On Tuesday, police in Nantucket detained a retired doctor after receiving complaints that a disturbed lady had potentially overdosed and “did not feel comfortable” aboard the man’s 82-foot boat.
69-year-old Scott Anthony Burke was charged with narcotics trafficking and possession of firearms after police stormed his yacht, the Jess Conn, and allegedly found pistols, cocaine, and ketamine.
An 8 a.m. call informed authorities that a lady on board needed “medical treatment,” leading to the horrific discovery and Burke’s subsequent arrest in the harbor of the exclusive Massachusetts island, police said in a statement Wednesday.
When the police arrived on board, Burke took them to his bedroom, where they discovered the lady “appearing to be under the effect of an unknown narcotic” and “stating that she did not feel comfortable.”
Police said she was transported to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, although it was unclear what her condition was then.
Law enforcement officials stated that prostitutes were also on board.
According to the police report, a boat search afterward turned up 14 grams of ketamine, 43 grams of cocaine, a handgun, three 30-round magazines for a 9mm pistol, and one 12-round magazine. The report also states that many rounds of ammunition were discovered on the bedroom floor of the vessel.
Burke, handcuffed, reportedly admitted that the weapons on board were his and indicated the whereabouts of numerous other firearms.
Scott Burke “does not have a current [license to carry] or [firearm identification card],” the report states.
According to the police report, Burke was first detained on two charges of illegal handgun possession.
After the police raid, he was also accused of possessing ammunition and narcotics of Class A and B in his hands.
Burke, who lists his primary residences as Key Largo, Florida, and Denver, Colorado, is a retired physician who once managed a spine and rehabilitation clinic, according to online public documents.
According to his LinkedIn page, he created Injury Finance, a medical insurance firm in Colorado that offers lien services for third-party liability claims, over twenty years ago.
Records from Colorado’s Board of Medicine reveal that Burke’s medical license expired two years ago, though he was first granted it in 1981.
On Monday, April 15, he will be formally arraigned in Nantucket District Court on the firearms and drugs accusations against him.
Burke’s yacht has a Cayman Islands registration.
The Jess Conn sailed from its anchorage near Newport, Rhode Island, to Nantucket on August 23.
The luxurious yacht grounded off the coast of Florida back in May, but it was somewhat undamaged.
