Dirty Money

The Crazy True Story of the 'Goodfellas' Lufthansa Heist


Listen Later

On December 11, 1978, six armed robbers broke into JFK Airport's Lufthansa Airlines cargo terminal at 3 o'clock in the morning. A little over an hour later, they walked out with $5 million in untraceable bills (worth $22.4 million today ) and $800,000 in jewels (worth $3.6 million today.) At the time, it was the largest heist in U.S. history. And here's the really crazy part: Not a shot was fired and nobody was killed or seriously hurt (during the heist, at least.) If this sounds familiar, it's because it was dramatized in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film 'Goodfellas,' based on Nicholas Pilleggi's 1985 book 'Wiseguys' about mid-level crooks in the Lucchese crime family. The Lufthansa heist was a pivotal moment in the lives of a Queens, NY-based crew. Mobsters Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke and a bizarre group of degenerate gamblers, bookies, wig salesmen and guys with nicknames like Louis Roast Beef all somehow pulled off this incredible scheme...and then almost immediately start killing each other. On this episode of Dirty Money, hosts Dan Bova and Jon Small discuss the crime and its fallout, and what the Goodfellas version got right and what it got wrong. (And by wrong, we mean "slightly unfactual" because it is the greatest movie ever made and by extension, can do no wrong.)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Dirty MoneyBy Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

31 ratings


More shows like Dirty Money

View all
48 Hours by CBS News

48 Hours

10,814 Listeners

20/20 by ABC News

20/20

11,510 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,534 Listeners

Entrepreneur Weekly by Entrepreneur Media, Inc

Entrepreneur Weekly

14 Listeners

Problem Solvers by Entrepreneur.com

Problem Solvers

172 Listeners

How Success Happens by Entrepreneur.com

How Success Happens

141 Listeners

MURDERISH by Cloud10

MURDERISH

3,458 Listeners

True Crime News: The Podcast by True Crime News

True Crime News: The Podcast

1,302 Listeners

Green Entrepreneur by Entrepreneur Media

Green Entrepreneur

17 Listeners

Dateline NBC by NBC News

Dateline NBC

47,823 Listeners

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch by Entrepreneur Media

Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch

7 Listeners

Shawn Ryan Show by Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan Show

40,977 Listeners

Get A Real Job by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

Get A Real Job

23 Listeners

Serialously with Annie Elise by 10 to LIFE & Audioboom Studios

Serialously with Annie Elise

8,813 Listeners

SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

SmartLess

57,579 Listeners

Behind the Review by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

Behind the Review

41 Listeners

Restaurant Influencers by Entrepreneur Media, Inc

Restaurant Influencers

21 Listeners

Launch Your Business by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

Launch Your Business

29 Listeners

Morrison Mysteries by NBC News

Morrison Mysteries

1,445 Listeners