The terminally ill Florida doctor who was busted on his luxury yacht with drugs, guns and “prostitutes” aboard during a police raid in Nantucket Harbor avoided jail on Tuesday.
Scott Anthony Burke was sentenced to one-year probation after he pleaded guilty to four charges stemming from his arrest in September 2023, according to the Nantucket Current.
The retired physician, 70, was slapped with charges of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, possessing a Class A drug with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm without an FID card, and possessing ammunition without an FID card charges.
Burke was arrested when police raided his 82-foot yacht, named the Jess Conn, after they received a call that a 33-year-old woman was overdosing on drugs and “did not want to be there,” the police report stated.
The woman was found by police lying in a bed, awake but “extremely lethargic” and had told her friend that everyone on board had been doing drugs all weekend.
Officers discovered 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 during the raid.
Prostitutes were also discovered onboard, according to the outlet. However, Burke did not face any prostitution charges following his arrest.
The woman also revealed during her phone conversation that some of the guests onboard had been making pornographic films during the weekend bender.
Police claimed Burke was being “extremely uncooperative” and denied knowing that there were any illegal drugs onboard, according to a police affidavit obtained by the Current.
Burke told police that the woman was an employee who was hired weeks earlier and she had a female friend staying on the boat as well.
Days after his arrest, Burke’s lawyer, Brennan revealed his client had stage 4 terminal cancer, and wasn’t expected to live much longer.
Burke’s health played a factor in his decision to accept his plea, a spokesperson for Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois’s office told the Boston Globe on Thursday.
“It was brought to our attention that the defendant was being treated for terminal cancer during the pendency of the case. In light of the defendant’s age, lack of criminal record, and health status we agreed to the terms of his disposition,” spokesperson Danielle Whitney said.
Burke also faced four charges of possessing a large-capacity firearm, two charges of possessing a firearm without an FID card, one charge of possessing a Class A drug, and one charge of possessing ammunition without an FID card stemming from the same incident, but they were dismissed.
The retired physician had practiced in Colorado where he founded Denver Spine and Rehab, and was most recently the CEO of Injury Finance LLC, which provides medical lien services for third-party liability claims, according to the Current.
He later moved to Florida and resides in the ultra-exclusive Ocean Reef Club, where residents have “more money than freaking god.”
