On December 11, 1978, a group of masked individuals performed one of the most daring robberies in aviation history. Dubbed the Lufthansa Heist, the group stole over $5 million in cash and nearly $800,000 in jewelry from the Lufthansa Cargo facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Not a shot was fired, and it seemed to be the perfect crime until a trail of bodies suggested something bigger. The robbery gained wide publicity and was attributed to organized crime in New York City.

To this day, 47 years later, only one person has been convicted of the robbery, and the cash has never been recovered. The events inspired Martin Scorsese’s 1990 hit movie Goodfellas, which thrust the Lufthansa Heist story into American pop culture. Often forgotten, however, is the aviation context surrounding the robbery. The heist was a pivotal moment in air cargo and highlights the scale of the global air cargo market.

JFK: A Gateway For Global Cash And Cargo

Credit: Public Domain I Wikimedia Commons

JFK is one of the most influential airports in the world. It is the main gateway to New York City for international air travelers and a global hub for international air cargo. In 2008, it ranked third among all US freight gateways across air, land, and sea, and was the top air freight gateway. Even in recent years, JFK airport has moved millions of tons of cargo each year (see table below). Many airlines have dedicated freight operations at JFK, even beyond carrying cargo in the belly of passenger aircraft.

The data above shows how essential JFK is to the global cargo network. It moves tons and tons of cargo every single day. Fedex Express and Atlas Air, are the two largest cargo operators at JFK currently. But this is not a new characteristic for the airport; it’s proximity to New York City made JFK a cargo hub since its earliest days. In the 1970s, the North Cargo Area at JFK was nicknamed “Cargo City”. It was a bustling zone of international commerce, filled with brand new Boeing 747 cargo aircraft fresh off the line, and surrounded by specialized cargo and maintenance hangars… including the Lufthansa Cargo facility. In fact, Lufthansa was the first customer of the 747 Freighter in 1972. Alas, these chaotic days of Cargo City are mostly in the past. The area is slightly less bustling due to the increased presence of automation in air cargo processes.

Today, JFK still handles an eclectic array of cargo. From racecars to race horses to cold hard cash, JFK is undoubtedly one of the epicenters of global air cargo operations. Cargo ops will remain part of the airport’s identity as well, as a new $270 million consolidated cargo facility was just opened this year. High-value items pass through its facilities every day, and it makes sense that it was the target for a robbery. The cargo sector at JFK airport is now responsible for $11.4 billion of economic activity, a cash value certain to get some attention.

The Night Of The Heist

Credit: Lufthansa Cargo

It is clear why JFK cargo facilities would be a target for someone looking to score big. In the late 1970s, Lufthansa Cargo was a well-known air freighter. It connected two of the world’s biggest financial centers in New York and Frankfurt, and moved high-value cargo often. An inside source who worked at the cargo facility had informed the robbery crew that a large sum of cash and jewels would be held at the Lufthansa warehouse. In the early hours of Monday, December 11, 1978, six armed men in ski masks arrived at the Lufthansa warehouse in a black Ford Econoline 150 van. They gathered the few employees present and forced the manager to let them into the vault. The thieves ultimately hauled 40 15-pound cartons of cash and jewelry in total into their van. Two of the men got in the van, and the others jumped into a waiting Buick, and they were off. Not a shot fired, and not one seriously injured.

In total, the crew got away with over $5 million in untraceable bills, and around $800,000 in jewelry. Today, that pot would be worth upwards of $30 million. The most amazing thing was that everything went pretty much perfectly. The heist lasted 64 minutes, and no one was hurt. It was the perfect crime, until it wasn’t. In the months following the heist, a trail of bodies was discovered that led authorities to believe the heist was not the work of a group of part-time thieves, but rather the work of an organized crime group set on keeping the truth silent.

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Investigation And Aftermath

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The aftermath of the heist was perhaps more infamous than the heist itself. The only mistake made on the night of the heist was that the getaway driver of the van, Parnell Steven “Stacks” Edwards, got drunk and left the van illegally parked overnight in Brooklyn. The plan was to take it to a junkyard to be crushed. Police found the van, and Parnell’s fingerprints, which was the first lead. This development led to some paranoia among the people who planned the heist. When Parnell was killed in the middle of a meal, it was clear that there were some influential people involved in the heist. It is now known that notorious mobster James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke and his crew were responsible for the heist. Also involved in the planning was fellow mobster Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta in Goodfellas.

The investigation failed to produce many live leads, as the trail of dead bodies only grew. Burke was worried people would start talking, so he dealt with them the only way he knew how. His push for silence also saved him the need to dish out a cut of the cash, so he kept more for himself. Ultimately, only one person was convicted in the heist; Louis Werner, the inside man. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February 1979.

The money was never fully recovered, and despite all of this, Lufthansa came away fairly unscathed. The main impact of the heist was on cargo operations as a whole, rather than on Lufthansa itself. The public focused more on the crime and those involved rather than placing blame on the airline.

Implications On Cargo Security

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The Lufthansa Heist exposed some key flaws in air cargo security procedures. For one, it highlighted the need for more surveillance at major cargo facilities. It also placed more emphasis on employee background checks and added multiple layers of security. The hope was to prevent a rogue employee from taking down such a large operation. While there were no major changes made to cargo security after the heist, it certainly heightened awareness among the world’s leading freighters in the following decades. Cargo facilities now implement restricted-access zones, armored transport between aircraft and warehouses for valuable goods, and other procedures to improve security.

Lufthansa Cargo Ops Today

Credit: Lufthansa Cargo

Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa, based in Frankfurt, Germany. It has its own dedicated fleet of aircraft, but also has access to ship cargo in the holds of over 300 Lufthansa Group passenger aircraft. The freighter has stations in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. They offer many services, and in 2025 they transported a wide range of cargo. Specifically, Lufthansa Cargo transported over 1,000 aircraft engines, 3,500 horses, 80 million ornamental fish, and more than 10,000 corneal tissue transplants.

The above fleet of long-haul and medium-haul aircraft is supplemented by 2,150 feeder trucks. Lufthansa Cargo has a well-established cargo infrastructure today, and is a significant player in the international cargo market. It does not rank highest in cargo volume, but it certainly has a strong business that supports industries and economies across the world.

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A Defining Momement In History

Credit: Airbus

​The Lufthansa Heist remains a defining moment in the history of air cargo security. It demonstrated the intersection between aviation, commerce, and crime. The story of the robbery and the people involved has been dramatized on the big screen, which often leaves the aviation aspect to be forgotten. For modern aviation, the Lufthansa Heist stands as a reminder of the influence and importance of global cargo networks and infrastructure. Air cargo is an essential part of modern society, keeping global economies running without many even noticing. ​