He was born in New York, New York in 1931 and, for reasons unknown, was placed in a foster home when he was two, never to see his natural parents again. He was shuttled around various homes and orphanages, where he suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of various foster fathers and foster brothers. It is thought that he suffered from an undiagnosed case of Fetal alcohol syndrome and kleptomania. He eventually adopted the name of Burke after one foster family. When he was thirteen, Burke's foster father died in a car crash—he lost control of the car when he turned around to hit Burke, who was riding in the back seat. The deceased man's widow, who was in the car as well but survived, blamed Burke for the accident and gave him regular beatings until he was taken back into care. This time he was finally adopted by the "Burke" family. Jimmy lived with them in a boarding house located on Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Ocean Promenade in Rockaway, Queens. His time spent there during the beginning of his adolescence was a time of peace and calm. A rumor was spread later that in 1978 Jimmy buried his share of the Lufthansa heist, including that of his murder accomplices in the vacant lot where the Burke's family homestead used to be. He remained close to the Burke family visiting his adoptive mother and father each Mother's Day, Christmas and on his adoptive parent's birthdays. On a monthly basis he would send them several thousand dollars in an unmarked envelope as appreciation for their attempt of raising him. As he approached adulthood, Burke began to get in trouble with the law and spent considerable time in jail. In 1949, aged eighteen, he was sentenced to five years in prison for forgery. He was passing counterfeit checks for Dominick Cersani. This was to turn out to be his break into the underworld of New York: his refusal to "rat" (inform) on his accomplices gave him a reputation as a "stand up guy", meaning he would not cooperate with the police and therefore could be trusted by other criminals. Behind bars, he mixed with a number of Mafia members and made many contacts. Being of Irish descent, Burke could not become a full-fledged member of the Mafia, as only Italians were accepted into their ranks. However, they were happy to have associates of any ethnic background so long as they made money and did not cooperate with the authorities. Italian-American mobsters dubbed him "the Irish guinea". When Jimmy got mad his eyes, reported by Henry Hill would "twitch into a half squint and turn into ice". Henry's daughter Gina Hill used to imitate him, "Do your crazy Jimmy 'eyes'" one of the Vario Crew would say, and Gina would twist her face up until her eyes got wierd and the mobsters would all laugh.
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