Jimmy Burke had a rough life growing up. He was shuttled from foster home to foster home, where he suffered both physical and sexual abuse. He often ran afoul of the law, and between ages 16 and 22, he spent only 84 days as a free man. During one stint in the slammer, Burke worked as a hitman for incarcerated mobsters. Outside prison, his murderous legend grew after he chopped up his fiancé’s ex-boyfriend. Burke’s longtime associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta in the movie) claimed that Jimmy could be nice at dinner, but “then he could blow you away for dessert.”
While he had a flair for murder, Burke’s favorite pastime was stealing. He and his crew would hit shipments leaving airports and steal whatever the trucks were carrying. During these heists, Burke would take the truck driver’s license as a way of saying, “I know where you live.” But Burke didn’t want the truck driver to feel too bad, so he’d also leave a $50 bill in the guy’s wallet, earning him the nickname “Jimmy the Gent.” By Nolan Moore