Party yacht doc Scott Burke has terminal cancer, lawyer says

September 11, 2023

The retired surgeon whose party yacht was busted in Nantucket harbor last week with guns, drugs and alleged prostitutes aboard has stage four terminal cancer and is not expected to live much longer, his attorney revealed.

Scott Burke, 69, was described as a good citizen and a humanitarian who is living out his last days partying as he struggles with late-stage cancer by defense attorney Henry Brennan.

He spoke during a pretrial hearing last Thursday, where he successfully argued against jailing his client.

“To have this man potentially spend the rest of his life waiting for a case in jail, to me, would be very, very tragic,” Brennan told Nantucket District Court Judge James Sullivan according to the Nantucket Current.

Although Brennan did not state what type of cancer Burke has, a captain working in the harbor told The Post he previously gave a ride to two people delivering “cancer medication” to Burke’s 80-foot vessel, Jess Conn, the day after the doctor was arrested last Tuesday.

Burke pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted $200,000 bail.

Police found several guns, ammunition, drugs and prostitutes aboard Burke's 82-foot vessel, the Jess Conn. — Police found several guns, ammunition, drugs and prostitutes aboard Burke’s 82-foot vessel, the Jess Conn.

“I took out somebody who claimed to be a friend of the owner. He claimed to be bringing somebody — and I now know it’s the owner — his cancer medication to him,” said the captain, who asked to remain anonymous.

The captain also noted the people he gave a ride to then appeared to return with “more stuff than they went out with.”

Along with revealing Burke’s medical condition, Brennan told the court the surgeon and father-of-two was among those who volunteered in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquakes and that he completed more than 110 surgeries there.

The retired doctor is pictured with his family aboard the yacht in an undated photo.

Scott Burke, a retired doctor busted on drug and weapons trafficking charges, was revealed to have stage four, terminal cancer.

The lawyer also claimed Burke has given away the vast majority of his wealth away to colleges and scholarships, all while asking for nothing in return.

Given his terminal diagnosis, charity work and lack of a criminal record, Brennan pushed for Burke’s release on bail, which the judge agreed to, setting his bond at $200,000.

Burke has since posted bail at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, walking free over the weekend. His vessel, which is also said to be his primary residence, remained in the Nantucket harbor Monday morning.

At least three men were spotted aboard the Jess Conn, who waved at Post reporters, but remained silent.

The Jess Conn remains out at sea, with a captain in Nantucket Harbor noting that people had delivered "cancer medication" to the ship. — The Jess Conn remains out at sea, with a captain in Nantucket Harbor noting that people had delivered “cancer medication” to the ship.

Police raided Burke’s ship last week after a they recieved a call that a woman was overdosing on drugs and wanted to be taken off the boat.

Responding officers found several guns onboard — along with 43 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of ketamine, according to police reports. The Nantucket Current also reported a number of women who were on the boat were prostitutes.

Residents in the area also told the post a fight erupted between two women right before authorities got to the vessel.

Burke faces drug and weapons trafficking charges and was arraignment at Plymouth District Court. He has pleaded not guilty.