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 unidentified daughter.