James Burke (gangster), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

James Burke (gangster)

American gangster

Date of Birth: 05-Jul-1931

Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Date of Death: 13-Apr-1996

Profession: screenwriter, drug trafficker

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

James Burke (July 5, 1931 – April 13, 1996), also known as "Jimmy the Gent", was an Irish American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, at the time the most lucrative cash theft in American history, and also believed to have either committed or ordered the murders of many of those involved in the months following the robbery.
He is the father of mobster and Lufthansa heist suspect Frank James Burke, as well as Jesse James Burke, Catherine Burke (who married Bonanno crime family member Anthony Indelicato in 1992) lives with her mother Mickey, in the same house Jimmy owned when he was arrested,Burke inspired the character Jimmy "The Gent" Conway, one of the main characters of the 1990 film Goodfellas, played by Robert De Niro.In 1982, Burke was convicted on conspiracy charges related to his involvement in the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point shaving scandal, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
While in prison, he was convicted of the murder of drug dealer Richard Eaton and sentenced to a further 20 years to life.
He died of stomach cancer at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, eight years before he would have become eligible for parole.