The Mafia has been active in America since the 19th century. It reached the peak of its power in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with particular influence in construction, sanitation and transport – all tough manual jobs where the ability of workers to disrupt production was high. At the same time, booming global trade and tourism saw large amounts of money and valuables start to flow through airports, making them tempting targets. In 1978, airport workers Louis Werner and Peter Gruenwald tipped off mobster Jimmy Burke to money coming in from US soldiers in West Germany, delivered by Lufthansa and transported via JFK airport. As a result, Burke and his gang robbed the Lufthansa terminal at JFK. After assaulting Gruenwald's colleagues, they stole around $6m-worth of cash and jewellery ($35m today).