The Lufthansa Heist occurred on December 11, 1978, when a group of robbers stole approximately $5 million in cash and nearly $875,000 in jewelry from the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The operation was meticulously planned, involving inside information from a Lufthansa employee, which allowed the criminals to bypass security measures. The heist was one of the largest cash thefts in U.S. history and was later popularized in the film Goodfellas. Despite extensive investigations by the FBI, most of the stolen money was never recovered, and many of the individuals involved were either killed or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.