Thomas Burke (1914-1969) was an Irish mobster who was in charge of a major crime syndicate in New Orleans, Louisiana during the 1960s.
Biography[]
Thomas Burke was born in Ireland in 1914, and his family fled to the United States due to his father's involvement with the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War. Burke was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he illegally ran booze to make a profit; the American Mafia boss Sal Marcano took Burke under his wing. However, the loss of a shipment in 1966 led to Marcano and Burke falling out, and Roman Barbieri was appointed to take Irish Channel from Burke's control. Burke allied with Lincoln Clay, Vito Scaletta, and the Haitian mafia, and he would become one of Clay's partners in ruling the city after the destruction of the Marcano crime family. During the late 1960s, Burke also had business dealings with the IRA, shipping them stolen cars for use as car bombs during The Troubles. Burke died in 1969 of terminal lung cancer, leaving the Burke Gang and his position in the Black Mob to his daughter Nicki.