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| “ | I'll either be runnin' this whole damn town or burnin' it to the ground. Bein' honest, doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me either way. | „ |
| ~ Thomas Burke. |
| “ | Holy Christ, how the f--k did we make it through this shite in one piece?! I thought for certain Scaletta'd have his throat cut by now. Ye did a bang-up job here, lad — goddamn dream come true. Can't wait t' see where we go from here. | „ |
| ~ Burke to Lincoln on destroying the Marcano crime family. |
Thomas Burke is one of three tritagonists (alongside Vito Scaletta and Cassandra) of the 2016 video game Mafia III.
He is the leader of the Irish Mob in Pointe Verdun, who decides to get revenge on the Marcano crime family for the death of his son Danny. Deciding to work as an underboss for Lincoln Clay, Burke remains a reckless individual who wants to see the Marcanos burn for what they did.
He was portrayed by the late Barry O'Rourke in motion capture.
Biography[]
Background[]
Thomas Burke was born in 1914 in Northern Ireland to Patrick Burke and an unnamed mother, and he and his family later emigrated to the United States during his childhood. The Burke family allegedly emigrated because of his father's involvement in the Irish Civil War that occurred in the 1920s, a war started over the Anglo-Irish treaty. John Donovan said that he looked at the FBI files on Thomas Burke as well as those of his father. While it was likely Patrick Burke was a subject of the United Kingdom with a criminal record, it appeared that after he became an American he gave up crime, as Donovan recalled his FBI background check revealed him as a citizen of the United States with no criminal record, although some yellow flags were seen of his possible continued ties to the Irish Republican Army, but never proven. In the case of Thomas Burke, the apple fell far from the tree. His father would die from a heart attack, leading Thomas to start bootlegging to make money for his family. He attempted auto thefts as well, but not many in his younger years due to focusing on moonshining, which was his niche. During his time in Louisiana, Burke married a woman named Sarah, who gave birth to his son and daughter, Danny and Nicki Burke. As his bootlegging operation grew, he would come across Sal Marcano, the boss of the Marcano crime family, who decided to make Burke an associate.
Burke was given the position to run his business in Pointe Verdun, while he also owned Burke's Iron & Metal, a scrap and salvage yard that was the base of his illegal operations. Thomas would develop an addiction to alcohol due to the stress of his work, and would develop terminal liver cancer around the 1960s. Sarah Burke died in 1958 of natural causes (albeit undisclosed). Thomas entombed his widow at the Burke family tomb at the Saint Agnes Catholic Church. Despite loving his children, he would be at odds with Nicki due to her sexuality, and she would only be defended by Danny. Once his children reached their twenties, Thomas would make Nicki his second-in-command and Danny a lieutenant of the Irish mob, with the two running Thomas' moonshine business.
Though Burke was on good terms with Sal for a time, their partnership would become strained in 1966 when Burke was ordered to illegallly import foreign car parts to evade American tariffs. Burke botched the smuggling, causing expensive items to be destroyed. Marcano then muscled his assets to take over Thomas' operations in Pointe Verdun, and appointed Roman "The Butcher" Barbieri to head the territory. Burke was left crippled by Barbieri since the latter enjoyed "tenderizing his meat", and Thomas was left to continue his business at his scrap yard. Despite his loss, Burke would attempt to re-earn his partnership with Sal, and continued to assist he crime family when needed.
Mafia III[]
In 1968, Burke would learn of Sal's plan to rob the Federal Reserve to obtain money plates, he decided to enlist himself as a planner and had Danny be a member of the heist. Burke did so with the intention or regaining his partnership with Marcano so he could head Pointe Verdun once again. He would create the drill that was used in the heist. Danny and his friends, Lincoln Clay, Giorgi Marcano, and Ellis Robinson participated in the robbery, as well as all four of them witnessing a successful test of the drill at Burke's garage. The drill ran into some problems as Ellis and Danny attempted a subterranean boring into the vault of the Federal Reserve while Giorgi and Lincoln dropped cash down the hole. The concrete in the floor was too thick to bore a sufficiently large hole, and Danny suggested dynamite to solve the problem. The three others were shocked by Danny's temerity, as his plan worked too well. The explosion sunk the vault itself into the sewers and Danny's left leg was broken by the debris. After escaping through the sewers by boat, the four ended up in the French Ward in the middle of Mardi Gras, where Lincoln had to battle his way through police to find the car Sammy had left for them, whereupon Lincoln, Ellis and Danny fled the cops in a car chase ending up at Sammy's Bar. While celebrating, the trio and Sammy were greeted by Sal and Giorgi Marcano who had a local man collect. All seemed great as Sal ordered them to drink to their success, until the Marcanos and other man suddenly attack all four men in the bar, killing them then setting the bar ablaze. Lincoln barely survived, having been rescued per happenstance by Father James, who was in the area. Danny was later to have been so badly burned by the fire that the mortician demanded a closed casket, and refused to allow Thomas and Nicole to view Danny's earthly remains as he said it was too traumatizing.
Angered at the loss of his son, Thomas turned against the Marcano crime family and attempted to kill Barbieri, but was beaten up and tossed into the trash. Burke later meets with Lincoln, who survived the massacre and wants to also get revenge on the Marcanos for killing the only family he had. Thomas is reluctant at first, but agrees to assist Lincoln after the latter drives recklessly around the city. After Lincoln takes control of the rackets in Pointe Verdun, Burke calls Barbieri and tells him that they will fight at his salvage yard. Burke gets his revenge on Barbieri by killing his men alongside Lincoln, and kills the Butcher before dumping his in the Mississippi River.
Thomas then becomes one of Lincoln's underbosses.. Burke will assist Lincoln in destroying the Marcano crime family, and can be given territories alongside the other underbosses, Italian mafia boss Vito Scaletta and Haitian mob boss Cassandra. Though Burke is at odds with Cassandra and Vito and may grouse at having to share the city; he holds a grudging respect for both of them.
Endings[]
Betrayal[]
If Lincoln didn't share a single turf for Burke, he would eventually flip out and leave the meeting; also vowing to kill him.
After Lincoln fights his way through Burke's men, he confronts him inside his garage and fatally wounds him. While sitting down in a wrecked car, Burke tells Lincoln that he is "a hell of a shot" for getting past his men, with Lincoln telling him that their association did not have to end the way it did. Burke tells him he knows what he is, looking in the mirror to change himself, even though he will always be "the same worthless piece of shit gazin' back" at him every time. Lincoln then asks Burke what to say to Nicki, to which Burke replies with "the truth" while asking to keep an eye on Nicki and protect her, to which Lincoln promises, as Burke slowly dies from his wounds.
Side Mission {I.R.A. Don't Ask}
Thomas Burke asks Lincoln to steal specific types of automobiles around the city and bring it back to him as he has buyers. When Lincoln asks where the cars are going, Thomas furtively answers "Belfast". Lincoln wonders that that is a long way to go all the way from Northern Ireland, and Burke says "I.R.A. don't ask". Lincoln steals the cars, and eventually some boats as well, making him wonder since when are the Irish Republican Army into boats. After completing all side missions, Lincoln demands to know how the IRA factor into all this. Thomas honestly replies, "They don't". A couple of small-time crooks from California were asking for the vehicles, and Lincoln wonders how come Burke was not simply forthcoming about that as that is no big deal. Burke says it is, as Nicole is considering moving away and retiring from the underworld, and he intends to help her financially. Burke says he is going to die. Burke's doctor gives him six months to live, eight months tops. Thomas asks that Lincoln not make a peep of this to Nicki. Lincoln gives his word and promises he will also do whatever he can to support Burke's daughter.
Rule Alone[]
If Lincoln decides to take John Donovan's advice on killing his underbosses to take full control of the city, he will use his pistol to murder Burke along with Vito and Cassandra (assuming they survived to this point) during a sit-down saying "It's not personal, just business". However, Thomas' death was (indirectly) avenged by Father James, who placed a bomb in Lincoln's car. Years later, the Monsignor admits to planting the bomb as Lincoln was going to be just as bad, if not worse, than Sal Marcano.
Rule Together[]
If Lincoln elects to stay in New Bordeaux but decides that the city should be shared, it is assumed that Burke continues as an underboss to Lincoln, overseeing Pointe Verdun and any other neighborhoods that were awarded to him at sit downs. In this storyline, it says that Lincoln became a fabulously wealthy don whose empire expanded into the American South and he invested in every racket imaginable. It also says that Lincoln was unlike most other crime bosses in that his reign was benevolent; "anyone who did work for him was taken care of and anyone he owed money to got paid". Given Lincoln's management of the city, it is assumed that he got the best doctors he could for Thomas Burke, who may have gotten an organ transplant or similar life saving treatment, and thus continued his command of the Irish mafia.
Control[]
If Burke is given all territories and Lincoln leaves the city, Thomas maintained his control and managed to remove his cancer by getting a liver transplant. During the following years, Burke flooded New Bordeaux with alcohol before selling drugs, thus making him one of the wealthiest people in the south. Due to his position, Burke would come into conflict with the Cuban mafia, who proceeded to kill him in 1984 during a shootout.
| “ | Now THAT'S the kind of news ya never get tired o' hearin'! | „ |
| ~ Burke praising Lincoln for defeating Sal and Giorgi. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- He can be heard singing Thomas Moore's "The Last Rose of Summer" and Thomas Osborne Davis' "A Nation Once Again".
[]
 Villains
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Mafia Mafia II Falcone Crime Family:
Vito Scaletta |
Joe Barbaro |
Carlo Falcone |
Eddie Scarpa |
Antonio Balsamo |
Henry Tomasino |
Marty Santorelli
Empire Bay Triads:
Mr. Chu |
Zhe Yun Wong Mafia II Mobile Mafia II: Joe’s Adventures Mafia II: The Betrayal of Jimmy and Mafia II: Jimmy's Vendetta Mafia III Mafia III: Faster, Baby! Mafia III: Stones Unturned Mafia III: Sign of the Times Mafia: Definitive Edition | ||