Nantucket locals ‘cracking up’ over Scott Burke’s arrest

Nantucket natives are “cracking up” over the recent arrest of a retired doctor after drugs and prostitutes were allegedly found on his 82-foot yacht — but said Saturday that the guns he also had on board are a “completely different ballgame.”

Scott Anthony Burke, 69, was slapped with drug trafficking and weapons charges Tuesday after officers raided his luxury vessel, the Jess Conn, while it was anchored in Nantucket Harbor and discovered cocaine, ketamine, prostitutes, and two pistols on board. 

Many island residents are having a laugh over the drugs and prostitution bust, especially since cocaine is “commonplace” on Nantucket, one local told The Post Saturday.

“Everyone’s cracking up. We think it’s hilarious,” said the 61-year-old Nantucket native, who requested anonymity because her father works in the court system.

“Everybody does that. He got busted, that’s it,” she said of islanders’ attitude toward Burke’s tawdry crimes. 

The longtime local noted drug use is rampant across the island, but rich Nantucketers tend to keep their illicit habits under wraps so that tourists continue to visit the posh oasis. 

“I think we have enough tourists [that] we can alert the people and say we have some crime going on here,” she said 

The presence of weapons on board Burke’s ship, however, has been alarming. 

“The guns [are] a completely different ballgame,” she said.

The Jess Conn is still stationed in Nantucket Harbor as of Saturday afternoon.

While its decks appear empty, a marina worker told The Post there are people still on board, though it’s unclear if they are guests or crew.

Whoever they are, they are no longer welcome in the marina.

“Someone came in a tender, and they tried to get sandwiches or something from the island,” the worker, who asked not to be identified, said, adding that they heard the dockmaster tell another employee to dismiss the small craft and its passengers.

“They tried to come to the marina, and we told them to leave. They don’t want that boat associated with us at all.”

Burke was arrested Tuesday after police responded to reports that a woman may have overdosed aboard the yacht and felt unsafe. 

A police report said the woman was found “under the influence” in Burke’s bedroom on the yacht, while prostitutes were also discovered aboard the luxury boat, according to the Nantucket Current.

Investigators also discovered over 43 grams of cocaine, about 14 grams of ketamine, two handguns, and other ammunition in the main floor bedroom of the yacht, the Boston Globe reported. 

While cops initially responded to a call about a drug overdose on the Jess Conn, locals said a heated catfight that erupted on the ship may have also spurred authorities to intervene. 

“Not only was the woman being checked out for drug stuff, but there was a screaming match that evidently occurred between a woman on the harbor master’s boat and the launch boat that was either bringing the person back or taking the person to,” a local told The Post Friday.

Burke pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday in Plymouth District Court when he appeared for his arraignment.

His bail was set at $200,000.

The father of two adult children practiced in Colorado before retiring in 2021 and now lives in the ultra-exclusive Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida.