James Burke (gangster)

James Burke
Burke's 1979 mugshot
Born	(1931-07-05)July 5, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	April 13, 1996(1996-04-13) (aged 64) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Known for	Lufthansa heist, portrayed by Robert de Niro in Goodfellas

James Burke (born James Conway), also known as Jimmy the Gent, and The Irishman (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), was an American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, then the most lucrative cash theft in American history, and also believed to have either committed or orchestrated the murders of many of those involved in the months following. He is the father of small-time mobster and Lufthansa heist suspect, Frankie Burke, as well as of Jesse James Burke, Catherine Burke (who married Bonanno crime family member Anthony Indelicato in 1992), and another daughter Robin Burke.

Burke inspired the character "Jimmy 'The Gent' Conway", one of the main characters in the 1990 movie Goodfellas, played by Robert de Niro.

He died of lung cancer in Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, while serving 20 years to life for murder in a New York State prison. He would have been eligible for parole in 2004.

James Burke was born in New York. His mother, Jane Conway, was from Dublin, Ireland. James' father has never been identified. At age two, his mother placed him in a foster home; he spent most of his early years in a Roman Catholic orphanage run by nuns, and never saw his mother again. He was shuttled around various homes and orphanages, where he suffered abuse, physical and sexual, at the hands of various foster fathers and foster brothers. In the summer of 1944, when Burke was age 13, his foster father died in a car crash; he lost control of the car when he turned around to hit Burke, who was riding in the back seat. The deceased man's widow, who was in the car as well but survived, blamed Burke for the accident and beat him regularly until he was taken back into foster care.