Former Mafia prosecutor Ed McDonald joins VladTV to revisit the infamous 1978 Lufthansa robbery at JFK Airport, the $6 million cash-and-jewelry heist later dramatized in Martin Scorsese’s *Goodfellas*.
McDonald, who ran the Brooklyn Organized Crime Strike Force and helped convict leaders from four New York Mafia families, explains how he was assigned to the case for his wiretap and electronic surveillance experience.
He breaks down early theories involving John Gotti, the investigation into an inside Lufthansa employee, and how informants soon pointed to Lucchese associate James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, portrayed by Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway. McDonald also discusses Henry Hill’s role, the mystery of the missing money, the small amount actually recovered, and the wave of murders tied to Burke’s efforts to silence witnesses and keep a larger cut. He also reflects on growing up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and his upcoming book, *Chasing Goodfellas*.
McDonald details failed FBI surveillance, a noisy bug in Angelo Seppi’s Thunderbird, and how Lufthansa insiders Peter Gruenwald and Lou Werner led investigators toward the robbery’s origins. He also revisits the Goodfellas connection through Marty Krugman, Queens Boulevard, and the murders of Joe Maneri and “Frenchy” McMahon in Canarsie.
As the case went cold, McDonald moved on to prosecutions involving Colombo boss Alphonse Persico and the Abscam corruption probe—until Steve Carbone alerted him that Hill had been arrested by the Nassau County DA on narcotics charges. Facing serious prison time, danger from Jimmy Burke, and pressure involving his wife, Hill entered cooperation in May 1980, ultimately opening the door to revelations about Boston College basketball game fixing.