The Lufthansa Heist: Behind the Six-Million-Dollar Cash Haul That Shook the World is a non-fiction book written by Daniel Simone in collaboration with Henry Hill. It was published by Lyons Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, on August 1, 2015.[1]
Simone approached Henry Hill and proposed to develop the Lufthansa project. Hill agreed, and Simone began debriefing him on a daily basis for an exhaustive two-year period.[2] To corroborate Hill's account, Simone solicited the cooperation of Steve Carbone and Ed Guevara, the two FBI agents who spearheaded the Lufthansa investigation, and Ed McDonald, the US Attorney who was in charge of the case. Simone conducted his own research, and interviewed several former Mafia gangsters who were indirectly involved in the Lufthansa raid. (See Authors' Notes and Sources Page in The Lufthansa Heist).[3] Simone also interviewed New York Police Detective Joe Coffey, who provided additional information regarding the failed investigation. Daniel Simone consulted court records and reviewed dozens of newspaper articles about the infamous robbery. In addition, Simone referenced television documentaries that describe and set forth the salient details of the event.[4] Retired FBI Agent Steve Carbone wrote the Foreword in The Lufthansa Heist and Agent Ed Guevara wrote the Afterword. (See The Lufthansa Heist by Daniel Simone & Henry Hill Pages IX and 347).
Writing style
Daniel Simone wrote The Lufthansa Heist in the Narrative Non-Fiction genre`, a unique technique of writing non-fiction books in the fashion of a novel.[5] This style enlivens the story with dramatization, character development, lifelike dialogues, and vivid scenes, lending the story a cinematic effect. The genre` was created by Truman Capote when he authored his magnum opus, In Cold Blood. Capote originally labeled this writing manner as Fictionalized Journalism, though ultimately the term evolved to Narrative Non-Fiction.[6]
In 1967, Hill conspired with an Air France cargo foreman to burglarize the Air France high-value vault. Hill cleverly eluded the authorities and drove out of Kennedy Airport with $480,000 in cash and jewels. (in 1967 $480,000 equated to approximately $5,000,000 at present value). Later that evening, though, in the midst of celebrating his windfall, two prostitutes, who had represented themselves as advertising executives, robbed Hill out of $30,000. But despite this relatively minor setback, Hill's associates, members of the Lucchese Crime Family, considered the Air France robbery a substantial theft, and Hill rose in his ranks.
In the years following the Air France sensation, in collusion with air cargo workers, Hill became experienced in pilfering from airlines. Among other criminalities, they'd steal pricey shipments, extort from cargo companies, and hijack delivery trucks. In 1978, Hill and Jimmy Burke were released from prison. They'd served a five-year sentence for an extortion conviction unrelated to the airport thieveries. At that time, a Lufthansa shipping clerk, Louis Werner, owed gambling debts to a bookmaker, Marty Krugman, an associate of Hill. Werner was not in a financial capacity to settle with Krugman, but offered information on how to penetrate into the German Airline's cargo building, where cash and high valuables were stored. In exchange, the shipping clerk demanded for Krugman to forgive his gambling [citation needed] Krugman in turn relayed this proposal to Hill, who brought it to the attention of his crew chief, Jimmy "the Gent" Burke. Burke was affiliated with Lucchese CapoPaul Vario.
Burke selected six armed robbers from his Robert's Lounge Gang. On December 11, 1978, at 3:00a.m., the gunmen entered Lufthansa Cargo Building 261 at Kennedy Airport and held hostage the night staff. Two of the perpetrators forced the supervisor to disarm the alarm system of the high-value vault and hauled out bundles of cash and jewels, totaling $6,000,000. (Approximately $42,000,000 at present value) [7]
When the robbery was reported, several law enforcement agencies swarmed into the Lufthansa Cargo Complex. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police, The New York Police Department, The Queens County District Attorney, and the FBI took immense interest in this crime of epic proportion. The book claims that a rivalry developed between them. The Lufthansa heist was the subject of national headlines for months to follow, and the book suggests that every law enforcement agent wished to assume control of the investigation, in order to take credit for solving the crime. In fact, the competition to dominate the case became so intense that the various law enforcement agencies threw one another off course by sabotaging their investigations. The winners were the FBI and the US attorney. [citation needed]
But for Burke and the Robert's Lounge Gang matters became problematic when one of their accomplices, Stacks Edwards, failed to deliver the getaway van to an auto wrecking yard for it to be destroyed. Instead, he parked it near a fire hydrant and spent the night snorting cocaine with his girlfriend. The police discovered the van and lifted fingerprints that matched those of the perpetrators, who had already been under suspicion. Consequently, Jimmy Burke ordered Stacks to be murdered. [citation needed]
For a variety of reasons, Burke murdered twelve additional individuals who were directly and indirectly involved in the robbery. The primary incentives for Burke to liquidate his associates were not to share the stolen cash, and to ensure they would not testify against him. 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. Thus Werner did not have first-hand knowledge as to who had masterminded and carried out the robbery. In the end, he wasn't in a position to assist the FBI in apprehending the culprits. Unable to provide the authorities incriminating information about the Lufthansa gunmen, he couldn't plea bargain and was sentenced to five years of incarceration. [citation needed]
Meanwhile, Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke had also orchestrated and were immersed in a widespread sports scandals, the Boston College basketball point shaving scheme.[8] Hill claims that he recruited three Boston College players, Jim Sweeney, Rick Kunz, and Earnie Cobb, who for a share of the winning bets manipulated the games' final scores so to keep the point spread under the bookmakers' odds. But the plan veered off course. One of the point shaving scheme cohorts, Paul Mazzei, in possession of $180,000 belonging to Burke, Vario, and Hill, was instructed to go to Las Vegas to bet it on the Boston College games. Mazzei, though, absconded, and Hill & Company lost a large sum of money. In 1984, Cobb was found not guilty of involvement in the scheme after a two-week trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.[9]
At the same time, Hill was distributing narcotics, for which he, his wife, and mistress were indicted and held without bail. In the course of the pre-arrest surveillance of Hill's phones, he repeatedly referred to one of his associates in the drug ring as "the big Irishman in Albany". Hill's prosecutor, the Nassau County District Attorney, was convinced that "the big Irishman" was then New York State Governor Hugh Carey. Eager to prosecute a prominent Governor, the District Attorney, without investigating further, gave Hill full immunity for the drug charges. In exchange, the prosecutor expected Hill to reveal the identity of his partners in the drug conspiracy, principally Governor Carey. But to the great dismay of the District Attorney, "the big Irishman" was not Governor Carey; rather it was Jimmy Burke.[10] Nonetheless, the District Attorney was compelled to uphold the plea deal with Hill, who dodged the narcotics indictment.
However, despite Hill's escape from prosecution, Burke was not about to chance that his former partner might inform on him. And Burke thought it best to have Hill slated as his next murder victim. [citation needed] Knowing his fate was sealed, Hill decided to enter the Federal Witness Protection Program and help the US Attorney prosecute Lucchese Capo Paul Vario, Jimmy Burke, and other Mafia members. Hill also informed on the three Boston College Basketball players he claimed had participated in the point shaving scheme, and Paul Mazzei. [citation needed]
In the end, save Henry Hill, all the characters attached to the Lufthansa heist were murdered or died in prison. Hill remained in the Witness Protection Program and toured the country lecturing high school students not to lead the lifestyles of outlaws, advocating to assume law abiding lives. [citation needed]
But the largest unrecovered cash robbery and Jimmy Burke's murderous spree was never solved, and to date remain cloaked in mysteries.
Notes
Related Research Articles
James Burke, 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. He was believed to be responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months after the robbery.
Thomas DeSimone was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also committed numerous murders, including killing William Bentvena in 1970. DeSimone went missing in 1979 and is believed to have been murdered.
Paul Vario was an American mobster and made man in the Lucchese crime family. Vario was a caporegime and had his own crew of mobsters in Brooklyn, New York. Following the testimony of Henry Hill, Vario was convicted in 1984, of fraud, and sentenced to four years in prison, followed by a conviction for extortion in 1985, and an additional sentence of 10 years in prison. He died on May 3, 1988, of respiratory failure in prison.
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 was stolen, with US$5 million in cash and US$875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed on American soil at the time.
Henry Hill Jr. was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testified against his former Mafia associates, resulting in 50 convictions, including those of caporegime (captain) Paul Vario and fellow associate James Burke on multiple charges. He subsequently entered the Witness Protection Program, but was removed from the program in 1987.
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Robert Germaine, Sr., the son of French-Canadian immigrants, was a drug trafficker, burglar, and freelance writer in New York, NY. He was friends with Henry Hill and involved in his criminal activities following the Lufthansa heist up to Hill's incarceration. Germaine was also a friend of Jimmy 'the Gent' Burke. On January 3, 1972, Germaine was one of the gunmen of the Pierre Hotel armed robbery, where he and his seven cohorts, after binding and gagging the hotel employees, taking the Pierre under siege, ransacked the safe deposit boxes, and plundered an estimated $28,000,000 in jewels and cash..
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The Pierre hotel robbery was a January 2, 1972 robbery at The Pierre in New York City. The robbery netted $3 million, and was organized by Samuel Nalo; Robert "Bobby" Comfort, an associate of the Rochester Crime Family; and Christie "the Tic" Furnari, an associate of the Lucchese Crime Family. The heist was carried out by several of Furnari's gang burglars. This robbery would later be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history.
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The Lucchese crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from a Sicilian word meaning close-knit community. The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes".
Vincent Asaro is an American mobster and former captain in the Bonanno crime family.
The Big Heist is a 2001 crime drama television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by Jere Cunningham and Gary Hoffman. The film, based on the 1986 non-fiction book The Heist by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, tells the story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist. It is a co-production of the United States and Canada, and stars Donald Sutherland, John Heard, Jamie Harris, and Janet Kidder. It aired on A&E on June 10, 2001.
Daniel Simone is an American author who specializes in writing about sensational crimes in collaboration with one of the perpetrators or investigators of the actual event.
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