nantucket yacht drug bust

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Florida man busted with guns, drugs and 'prostitutes' in luxe Nantucket yacht raid

Doctor who owns 80-foot 'jess conn' nordhavn yacht busted on guns, drugs charges.

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Just what the doctor ordered — cocaine, ketamine, guns and prostitutes on a multimillion-dollar, 80-foot luxury yacht moored in Massachusetts' Nantucket Harbor on Tuesday.

Police responding to a call to dispatch about a woman's possible overdose aboard the Jess Conn, a " petite superyacht " built by Nordhavn in 2021, have arrested its owner, a former physician from Colorado who retired to Florida.

Scott Burke, the yachtsman, faces a dozen drug and firearms charges following the encounter and a search warrant served on his vessel.

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Police searched the 80-foot Nordhavn yacht Jess Conn on Tuesday and allegedly recovered a stash of cocaine in a safe, ketamine and unlicensed handguns. Its owner, Dr. Scott Burke, was arrested. (@kitnoble @nantucketcurrent)

Authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Nantucket police and the local harbormaster, boarded the craft Tuesday morning and found a disoriented woman in the master bedroom.

"[She] appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance," a police statement of facts read. "She also stated that she did not feel safe."

She was taken to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, police said.

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Dr. Scott Burke, right, poses with his family on the back of an earlier luxury yacht, also named the Jess Conn. (Tony Burkenstock/Facebook)

Police also found a loaded handgun and a pink bag of cocaine in the room, the court documents allege. After obtaining a search warrant, police say they recovered 43.4 grams of cocaine and 14.1 grams of ketamine.

A source close to the investigation reportedly told the Nantucket Current that authorities also encountered prostitutes on board. 

"That's certainly not in my press release," Lt. Angus MacVicar, the Nantucket Police Department's public information officer, told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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Burke allegedly told police he had a license for the handguns — but police said his Florida license was not only invalid in Massachusetts, it expired last year.

Read the police statements (Mobile users go here )

Police initially charged him with possession of two handguns and a bag of cocaine and tacked on more charges after obtaining a search warrant for the boat.

A thorough search conducted by police, the USCG and DEA found more drugs, ammunition and large-capacity magazines.

Nordhavn's 80-foot trawler has been described as a "mini-superyacht," and costs more than $7.5 million, according to Motorboat & Yachting magazine.

Options include a hot tub on the flybridge and herringbone floors. The model is marketed to globetrotters who enjoy summers in the Mediterranean and winters in the Caribbean , according to the outlet.

Police searched the 80-foot Nordhavn yacht Jess Conn on Tuesday and allegedly recovered a stash of cocaine in a safe, ketamine and unlicensed handguns. Its owner, Scott Burke, was arrested. (@kitnoble/@nantucketcurrent | Inset: Scott Burke/LinkedIn)

Burke's vessel is reportedly registered out of the Cayman Islands.

Manufacturer specs show the vessels can carry more than 4,600 gallons of fuel and are powered by twin 375 hp John Deere engines. They come with four staterooms and housing for up to two crew members.

In May, a member of YachtForums.com shared a photo of Burke's boat run aground off the Florida Keys, but it reportedly suffered little damage and was pictured in a West Palm Beach marina days later.

The doctor has been released on bail, but attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful Thursday morning.

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Public records show Burke obtained his medical license in Colorado in 1981. It was last renewed in 2019. He has owned at least two other large vessels over the years, 90 and 58 feet long, also named Jess Conn. 

According to his LinkedIn profile, Burke also founded a medical lien service firm called Injury Finance in 2003 and as a physician specialized in spine rehab and pain. His bio said he retired from active medical practice.

The investigation remains ongoing, but police declined to comment on potential additional charges.

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Nantucket cops find drugs, guns, prostitutes on retired doc’s fancy yacht, allison quinn.

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A retired doctor has reportedly been arrested after police found drugs, guns, and prostitutes on his luxury yacht in Nantucket Harbor. The Nantucket Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration searched the 70-foot vessel Tuesday after a “wellness check” for a woman on board, according to the Nantucket Current . The owner, 69-year-old Scott Burke, now faces drug trafficking and weapons charges, police said in a statement Wednesday. Burke, a retired physician from Colorado, is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 11.

Retired doctor arrested on drug, gun charges on yacht off Nantucket, report says

• Updated: Sep. 07, 2023, 8:36 a.m.
• | Published: Sep. 06, 2023, 3:48 p.m.
• Irene Rotondo | [email protected]

What began as a woman’s medical situation on a yacht in Nantucket Harbor Tuesday morning devolved into a Florida man’s arrest by DEA and local police for gun and drug charges, according to the Nantucket Police Department .

At 7:47 a.m. on Sept. 5, the island’s police department got a call that a woman needed medical help on a boat in the Nantucket Harbor, police said. Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Harbor Master’s Office and the fire department responded to what the Nantucket Current described as a 70-foot yacht named Jess Conn .

The woman was found on the yacht and brought to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, police said. Harbormaster Sheila Lucey told the Current the initial call for the woman’s medical situation was for a “wellness check,” and her condition is unclear at this time.

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The owner of the yacht, identified as Scott A. Burke, of Key Largo, Florida, was also found on the boat with the woman, police said. He was initially arrested on two counts of possessing a firearm without a license, police said.

But after what the Current described as a “raid” on the 70-foot yacht, Burke now faces charges related to drug trafficking, possession and distribution following an investigation by the police department and the DEA Cape Cod Resident Office, police said.

The Florida’s man full list of additional charges are: one count of trafficking Class B narcotics; one count of possession to distribute Class A narcotics; one count each of possession of a firearm and of ammunition, both without licenses; and four counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device, the department stated.

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The Nantucket Current reported Burke is a former Colorado doctor, founded Denver Spine and Rehab and is the current CEO of Injury Finance, LLC, which gives medical claim services for third-party liability claims.

The Jess Conn had arrived in the harbor from Rhode Island about three weeks ago, on Aug. 23, the Current said. It had recently run aground in Florida in May, but wasn’t significantly damaged, the outlet stated.

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Court hearing postponed for retired doctor arrested on yacht in Nantucket

A court hearing was postponed on Monday for a retired Florida doctor who was arrested on Nantucket in September after authorities allegedly found drugs, guns, and a distressed woman on his boat , records show.

The pretrial hearing for Scott Anthony Burke, 69, of Key Largo, Fla., was rescheduled for April 8.

Burke faces eight drug and weapons-related counts and has pleaded not guilty. A request for comment was sent to his attorney Monday morning.

On Sept. 5 at 7:45 a.m., a Dallas man called Nantucket police and said he thought his friend, a 33-year-old woman, had overdosed on Burke’s boat, named the Jess Conn, according to a police affidavit. The man told police he had been speaking with her all night on FaceTime and that she “mentioned wanting to get off the boat” before she passed out and the call dropped, the court filing said.

The woman indicated “they were doing drugs all weekend long and people on the boat had been making pornographic films,” the man told police, adding that she listed the drugs as “ketamine, Adderall, ecstasy, and cocaine.”

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After receiving the 911 call, authorities boarded the vessel and arrested Burke. When emergency responders found the woman, she was lying on a bed, “awake but extremely lethargic,” police said. She said she didn’t feel safe and was “afraid to be on the boat.”

Firefighters led her off the yacht and she was taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

In the bedroom, police saw a gun on a bookshelf and a plastic bag of cocaine on the night stand. Police also saw two clear packages containing “multiple blue pills,” according to the affidavit.

Initially, Burke was “extremely uncooperative” when police tried to speak with him, the affidavit said.

“Due to his behavior and being uncooperative, Scott was detained and placed into handcuffs,” the filing said. He agreed to speak with officers after being read his Miranda rights, police said.

Burke said he owned the boat and that the bedroom was his. He told police he had a gun license in Florida, but authorities determined it had expired last year, according to the affidavit.

“Scott also indicated that there was a second firearm in the area,” police said.

At the police station, he told investigators the woman “was an employee of the boat” who was hired three to four weeks earlier, the affidavit said. He said a second woman had been staying on the vessel and that she had been drinking and taking Adderall.

“Burke also denied any knowledge of any illegal narcotics on the yacht,” police said.

Police said they called the second woman, who said she had left “some medications” on the vessel, including Adderall that a doctor had prescribed.

After receiving a search warrant, investigators seized a number of items from the yacht, including more than 43 grams of cocaine and 14 grams of ketamine, $2,300 in cash, two guns and ammunition, and a pair of priority overnight FedEx envelopes, according to court papers.

At a court hearing in September, Burke’s attorney Hank Brennan described the woman on the boat as a friend of the ship’s captain who had been hired to work as a server on the yacht. Burke had more than a dozen guests on board in the week before his arrest, including guests who were invited by crew members, Brennan said.

When members of the crew left the yacht to attend a wedding, the woman asked if she could stay on board for a couple days until they returned, Brennan said in an interview after the hearing.

Burke agreed she could stay and a “disgruntled ex-boyfriend,” upset she had stayed on the vessel, called police so they would search the yacht, Brennan said.

“Now he is paying the price for being kind,” Brennan said of his client.

Brennan said Burke was not aware his gun license had expired, something he called an “administrative oversight.” He said Burke does not use or sell drugs.

Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. This breaking news story will be updated when more information is released.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected] .

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DEA Raid On Retiree's Yacht Finds Drugs, Guns and Sex Workers On Board

The owner, scott anthony burke, has been arrested..

On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided a 70-foot yacht, the Jess Conn , anchored in Nantucket and reportedly found drugs, guns and sex workers on board. According to the Nantucket Current , they were tipped off after local police received a “report of a female party, on board a yacht , who did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics, and possibly has overdosed.”

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The harbormaster and Nantucket Fire Department EMTs were reportedly able to get her off the boat and to a local hospital for treatment. A further search of the Jess Conn turned up 43.4 grams of cocaine, 14.1 grams of ketamine and two Smith & Wesson pistols. The owner, Scott Anthony Burke, a retired doctor from Key West, Florida, was arrested.

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According to the police report, “The Nantucket Police Department and the DEA Cape Cod Resident Office continued an investigation and Burke was additionally charged with 1 count of Trafficking in Class B, 1 count of Possession to Distribute Class A, 1 count of Possession of a Firearm without a License, 1 count of Possession of Ammunition without a License and 4 Counts of Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device.”

Currently, there are no updates on the condition of the woman who was taken to the hospital, but in situations like this, no news is often good news. Hopefully, she’ll be back on her feet quickly. As for Burke, those drug trafficking and weapons charges probably won’t be easy to get out of. Then again, he’s rich enough to own a $7.5 million Nordhavn 80 , so he’s clearly got enough money to hire some expensive lawyers. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be able to negotiate it down to a fine and a few hours of community service.

On an unrelated note, back in early May, the Jess Conn was photographed in the Florida Keys after it temporarily ran aground .

Guns, Drugs, And Prostitutes: Police Raid Yacht In Nantucket Harbor

Jason Graziadei and David Creed • Sep 05, 2023

A 70-foot motor yacht anchored in Nantucket Harbor was raided by Nantucket Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Tuesday after a woman was evacuated from the vessel and taken to an ambulance waiting at the town pier.

The owner of the yacht, a retired physician, has been arrested and sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Current that authorities discovered guns, drugs, and prostitutes aboard the vessel.

The motor yacht Jess Conn , out of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, was anchored in the horse shed area of Nantucket Harbor Tuesday morning when the woman was taken off the boat with the assistance of Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and Nantucket Fire Department EMTs. The vessel was later boarded by personnel from U.S. Coast Guard Station Brant Point and a DEA special agent, who were assisting the Nantucket Police Department with the ongoing investigation

The owner of the yacht, Scott Anthony Burke, 69, of Key Largo, Fla., was taken into custody Tuesday morning and is now facing drug trafficking and weapons charges related to the incident and subsequent search of the yacht. He will be arraigned in Nantucket District Court on Monday, Sept. 11.

The initial response to the vessel was due to a "report of a female party, on board a yacht, who did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics, and possibly has overdosed," according to a police report.

Investigators, including a DEA special agent, boarded and searched the Jess Conn at 3:25 p.m., according to court documents obtained by the Current . They confiscated 43.4 grams of cocaine, 14.1 grams of ketamine, and two pistols - a .380 Smith  Wesson Shield and a 9mm Smith & Wesson - along with various ammunition.

After being read his Miranda rights following the initial boarding of the vessel Tuesday morning, Burke told police he was the owner of the boat, that the pistols belonged to him, and that he had a license to carry firearms. Police determined that Burke had a license to carry in Florida which had expired in September 2022. 

On Wednesday morning, Nantucket Police Department Lt. AngusMacVicar shared a press release that stated Burke was initially charged with two counts of possession of a firearm without a license before the search of the yacht resulted in additional charges against him.

"The Nantucket Police Department and the DEA Cape Cod Resident Office continued an investigation and Burke was additionally charged with 1 count of Trafficking in Class B, 1 count of Possession to Distribute Class A, 1 count of Possession of a Firearm without a License, 1 count of Possession of Ammunition without a License and 4 Counts of Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device," the press released stated. "This case remains under investigation at this time."

Burke is a retired physician who practiced in Colorado and founded Denver Spine and Rehab. He is currently is the CEO of Injury Finance, LLC, which provides medical lien services for third-party liability claims.

Harbormaster Sheila Lucey said the initial call Tuesday morning was for a “wellness check” on a woman, but she declined to share any further details.

Coast Guard Station Brant Point’s executive petty officer Jeff Wecal said his crew was involved in assisting the Nantucket Police Department’s investigation and referred all inquiries to NPD.

The Jess Conn arrived in Nantucket Harbor on Aug. 23 after a voyage from Newport, Rhode Island.

The yacht was recently photographed by PowerYachtBlog.com  after it ran aground in May in Florida, but escaped without significant damage.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

The Nantucket Police Department issued the following press release about the investigation and charges Wednesday morning:

The Nordhavn 80 yacht was built in China and completed in 2021 . See a video tour of the vessel below:

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An investigation that followed the rescue of a woman in medical distress from a yacht anchored in Nantucket Harbor led to several gun and drug charges for the boat's owner, police said.

According to the Nantucket Police Department , the incident began at 7:47 a.m. on Tuesday with a report of a woman in need of medical assistance.

A criminal complaint filed by an officer of the Nantucket Police Department specifies that they responded to a report of a woman who "did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics and possibly has overdosed."

When officers and the Coast Guard met the woman inside a bedroom aboard the 80-foot Jess Con, they noted the woman appeared to be intoxicated and she "stated that she did not feel safe."

Help from the Nantucket Harbor Master's Office, U.S. Coast Guard and Nantucket Fire Department was mobilized, and they brought the woman to Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

In the bedroom, officers also noted a firearm in plain view and a "pink plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance" believed to be cocaine. Police later determined the gun was loaded and had a round in the chamber.

The owner of the yacht was identified as Scott Burke, 69, of Key Largo, Florida, and Nantucket police arrested him for two counts of possession of a firearm without a license.

According to the complaint, Burke told officers he was licensed to carry a firearm but the investigation revealed that his license was issued in Florida and expired in 2022.

Subsequent investigation involving police and the Drug Enforcement Administration led to additional charges of trafficking, possession to distribute, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license and four counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device.

Photos of a Coast Guard patrol boat tied to Burke's yacht in the harbor were shared by the Nantucket Current.

During a court hearing held Thursday, Burke's cash bail was set at $200,000 in this case. He is scheduled to return to a courtroom on Oct. 2 for a probable cause hearing.

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Breaking news, partiers on nantucket yacht ‘had been making pornographic films’ before doc’s arrest: report.

The party yacht of the retired doctor who was busted for drugs and guns played host to a weekend of porno filming, according to a newly obtained police document that revealed more details about the salacious case.

Authorities raided Scott Burke’s 82-foot vessel, the Jess Conn , on Sept. 5 after they were notified by a man whose female friend was on the boat and called him over FaceTime, the Nantucket Current reported, citing the Nantucket Police Department’s application for a search warrant used in the case.

The woman allegedly told the male friend that “they were doing drugs all weekend long and people on the boat had been making pornographic films,” according to documents that shed more light on the wild party.

Authorities responded after the man reportedly told police he thought his friend overdosed because the woman told him she wanted to leave the boat before she passed out and the call was dropped.

The drugs used aboard the Jess Conn included ketamine, Adderall, ecstasy and cocaine, the unidentified man told authorities.

A police report previously stated that police reached the Jess Conn after reports that a distressed woman had possibly overdosed and “did not feel safe” onboard.    

Several prostitutes were also on the yacht, sources previously told the Current.

Burke, 69, was arrested in Nantucket Harbor on drug trafficking and weapons charges after cops found a trove of guns and hard drugs on the luxurious yacht.

When police initially tried to talk with the married father, he was “extremely uncooperative” and was placed in handcuffs and detained due to his behavior, police said in an affidavit obtained by the local outlet.

He told officers that the woman who overdosed had been working for him for only a few weeks and that her female friend was also staying on the boat, according to the outlet.

The former doctor initially denied knowing that illegal drugs were on the yacht, and the two women also denied they were aware of illegal drugs, though one of them claimed she had a prescription for Adderall.

A search of the yacht allegedly uncovered about 43 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of ketamine, a .380 pistol, three 30-round 9mm magazines, and a 12-round magazine in a 9mm pistol, according to the police report.

Multiple rounds of ammo were also found on the yacht’s bedroom floor, the report added.

Burke, whose lawyer said he has terminal cancer , allegedly admitted the firearms were his.

He told police he had a license to carry, but authorities said he had a license to carry in Florida and it expired in September 2022, the Current reported.

He posted $200,000 following his arrest.

He pleaded not guilty to the drug and gun raps. 

Burke, who has homes in Florida and Colorado, previously ran a spine and rehabilitation clinic, online records show.

He founded Injury Finance, a Colorado-based medical insurance company that provides lien services for third-party liability claims, about two decades ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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