Boston College Investigative Reporter: Burke Papers

Boston College Investigative Reporter: Burke PapersMichael Burke Papers at Boston College, a former employee, informant and former employee of the alleged mastermind of the murder of William Kennedy Smith, are a treasure trove of information that will be used by those who want to find answers and the people who want to know why. Many individuals who have had extensive dealings with Burke tell of his serious and intelligent manner and, believe it or not, it did not endear him to anyone. The truth of the matter is that Burke was a brilliant and loyal employee who just happened to get in the way of the craziest of personalities.Burke's brief tenure at Boston College began when he worked as an informant for the FBI. At one point, he was given the assignment to get a piece of paper out of someone's office that contained a two thousand dollar bill. He did this and was rewarded with being granted top-secret clearance and a radio transmitter. The two were considered to be of great value to t he FBI and they worked very hard to secure Burke's identity.Michael Burke's first known assignment with the FBI was to assist in the apprehension of Jim Garrison, as a potential witness against Gerald Posner. It turned out that Jim Garrison did not really need any help in this department, but Burke was able to give him an inside track. Burke's role in this mission also entailed placing a bug on one of Jim Garrison's personal cars. Later, the person who placed the audio recording of this conversation did this as a gesture of friendship.Burke was soon dispatched to Germany to deal with spies who were supposedly living there. Burke's first arrest was for impersonating an FBI agent and another arrest was made for fraud. They also discovered that his true identity was actually a former FBI agent working undercover. Burke was paid well and he did not even talk to the agent he was being paid to protect.Burke's next assignment was to capture a CIA agent named George Joannides. He was forced to pose as a harmless private citizen in order to capture Joannides. This was Burke's biggest hurdle when it came to the assignment. He was unable to be friendly enough with this agent and he also managed to be secretive enough not to reveal any information about his previous assignment.Eventually, Burke became a member of the Boston college student newspaper and he went on to publish his own piece on the paper titled, 'Remember When I Was Your Friend?' Burke was very successful at getting his position promoted and in doing so, he made friends with others who ended up being assets to the FBI and his case against Joannides. Finally, this case culminated in a successful trial, and Burke was able to assist the agents in their investigation of the kidnapping and murder of Harvard professor William Kennedy Smith.Michael Burke's papers contain several documents that were supposedly sent to him by Joannides and George Joannides. But, the identities of these men are no longer concealed. Th e documents contained within Michael Burke Papers at Boston College are such valuable evidence that it is time to turn the papers over to law enforcement officials who can use them to help find those responsible for the murder of William Kennedy Smith.There are some who would rather try to keep the original documents hidden from public view. The case of Michael Burke is not a typical crime. This is a man who was willing to go to the lengths of hiding documents in order to solve a problem and fight for justice.