’s no way he’s in the same league as Whitey.” And I’d have to agree. He makes Whitey look like a small timer.
Burke was an outright mean murderer. You might have heard how Whitey didn’t like a story Paul Corsetti of the Herald was planning to write. He made a plan to confront him at the Dockside in Quincy Market (according to Ralph Ranalli in 2001) or at P.J. Clark’s (according to Howie Carr in 2006) or “a bar in Quincy Market” (according to Howie Carr in 2011). Whitey was upset because the story was about his brother Billy, or about the Litif murder, or whatever.(Hard to pin down the reason.) We’re told that Whitey interacted with Corsetti, a combat vet from Vietnam, and whispered one of those “do you know who I am” talks allegedly telling him “I’m Jimmy Bulger and I kill people.”
Many of the murders attributed to Whitey were done by others. He was allegedly in a crash car for a half-dozen who were murdered by Murderman nor did he have much to do with the Wheeler or Callahan murders. Jimmy the Gent was all hands on. He is suspected in over 50 murders. Most of the people who pulled the Kennedy heist with him he murdered so they either wouldn’t talk or complain about their cut of the loot. Yet no one has suggested that he terrorized New York City. He was but a minor blip in the annals of crime. - See more at: http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140124/BLOGS/301249982/2011/OPINION#sthash.1cJSsaBF.dpuf
One prominent media maven wrote that he “Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.” From what I can tell there’s never been any public official in the state or city convicted of corruption because of an involvement with Whitey. It seems that the corruption we’ve seen among Massachusetts public office holders or officials has not implicated anyone involved with organized crime.
However four different surveys ranks Massachusetts as follows: Center for Public Integrity gives it a C placing it in the top ten least corrupt states; the New York Times ranks it 18th in the number of officials convicted; the federals show it ranks 27th in per capital convictions; and Business Insider ranks it as the 21st most corrupt.
If Whitey didn’t corrupt any public officials and if he didn’t terrorize the city, then what is it that makes him such a matter of fascination? It boils down to the smallness of Boston where something rather ordinary can be made into something extraordinary. But why pick out Whitey? He wasn’t the worst of the lot: John “Murderman” Martorano and Stevie “Benjiman”Flemmi, not to mention Larry Baione (Zannino), Gerry Angiulo and Frankie Salemme all surpassed him in cruelty and crime. I’ve suggested Whitey was made into much more than he ever was because it sated the Boston media’s appetite to foil his brother; and there was a need of other parties to jump on the ship to inflate his reputation for their own less than straight forward purposes.
I’m sure most of you are scratching your head and wondering who is Jimmy the Gent? You’re probably saying “there’s no way he’s in the same league as Whitey.” And I’d have to agree. He makes Whitey look like a small timer.
Burke was an outright mean murderer. You might have heard how Whitey didn’t like a story Paul Corsetti of the Herald was planning to write. He made a plan to confront him at the Dockside in Quincy Market (according to Ralph Ranalli in 2001) or at P.J. Clark’s (according to Howie Carr in 2006) or “a bar in Quincy Market” (according to Howie Carr in 2011). Whitey was upset because the story was about his brother Billy, or about the Litif murder, or whatever.(Hard to pin down the reason.) We’re told that Whitey interacted with Corsetti, a combat vet from Vietnam, and whispered one of those “do you know who I am” talks allegedly telling him “I’m Jimmy Bulger and I kill people.”
Many of the murders attributed to Whitey were done by others. He was allegedly in a crash car for a half-dozen who were murdered by Murderman nor did he have much to do with the Wheeler or Callahan murders. Jimmy the Gent was all hands on. He is suspected in over 50 murders. Most of the people who pulled the Kennedy heist with him he murdered so they either wouldn’t talk or complain about their cut of the loot. Yet no one has suggested that he terrorized New York City. He was but a minor blip in the annals of crime. - See more at: http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140124/BLOGS/301249982/2011/OPINION#sthash.1cJSsaBF.dpuf
'Goodfellas' Cold Case Cracked With Witnesses, Secret Tapes
For decades, those responsible for a 1978 pre-dawn robbery at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, immortalized in the movie “Goodfellas,” eluded authorities. Only one person, an airline employee, was convicted, suspected organized crime associates were murdered and more than $6 million in cash, gold and jewels was never recovered.That changed yesterday when authorities arrested Vincent Asaro, 78, alleging he’s a Bonanno crime family captain who participated in the Dec. 11, 1978, heist, the largest U.S. robbery at the time and the biggest in New York City history.
The break in the 35-year-old case came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation recruited new cooperating witnesses, including a cousin of Asaro who prosecutors said had been in on the heist. Authorities used information from at least four cooperating witnesses, DNA evidence and secretly made recordings in building a case that resulted in five arrests of alleged Bonanno crime family members as part of a broader organized crime sweep.
An indictment announced by U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch in Brooklyn, New York, describes the trade craft of organized crime practiced by Asaro and his four alleged Bonanno cohorts, including extortion, racketeering, gambling, loansharking and threats of violence and murder.
‘Wise Guys’
“These ‘Goodfellas’ thought they had a license to steal, a license to kill and a license to do whatever they wanted,” George Venizelos, head of the FBI’s New York office, said in a statement. “It may be decades later, but the FBI’s determination to investigate and bring wise guys to justice will never waver.”The defendants are charged with racketeering, which carries a term of as long as 20 years in prison. Asaro faces as long as life in prison, prosecutors said in a memo to the court. Four of the five defendants pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marilyn Go in federal court in Brooklyn. All five remain in federal custody.
“This is the sequel to ‘Goodfellas,’’ Gerald J. McMahon, a lawyer for Asaro, said after court yesterday.
‘‘Marty needs a screenplay,’’ he said in reference to the movie’s director, Martin Scorsese. Asaro will go to trial, McMahon said. ‘‘He will walk out of the doors a free man,’’ he said.
McMahon denied that Asaro was involved in the Lufthansa heist. ‘‘He doesn’t even know how to spell it,’’ he said.
Gold, Jewels
According to prosecutors, the team walked into the darkened Lufthansa Air Cargo building and left with gold, jewels and 50 boxes of cash, each containing $125,000.Soon after the heist, federal authorities suspected that at least 10 members of the team were murdered, said Edward McDonald, then the federal prosecutor who oversaw the investigation.
‘‘Many of the people we believed to be participants were executed afterward, some within weeks, to silence them,’’ McDonald, now a partner at Dechert LLP, said yesterday in an interview. ‘‘There was a feeding frenzy in the press, and for months it was the subject of an intense federal investigation.’’
No Money
Asaro, the only one of the five defendants yesterday linked with the Lufthansa heist, was rankled that he didn’t get his share of the spoils, which was supposed to be $750,000 each, according to court documents. In a Feb. 17, 2011, recording cited by prosecutors, he alleged that it was kept by his associate James ‘‘Jimmy the Gent’’ Burke, who died in prison in 1996, and in the Hollywood telling was played by Robert De Niro.‘‘We never got our right money, we were supposed to get, we got f---- all around. Got f---- all around. That f------ Jimmy [Burke] kept everything,’’ Asaro said in the recordings, according to court documents.
‘‘Neither age nor time dimmed Asaro’s ruthless ways as he continued to order violence to carry out mob business in recent months,’’ Lynch said in a statement.
Asaro was also singled out for his role in the murder of Paul Katz, who the U.S. said owned a warehouse in Queens that Asaro and his associates used to store stolen items. After the warehouse was raided in the late 1960s, Asaro and Burke became concerned that Katz would become an informant. In 1969 Katz was taken to a vacant home in Queens where Burke killed him with a dog chain because it was believed ‘‘he was a rat who was cooperating with law enforcement,’’ according to court papers.
Buried Body
They buried his body in the basement of a vacant Queens home where it remained for about 20 years. Alerted that state law enforcement officials were again investigating Katz’s murder, Burke told Asaro and his son to dig up the body and move it to the basement of another Queens home to avoid detection, the U.S. said. In June, after receiving a tip, the FBI excavated the site and found human remains. DNA testing on a human skull, bones and corduroy cloth found at the scene later determined that the body was Katz’s.After the FBI began excavating the Queens home on Liberty Avenue on June 17, ‘‘Cooperating Witness 1” made a secret recording of his conversation with Asaro, in which Asaro asked, “What happened?” according to court papers.
“The feds are all over Liberty Avenue,” the witness said on the recording.
“For what?” Asaro asked.
“You know,” the cooperator said.
After the witness asks Asaro what he should do, Asaro replied, “Nothing,” adding later, “Don’t call me.”
The U.S. said FBI agents observed Asaro drive past the excavation site that same day.
Devoted Life
The defendants, including Asaro, are his son, Jerome Asaro, 55, Thomas “Tommy D” DiFiore, 70, John “Bazoo” Ragano, 52, and Jack Bonventre, 45. Bonventre is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Brooklyn today. All five are scheduled to appear before Judge Allyne Ross on Feb. 19.“Vincent Asaro devoted his adult life to the Bonanno crime family, with a criminal career that spanned decades,” Lynch said in a statement. “Far from a code of honor, theirs was a code of violence and brute force.”
Asaro’s participation in the heist was corroborated by information provided by more than four cooperating witnesses, including those who are associated with three crime families, according to court papers. One of the cooperating witnesses, who prosecutors identified as a cousin of Vincent Asaro, participated in the heist, has pleaded guilty and is aiding the U.S. in the hopes of getting leniency, authorities said.
The cooperating witness wore a wire to make secret recordings for the U.S. after he became suspicious that Asaro and his son intended to kill him, according to the U.S.
Federal Informant
Henry Hill, a federal informant whose life in organized crime was portrayed by Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas,” said convicted Lucchese crime family captain Paul Vario and Burke were the two behind the Lufthansa heist, according to Nicholas Pileggi’s book “Wiseguy.”Burke died in federal prison while serving a 20-year prison term for murdering a drug dealer. He was never charged with the airport robbery.
Burke had a “close criminal association” with Vincent Asaro and shared an interest in Robert’s Lounge, a Queens bar that was a meeting place for Burke and his crew, according to papers filed by prosecutors.
Armed Holdup
According to the book “The Heist” by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, the robbery was considered “the greatest cash robbery in American history,” larger than the armed holdup of the Brink’s Armored Car Co. in Boston in 1950, in which $2.7 million was stolen.McDonald, who won the cooperation of Hill when he was a prosecutor, said that the U.S. convicted only one person tied to the JFK heist, Louis Werner, a Lufthansa cargo agent. Werner, arrested two months after the robbery, was found guilty of accepting $80,000 to provide information to the robbers to help them carry out the heist, McDonald said.
Hill also told federal investigators that Burke and Vario were behind the heist, McDonald said.
McDonald, who played himself in “Goodfellas,” said the U.S. was unable to obtain corroborating evidence to support Hill’s information and the probe also was hindered by the execution of people authorities linked to the robbery.
Eventually the U.S. won convictions against crime family members for extortion of airport shipping companies as well as the union that handled freight at the airport, McDonald said.
Vario was one of the men convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn 1986 for running a protection racket at JFK airport. Hill testified against Vario and his co-defendants at trial. Vario died in federal prison in Texas in 1988, while Hill died in 2012 in Los Angeles from heart problems tied to smoking.
“This case was larger than life,” McDonald said.
The case is U.S. v. Asaro, 14-cr-00026, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
The real Goodfellas: FBI arrest New York mafia suspected of carrying out the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist
- Five suspected mobsters have been arrested for their part in the 1978 Lufthansa heist at New York's Kennedy International Airport
- The robbery was famously featured in the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas
- The arrests of four men and surrender of a fifth follows a discovery by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of human remains at a New York property in June
- The home was once owned by James 'Jimmy the Gent' Burke last summer - who was played by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas
- This is the first time any accused member of the mafia has ever faced charges in connection with the crime
- The December 11, 1978, heist was one of the largest cash thefts in American history
- The cash was never found and only one conviction has ever been made
Five high-ranking members of the Bonanno organized crime family were arrested and charged in pre-dawn raids on Thursday morning in connection with the $6 million robbery that is still one of the largest cash thefts in American history.
The arrests took place across New York and included Thomas 'Tommy D' DiDiore, who is believed to be the highest ranking member of the Bonanno family outside of prison and Vincent Asaro, 78, who is alleged to be a captain, or capo in the ranks of the crime family.
Scroll Down for Video
Bowed head: This morning 78-year-old Vincent
Asaro, 55-year-old Jerome Asaro, 70-year-old Thomas Tommy D DiFiore,
52-year-old John Bazoo Ragano and Jack Bonventre were arraigned in
Brooklyn for the 1978 Lufthansa heist
Tough guy: A man connected to the Bonanno crime
family is escorted by FBI agents today in Brooklyn. Court papers
unsealed in New York charge that the men were members of the Bonanno
crime family
This is the first time any accused member of the mafia has ever faced charges in connection with the crime.
The arrests of the five men follows a discovery by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of human remains at a New York property tied to James 'Jimmy the Gent' Burke last summer.
Burke, the suspected mastermind of the heist, died in prison in 1996 while serving time for the murder of a drug dealer. Actor Robert De Niro played a character based on Burke in the film.
Vincent Asaro, identified as one of the leaders of the Bonanno gang, was charged with the theft of $5 million in cash and $1 million in jewelry from the Lufthansa Terminal at Kennedy on December 11, 1978.
At the time, it was the biggest cash heist ever in the United States. The stolen $5 million would be worth $17.9 million in 2013 dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The crime stumped investigators for years, but a break in the case came last summer during a search that turned up human remains buried at the former home of Burke.
The indictment charges Asaro with the murder of Paul Katz in 1969, as well as robbery, conspiracy and other charges tied to the 1978 heist.
The Asaros, both alleged captains in the Bonanno organized crime family, also were charged together in a 1984 robbery of $1.25 million worth of gold salts from a Federal Express employee.
Information on their attorneys was not immediately available.
Iconic: More than $5 million in cash and $1
million in jewels were netted in the heist, which took place on Dec. 11,
1978 and was made famous in the 1990 film Goodfellas
'Jimmy buried over a dozen bodies ... under the bocce courts,' Hill wrote in his book, 'A Goodfella's Guide to New York.'
Law enforcement have said that the arrested are Bonanno crime family members Vincent Asaro, 78; Jerome Asaro, 55; Thomas 'Tommy D' DiFiore, 70; John 'Bazoo' Ragano, 52; and Jack Bonventre, whose age isn't known.
Two of the suspects live in Queens, two in Long Island and one in upstate New York.
Life and film: James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke is
led handcuffed from a law enforcenemt vehicle in this April 1979 file
photo - and (right) as portrayed by Robert De Niro in the 1990 film
Goodfellas
The exact connection between the search of Burke's home in Queens and the Lufthansa heist has not been made clear by the FBI as of Thursday.
Before today the only person ever convicted in connection with the robbery was airport insider, Louis Werner - who tipped off the men who stole the money.
The theft occurred in the middle of the night on December 11, 1978 and netted the robbers more than $5 million in cash and $1 million in jewels.
At the time, it was the largest heist ever in America and led to a huge, decades-long search for the perpetrators that until now has been fruitless.
Six masked gunman took 64 minutes to steal the packets of cash, toss them into a van and escape.
The FBI has always agreed with the plot of the movie Goodfellas about all loose connections to the robbery being killed off by paranoid mob bosses.
Anger: The character of Jimmy Conway - played by
Robert De Niro - becomes angry in the aftermath of the Lufthansa
robbery and begins to kill those associated with the heist
Iconic: The 1990 Martin Scorsese movie
Goodfellas is considered by some to be one of the best movies about
organized crime in modern American history
Federal agents believe that Asaro was the key mafia overseer for JFK and as such would have been informed of Burke's plan to rob the currency shipment from West Germany.
The indictment charges Asaro with the murder of Paul Katz in 1969, as well as robbery, conspiracy and other charges tied to the 1978 heist.
ABC News reported Katz was killed, and his remains buried, because Burke believed he was working with law enforcement.
Burke was a specialist in hijacking and was arrrested in 1982 for a parole violation and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for match fixing involving the Boston College basketball team.
During his prison term, Burke was indicted for the murder of a known drug dealer whose body was found tied up hanging in a freezer truck in Brooklyn.
He was sentenced to 20 years to life for second-degree murder and died behind bars in 1996, at age 64, almost two decades after the airport robbery.
The cash has never been recovered from the robbery.-
-
Dominic McGlinchey Jnr, 36, whose father of the same
name was the notorious INLA leader before his 1994 murder, said that
republicans opposed to Sinn Fein’s strategy needed to “have a
conversation about the future of the republican movement”.
The intervention by Mr McGlinchey comes as the latest in a lengthening line of veteran republicans at variance with Sinn Fein who have spoken out about the futility of the continuing campaign of bombings and shootings.
Several former IRA men have given interviews to the News Letter in which they have urged fellow republican opponents of Sinn Fein to desist from violence.
In December, former prisoner Anthony McIntyre told this newspaper: “Republicans lost the war and the IRA campaign failed and the dissidents need to be told that it failed rather than be allowed to continue thinking what they do.”
Richard O’Rawe said at that time that the dissidents’ “whole campaign is insane” and should stop.
Mr McGlinchey — who has vigorously denied an allegation that he had any involvement in the 2009 Massereene murders and has never been charged in relation to the attack — told the Irish News: “I don’t believe the appetite exists among the people. That’s not to say there is not considerable support among certain segments of republicanism for particular types of resistance but what is very clear is that the appetite is not there for a full-blown campaign.”
He added that dissidents needed to consider if “certain tactics are holding you back from entering a new field of battle”.
The intervention by Mr McGlinchey comes as the latest in a lengthening line of veteran republicans at variance with Sinn Fein who have spoken out about the futility of the continuing campaign of bombings and shootings.
Several former IRA men have given interviews to the News Letter in which they have urged fellow republican opponents of Sinn Fein to desist from violence.
In December, former prisoner Anthony McIntyre told this newspaper: “Republicans lost the war and the IRA campaign failed and the dissidents need to be told that it failed rather than be allowed to continue thinking what they do.”
Richard O’Rawe said at that time that the dissidents’ “whole campaign is insane” and should stop.
Mr McGlinchey — who has vigorously denied an allegation that he had any involvement in the 2009 Massereene murders and has never been charged in relation to the attack — told the Irish News: “I don’t believe the appetite exists among the people. That’s not to say there is not considerable support among certain segments of republicanism for particular types of resistance but what is very clear is that the appetite is not there for a full-blown campaign.”
He added that dissidents needed to consider if “certain tactics are holding you back from entering a new field of battle”.
