"[5], After Bentvena was beaten and presumed killed, DeSimone, Burke, and Hill placed his body in the trunk of Hill's car for transport. Charges of killing a law-enforcement informant were dropped against Fama in 2014 after federal prosecutors acknowledged they couldnt prove Fama knew Garofalo was an informant when the hit occurred. Burke inspired the character Jimmy "The Gent" Conway, one of the main characters of the 1990 film Goodfellas, played by Robert De Niro. In 1998, after acting Lucchese boss Joseph DeFede was indicted on labor racketeering and extortion charges, Crea became the family's new acting boss. The killers murdered Aronwalds father, a 78-year-old administrative-law judge, by mistake. We will update soon. Crea along with his Bronx allies, shifted the family's power center away from the Brooklyn crews and back to the Bronx and Upper Manhattan crews, which had historically controlled the family for decades. The name is a bit of nostalgia dating back to when both Amuso and Casso were stalwarts of the familys Brooklyn wing. [20][21] The indictment built on charges previously filed against a reputed Lucchese soldier and associate in February 2017 with the murder of Michael Meldish in the Bronx on November 15, 2013; Matthew Madonna, Crea and his son Steven D. Crea, were charged and suspected of serving as co-conspirators in the Meldish gangland execution. About three months after Bentvena's murder, Burke's friend sold the dog kennel to housing developers, and Burke ordered Hill and DeSimone to exhume Bentvena's corpse and dispose of it elsewhere. He was convicted and is scheduled for release from federal prison in 2024. 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.He was believed to be responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months after the robbery. In November 1972, Burke and Hill were arrested for beating Gaspar Ciaccio in Tampa, Florida. Gioias information helped clear the unsolved murder. The Real Story Of Paul Vario, The Gangster Behind Paul Sorvinos Goodfellas Character. Robert Spinelli: The younger brother of Michael. He killed Bartholomew Borriello on the orders of Casso, according to the FBI. Gallo pleaded guilty to murder, among other charges. Junior Gotti. Burke was never implicated or charged in the robbery,[15] and the stolen cash and jewelry were never recovered. Last update: 2020-02-10 08:31. At the age of 13, an altercation with his foster parents while riding in a car resulted in a crash and the death of his foster father. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Goldstock, Ronald, Martin Marcus and II Thacher. The restaurant staff attempted to hold Vario off with various pots and pans, but he returned with backup later in the evening.