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The Lufthansa heist was a robbery which took place at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated US$ 5.875 million (equivalent to US$28.32 million in 2024) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed in the U.S. at the time.
In the interim, Louis Werner, the Lufthansa employee who collaborated with the perpetrators, was the only person arrested and convicted for his participation in the heist. Burke had shielded himself from Werner and dealt with him through an obscure intermediary.
James Burke (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), also known as "Jimmy the Gent", was an American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, the largest cash robbery in American history at the time.
The only person convicted in the Lufthansa heist was Louis Werner, an airport worker involved with the planning. [91] The money and jewellery have never been recovered. The heist's magnitude made it one of the longest-investigated crimes in U.S. history; the latest arrest associated with the robbery was made in 2014, which resulted in acquittal.
Five men getting charged with the 1978 Lufthansa robbery at Kennedy Airport, a man getting 18 months in the clink for drunk dialing the FBI with a fake hijacking threat and a U.S. woman likely ...
By Chris Francescani (Reuters) - Five people said to be part of a New York crime family were arrested on Thursday, including a 78-year-old man accused of participating in a notorious 1978 airport ...
Robert's Lounge was a saloon located at 114-45 Lefferts Boulevard, in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City.. The saloon was used as a hangout by Paul Vario.The basement was a graveyard for mob victims.
In 1978, Vario approved his crew's participation in the infamous Lufthansa heist at JFK airport. The idea was presented to Vario by phone while he was in Florida. Vario quickly gave his approval, but insisted that Jimmy Burke, then in prison, supervise it. In December 1978, the crew successfully looted an estimated $5 million in cash and ...