Lufthansa robbery
The Lufthansa heist ( english Lufthansa Heist ) is a crime on 11. December 1978 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City was committed.
The looted sum was put at around 5 million US dollars in cash and 875,000 US dollars in jewelery (the total of 5.875 million US dollars would correspond to around 23 million US dollars in today's purchasing power) and thus belongs to the largest acts of robbery committed on US soil.
Law enforcement later found that the crime was planned by James Burke , an associate of the New York Lucchese mafia family , and carried out by numerous of his accomplices .
The crime became the subject of two television films, The 10 Million Dollar Getaway and The Big Heist . In Martin Scorsese's hit film Good Fellas from 1990, which stars Ray Liotta as accomplice Henry Hill and Robert DeNiro as James Burke (in the film James Conway), the robbery plays a key role in the plot, but is not shown directly.
planning
Martin Krugman officially worked as a hairdresser; but he also acted as a bookmaker and had a longstanding business relationship with James Burke. Some of the John F. Kennedy International Airport employees had gambling debts with Krugman. Including Louis Werner, who had $ 20,000 in gambling debt with Krugman, and Werner's colleague Peter Gruenwald. Both had stolen $ 22,000 from their employer Lufthansa in 1976 and now showed Krugman an interesting fact.
The German airline transported several million US dollars a month from Germany , which had been spent by numerous US tourists and soldiers there, back to the United States via the airport . As a result, the money was not yet traceable and was also briefly kept in the airport after landing.
In addition, Louis Werner later helped Krugman with the planning and, for example, gave advice on how to optimally park possible crime vehicles. Krugman turned to Burke, because he not only had the necessary criminal energy and experience, but also had enough " manpower " to carry out the act.
With Thomas DeSimone , Joe Civitello, Sr., Louis Cafora, Angelo Sepe, Tony Rodriguez and his own son Frank James Burke, Burke had long-time accomplices whom he wanted to use as armed forces.
Later, Paolo LiCastri was added as a representative of the Gambino family . This should get a share of the booty, since the attack took place on "their" territory.
Parnell Edwards, an African American , was added to drive one of the escape vehicles used. Two Ford Econoline 150 vans were to be used; one was needed as a transport car, the other was then supposed to drive ahead as a so-called "crash car" to clear obstacles out of the way.
execution
At 3:12 a.m. on December 11, 1978, freight worker Kerry Whalen noticed one of the deployed black Fords near a loading dock , but Whalen was knocked down shortly afterwards. Whalen saw a number of armed men running into the cargo terminal. One of the men took his wallet from him and told him that he knew who and where his family was and that he had men who could visit them. Whalen nodded to indicate that he would cooperate.
The airport employee Rolf Rebmann was overpowered and handcuffed by six armed and masked men . The gangsters captured other employees and entered a secured area of the airport with a key that Werner had given them before the crime was committed.
The armed men raided the canteen and showed the employees present to intimidate them the bloodied whales and also addressed each employee by his personal name. Those present had to lie down on the floor.
The employee John Murray was forced to call his colleague Rudi Eirich and lure him into the cafeteria, because he could open the two-door safe that was the actual place where the money was kept. The robbers also knew that opening the second door would set off a silent alarm to authorities in New York and New Jersey; therefore, they cleared the money (40 packages) and the jewels from the safe in a very short time and left the airport at 04:21 - after around 64 minutes.
The flight ended in a garage in Canarsie in the district Brooklyn , where Jimmy Burke was waiting. The booty was immediately transferred to another vehicle, which was now driven to safety by Jimmy Burke and his son Frank. Parnell "Stacks" Edwards put stolen license plates on the transport van in use so that it could be taken to a scrap press in New Jersey without being noticed. The other accomplices dispersed and went home.
Only when counting the booty did Burke become aware of the extent of the success; because when planning the robbery, it was assumed that the loot would be a maximum of 2 million US dollars. But the looted cash alone had a volume of 5 million US dollars.
consequences
Parnell "Stacks" Edwards was so enthusiastic about the success of the robbery that he did not immediately scrap the vehicle - as planned - but drove it to his girlfriend and used it there. He parked the car in the no-parking area and left fingerprints on the vehicle. The next morning, while Edwards was still sleeping with his girlfriend, the police discovered the car. Edwards escaped, but the police found a shoe print at the scene that they could attribute to Edward's shoes.
The FBI involved identified two groups as urgent suspects; on the one hand the “street crew” around John Gotti from the Gambino family ; on the other hand, Burke and his gang. Used came helicopters and bugs ; This was particularly successful with Angelo Sepe, who talked about “a brown suitcase and a bag from Lufthansa”. He also instructed his friend Hope Barron to "bury money". Overall, however, the evidence was insufficient to establish a connection with the Lufthansa robbery.
According to Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke was paranoid and decided to kill anyone who could be linked to him and the robbery.
The first to be murdered was the negligent Edwards; he was killed in his apartment on December 18, 1978 by Tommy DeSimone and Angelo Sepe. The majority of those involved were then murdered on behalf of Burke:
Violent deaths of those involved
| Victim | date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Parnell Steven "Stacks" Edwards | December 18, 1978 | Driver of the escape vehicle |
| Martin Krugman | January 6, 1979 | Hairdresser and longtime accomplice Burke. He was one of the planners of the robbery. After annoying Burke about his part in the robbery, he was murdered and disposed of by Jimmy Burke and Angelo Sepe. His remains were never found. |
| Richard Eaton | 17th January 1979 | Fort Lauderdale - Partner of Tom Monteleone. He was not directly involved in the robbery and was tortured and murdered by Burke over other disputes. His body was found in a refrigerator truck. |
| Theresa Ferrara | February 10, 1979 | Occasional lover of Tommy DeSimone and partner of Richard Eaton and Tom Monteleone. She was killed because of her knowledge of the robbery and on suspicion as Burke suspected her of being involved with Eaton in a conspiracy against him and Vario. |
| Tom Monteleone | March 1979 | Restorer and mobster from Fort Lauderdale .
Was suspected by Burke of working with Eaton. |
| Louis Cafora | March 1979 | Brooklyn money launderer .
Cafora was Jimmy Burke's cell buddy and was used by him for money laundering. Cafora's indiscretions and the purchase of an expensive car immediately after the robbery reinforced Burke's decision to dispose of it. |
| Joanna Cafora | March 1979 | Louis Cafora's wife, presumably murdered with him. |
| Joe "Buddha" Manri | March 16, 1979 | Longtime member of the Burkes gang. He was offered participation in the witness protection program several times, which he declined. He was murdered with a shot in the back of the head. |
| Robert McMahon | May 16, 1979 | Air France employee at John F. Kennedy International Airport involved in the similar 1967 Air France heist perpetrated by Henry Hill. Suspected of being involved in the Lufthansa robbery. He was found murdered five months after the robbery. |
| Paolo LiCastri | June 13, 1979 | Illegal immigrant from Sicily.
He was a drug courier and a member of the Gambino family. His job was to make sure the Gambinos got their share of $ 200,000. Six months after the robbery, his body was found naked and riddled with bullets. |
aftermath
With nearly all the planners and executors of the robbery dying violent deaths, the authorities did not have enough evidence to prosecute Burke; only the conviction of Louis Werner could be achieved.
- Jimmy Burke was convicted of the murder of Richard Eaton and died in custody in 1996.
- Paul Vario , underboss of the Lucchese family, died in custody in 1988.
- Henry Hill took part in the witness protection program and went into hiding. He died in June 2012 after a long illness.
- Anthony Rodriguez survived the series of murders after the robbery. He was later sentenced to imprisonment for being part of a car dealership ring. In 1992 he was released early.
- Theresa Ferrara's disappearance was never solved.
- The murders of Paolo LiCastri , Joe Manriquez (aka Joe Manri), Robert McMahon and Angelo Sepe have never been solved.
- Louis Cafora and his wife Joanna disappeared without a trace.
- Thomas DeSimone disappeared without a trace.
- Peter Gruenwald took part in the witness protection program.
- Bill Fischetti participated in the witness protection program.
- Frank Menna took part in the witness protection program.
- Louis Werner was sentenced to prison and married after his release.
On January 23, 2014, Vincent Asaro, involved in the crime, was arrested at the age of 78 in an FBI raid on the Queens borough of New York City. In November 2015 Asaro was acquitted of the charge of having been involved in the Lufthansa robbery.
The money and jewels have not been found to this day.
literature
- Ernest Volkman, John Cummings: The Heist: How a Gang Stole $ 8,000,000 at Kennedy Airport and Lived to Regret It . Franklin Watts, New York October 1986, ISBN 0531150240 .
- Henry Hill, Gus Russo: Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys, Witness Protection, and Life on the Run . M. Evans and Company, Inc., 2004, ISBN 156731757X .
Web links
- Lufthansa robbery in New York , "IQ of an ashtray", annotated photo series, one day , December 11, 2018
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Leslie Maitlund: Airport Cash Loot Was $ 5 Million; Bundits' Van Is Found in Canarsie . In: The New York Times , December 14, 1978, p. A1. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ↑ a b c d Nicholas Pileggi (1986). Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671447343
- ^ Allan May: The Lufthansa Heist Revisited . trutv.com. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- ^ Allan May: All about the Lufthansa Heist . CrimeLibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 1st, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
- ↑ Thomas L. Jones: Lucchese Crime Family Epic: Descent into Darkness Part II . CrimeLibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
- ^ Allan May. The Lufthansa Heist Revisited: Cast of Characters . TruTv.com (Page 20)
- ↑ http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Panorama/d/4172376/fbi-nnahm-vincent-asaro-fest.html
- ↑ Article on Asaro (Engl.)
