Following a four-week trial, a federal
jury in Brooklyn today found John Burke, a long-time associate of the Gambino
organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Gambino family”), guilty of a
racketeering conspiracy spanning 1980 through 2008. As part of the racketeering
conspiracy, the jury found that Burke had participated in four out of five
racketeering acts alleged in the indictment, including the 1991 murder of Bruce
Gotterup and the 1996 murder of John Gebert, drug trafficking involving cocaine
and marijuana, and an attempted robbery. The jury also found Burke guilty of
the murder of John Gebert in aid of racketeering, murdering John Gebert as part
of a continuing criminal enterprise, and a firearms charge.
The verdicts were announced by Loretta
E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and
Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, New York Field Office.
The evidence at trial established that
Burke shot Gotterup in the back of the head on the boardwalk in the Rockaways
in retaliation for, among other things, stealing money from Gambino family
associates and for showing disrespect to a relative of a powerful Gambino
family member. Gebert’s murder was part of an effort by Burke and others to
take control of the drug trafficking trade on Jamaica Avenue in Queens and to
protect the members of a crew of Gambino family associates from possible
reprisals by Gebert relating to past disputes with members and associates of
the Gambino family. At trial, the defense presented evidence and argued
unsuccessfully that Burke had withdrawn from the Gambino family and that he had
an alibi for the night of the Gebert murder.
“Today’s racketeering conspiracy
conviction of a trusted Gambino family enforcer and drug dealer sends a
powerful message that those who choose a life of organized crime will be held
accountable for their crimes,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “The defendant
spent over half his life pursuing a career of murder and violence. He will now
be held to account for the destruction and pain he inflicted on his victims and
their families and will have the rest of his life to contemplate the choices he
made. We sincerely hope that today’s verdict helps bring to an end the long
wait for closure for the families of Burke’s victims.” Ms. Lynch expressed her
grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency
responsible for leading the government’s investigation; the United States
Department of Justice-Office of the Inspector General for its assistance in the
prosecution of this case; and to the United States Marshals Service for its
assistance during trial.
When sentenced by United States District
Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr., John Burke faces a mandatory sentence of life
imprisonment.
The government’s case was prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Evan M. Norris and
Whitman G.S. Knapp.
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