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This file concerns the December 11, 1978 armed robbery at the Lufthansa cargo building at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York. FBI records describe masked gunmen restraining Lufthansa employees, disabling the alarm system, and stealing about $5 million in currency along with jewelry and watches, with early estimates placing the total loss near $5.8 million. The release includes Bureau teletype alerts, internal memoranda on the investigation, descriptions of the stolen van and suspects, and requests for electronic surveillance authority. It also contains 1979 laboratory fingerprint reports comparing prints from the van, Lufthansa materials, currency, a pistol, ammunition, and other evidence to known prints, as well as 1980-1981 records concerning consensual recordings in an investigation involving James Burke and related narcotics allegations.

FBI file number: 15-72176 | Documents span: 1978-1981 | Released in 3 parts
Names in this file: Angelo John Sepe, James Burke, Paul Vario, Thomas DeSimone, Stephen D. Edwards, Philip Wilens
Subjects: Lufthansa heist, armed robbery, JFK Airport, organized crime, fingerprint evidence, electronic surveillance