Judge throws away key and sentences Gambino associate to life for two murders
A Gambino crime family associate was sentenced yesterday to life in
prison for committing several murders linked to drug dealing.
John Burke, 52, was already serving a term of 25 years to life in state prison for other mob crimes.
Last year at a federal trial, Burke was convicted of mob racketeering and murder charges stemming from Mafia hits on John Gebert and Bruce John Gotterup that were linked to drug disputes two decades ago.
Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Evan Norris said there was no way to sugarcoat Burke’s life on New York’s streets in the 1980s and 1990s.
“John Burke devoted his entire adult life to the Mafia . . . He is
unremorseful and unrepentant,” Norris said during the emotional hearing
as Burke’s relatives cried in the gallery.
Brooklyn federal Judge Sterling Johnson rejected Burke’s attorney’s argument that the wiseguy had renounced crime and was now a new man.
“You presented this to the jury, and they didn’t buy it,” Johnson said. “You’re a role model — a negative role model — about what someone should not do.”
Randy Gotterup, who was 3 when his father was executed in a planned hit in the Rockaways, said he will never forgive Burke, but added he was relieved the killer is being held accountable.
“I’m just glad to see justice be served,” Randy Gotterup said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_throws_away_jail_door_key_bOVEM3af9huCIehzuk6cKJ
John Burke, 52, was already serving a term of 25 years to life in state prison for other mob crimes.
Last year at a federal trial, Burke was convicted of mob racketeering and murder charges stemming from Mafia hits on John Gebert and Bruce John Gotterup that were linked to drug disputes two decades ago.
Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Evan Norris said there was no way to sugarcoat Burke’s life on New York’s streets in the 1980s and 1990s.
Brooklyn federal Judge Sterling Johnson rejected Burke’s attorney’s argument that the wiseguy had renounced crime and was now a new man.
“You presented this to the jury, and they didn’t buy it,” Johnson said. “You’re a role model — a negative role model — about what someone should not do.”
Randy Gotterup, who was 3 when his father was executed in a planned hit in the Rockaways, said he will never forgive Burke, but added he was relieved the killer is being held accountable.
“I’m just glad to see justice be served,” Randy Gotterup said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_throws_away_jail_door_key_bOVEM3af9huCIehzuk6cKJ
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