Editing Jimmy Burke (section)

===The Lufthansa Heist===
Burke's fame was the result of the Lufthansa Heist, the theft of approximately $6 million in cash and $2.5 million in jewelry from Building 261 at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. This was the largest robbery in history, at the time. 

Based on inside information from a 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 "The Whale" Cafora, Joseph "Joe Buddha" Manri, Robert "Frenchy" 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 getaway vehicle. Parnell Edwards did not directly participate in the robbery but was ordered to dispose of the van used in the robbery at a junk yard compactor in New Jersey.

The robbery took place during the early morning hours on December 11, 1978. Because JFK 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 $300,000 from the proceeds of the robbery and [[Paolo LiCastri]], an associate 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 terminal. 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. The three robbers entered the building and rounded up all ten employees at gunpoint. Since 3am was 'lunch hour' for the shift, most personnel were already in the cafeteria. When the two robbers in the van returned to the front of the building, they encountered a security guard who was pistol whipped and handcuffed. One of the robbers led the security guard 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 inside 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 15 minutes. To ensure compliance, the robbers confiscated the wallets of every employee and threatened the lives of their families if instructions were not followed. This 15-minute buffer was crucial because Werner's inside information made the robbers aware that the Port Authority Police could seal off the entire airport within 90 seconds, preventing any vehicle or person from coming in or going out.

At 4:21 a.m., the van containing the robbers and the stolen cash pulled out of the cargo terminal and left JFK, 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 Edwards put stolen license plates on the van and was supposed to drive it to an auto junk yard in New Jersey where it would be compacted to scrap metal, but got high instead and left the van for the police to find.

Burke and his son Frank drove the third car with all the stolen money to a safehouse 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 robbery. Burke's take of the robbery money was believed to have been a little over $2 million. Another $2 million went to Lucchese crime family captain Paul Vario. The remainder was disbursed among people who supported the robbery, and to the six actual robbers themselves, who received the smallest share, anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on their role 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.