From Publishers Weekly
The December 11, 1978, robbery of the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport was the most lucrative heist in U.S. history up to that time. Volkman, a former Newsday correspondent, and Cummings, a reporter for that Long Island newspaper, spent seven years searching out details of the complicated case. The principals included James Burke, a sinister bar owner with direct ties to the Mafia, many of his hangers-on and two Lufthansa employees who had conceived a plan for the crime but lacked the underworld contacts to carry it out. The robbery went off almost without a hitch, although the two airline workers were suspected from the start. As the skein unraveled, more gang members were identified, but Burke could not be arrested because he had all the underlingshis potential accuserskilled, the death toll finally reaching 13. The story is well told, although the authors sometimes employ a light tone that seems inappropriate tothe bloody story they tell.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The Heist is a popularly written account of the 1978 Lufthansa Air Cargo holdup at Kennedy Airport, which netted three times more cash than the celebrated Brink's robbery nearly 30 years before. The authors profile the gang members believed to be responsibleRunyonesque hoods with monikers like James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke and Martin "Bug Eyes" Krugmanand relate in detail how the caper apparently came about and ultimately unraveled, a process that included a dozen or more unsolved murders. Reminiscent of Jimmy Breslin's novel The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight , this readable book will enhance any general crime collection. Kenneth F. Kister, Pinellas Park P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
