Even though he was the boss, he always treated me equally, like an associate, not a son. James "Whitey" Bulger, the murderous Boston gangster who benefited from a corrupt relationship with the FBI before spending 16 years as one of America's most wanted men, has died in Officials finally confirmed on Thursday the brutal way Whitey was whacked in October 2018. He was issued a pistol permit within 24 hours. Over the years that followed, Bulger began to remove opposition by persuading Winter to sanction the killings of those who "stepped out of line". He was beaten so mercilessly that he couldn't be recognized. In December 1994, he was informed by Connolly that sealed indictments had come from the Department of Justice and that the FBI was set to make arrests during the Christmas season. [17] As part of the racketeering charges, the jury convicted Bulger of the murders of 11 victimsPaul McGonagle, Edward Connors, Thomas King, Richard Castucci, Roger Wheeler, Brian Halloran, Michael Donahue, John Callahan, Arthur "Bucky" Barrett, John McIntyre, and Deborah Hussey. [102] Bulger was indicted in Florida for the murder of Callahan and in Oklahoma for the murder of Roger Wheeler, and could have received the death penalty in those states. Early in his criminal career, local police gave Bulger the nickname "Whitey" because of his blond hair. Whitey Bulger Death Bulger passed away on 30th October 2018 in the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton in West Virginia. Tommy's problems began when he and Jimmy had worked in Triple O's. A staggering level of incompetence throughout the federal prison system led to notorious gangster Whitey Bulger's death in 2018 at the age of 89, according to a watchdog report released Wednesday. Bulger's trial began in June 2013. With Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson. Even when there were 400 people in the bar, you always knew Louie was there. [94] In April 2016, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Greig, then midway through her sentence for harboring Bulger, to 21 months on the contempt charge, pushing her release date to late 2020. During the discovery phase, Salemme and DeLuca were listening to a tape from a roving bug, which is normally authorized when the FBI has no advance knowledge of where criminal activity will take place. "Don't worry about it", Bulger responded. BOSTON (Reuters) - James "Whitey" Bulger's longtime partner in crime recalled on Friday how the mob boss killed the sidekick's girlfriend in 1981, strangling her after learning she knew about. the FBI.[8][9][10][11]. [35][36] Evidence of the experiments were later confirmed as CIA documentation emerged. I could see that a lot of the reports were not just against the Italians. The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly . [49], In February 1979, federal prosecutors indicted numerous members of the Winter Hill Gang, including boss Howie Winter, for fixing horse races. Jimmy had prepared for the run for years. His health also declined due to a lack of exercise. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, Learn how and when to remove this template message, desegregate schools in the city of Boston, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, "Famed crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger arrested in Santa Monica", "Whitey Bulger Is Arrested in California", "In South Boston, Mixed Memories of Whitey Bulger", "Convicted Mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger, 89, Found Dead In Prison", "FBI helped Bulger evade detection, ex-cop says", "Whitey Bulger arrest may revive old scandals", "Nabbed Gangster 'Whitey' Bulger Could Spill FBI Corruption Secrets", "James 'Whitey' Bulger's capture could cause trouble inside the FBI", "Capture Of Boston Gangster Could Mean More Scandal", "Mobster Whitey Bulger arrested in California", "One of America's Top Fugitives James 'Whitey' Bulger: Caught in Santa Monica", "Whitey Bulger, notorious Boston gangster, convicted in sweeping racketeering case; jury finds he participated in 11 murders", "Whitey Bulger transferred to federal prison in Florida", "Whitey Bulger moved from Florida prison to Oklahoma City transfer facility", "Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in West Virginia prison a day after transfer", "Whitey Bulger Is Dead in Prison at 89; Long-Hunted Boston Mob Boss", "Prison drops visits after Whitey Bulger slaying", "Whitey Bulger Death: 3 Charged in Killing of Boston Mob Boss NBC Boston", "James 'Whitey' Bulger: Three men charged in mob boss murder", "Three men indicted in prison beating death of Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger", "The Bulger Mystique Part 1. According to authorities, the arrests were a "direct result" of the media campaign launched by the FBI in fourteen television markets across the country where Bulger and Greig reportedly had ties. They didn't ask me to go, not that I would have wanted to. It is still unknown why Cosmo Dinardo and his accomplice Sean Kratz ended the lives of four men over marijuana deals, but there are some theories that can help explain why Dinardo devised his evil plan. They also reported themselves unable to agree about the murder of Debra Davis, though Bulger had already been found liable for her death in a civil suit. Shortly thereafter, on May 13, 1972, Donald Killeen was gunned down outside his home in the suburb of Framingham. He was also ordered to forfeit $25.2million and pay $19.5million in restitution. Donahue was shot in the head and killed instantly. The South Boston man is considered a critical witness for the government in Bulger's trial on a string of federal crimes including 19 murders.One of the murders was killing of Brian "Balloonhead" Halloran who was allegedly targeted by Bulger because Halloran had gone to the FBI with an offer to cooperate. "[35]:55 "[Louie] had always been a major moneymaker for Jimmy. I didn't fully understand all the aspects of his case. [132] Bulger bought her an expensive house in suburban Quincy, Massachusetts, and acted as father to her children while commuting to "work" in South Boston. [43]:6468, Bulger and Flemmi then took over the remnants of the Winter Hill Gang and used their status as informants to eliminate competition. Coffey stated that since Bulger was accused of "leading a criminal enterprise" while working as an informant and was also now a fugitive, he had "forfeited any reasonable expectation" that his identity would be protected. And investigators narrowed in on suspects immediately after his shocking slaying in a . Bulger was in a. Other agents were sent to stake out the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Normandy, as Bulger was reportedly an enthusiastic fan of military history. Captured in 2011, he was later found guilty of federal racketeering . The final cache included "91 rifles, 8 submachine guns, 13 shotguns, 51 handguns, 11 bullet-proof vests, 70,000 rounds of ammunition, plus an array of hand grenades and rocket heads". A day later, "using a ruse, agents and other task force members lured Mr. Bulger out of his apartment", "arrested him 'without incident', then went in the house and arrested Greig". The jury acquitted Bulger of killing Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O'Brien, James O'Toole, Al Notorangeli, James Sousa and Francis Leonard. [33] By then he had joined a street gang known as the "Shamrocks" and would eventually be arrested for assault, forgery and armed robbery. She worked as a dental hygienist. [21][22][23] In 2022, Fotios Geas, Paul DeCologero and Sean McKinnon were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Bulger's death.[24][25][26]. Sometimes they took girls, sometimes just the two of them went. I certainly always stand by him. ", "Black Mass: 9 Movie and TV Characters Inspired by Whitey Bulger", "Comic-Con: 'The Blacklist' Inspired by Whitey Bulger's Capture", "The Blacklist: Showrunner John Eisendrath Talks about the Show's Inspiration, Getting Inside the Mind of a Criminal, Casting James Spader, and More", Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano: Whitey Bulger's Enforcer and the Most Feared Gangster in the Underworld, Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down, "Top 10 Most Wanted Criminals in the World 2018", Court Ruling Denying Compensation to Victims Families, Bulger's FBI Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Alert, "James 'Whitey' Bulger capture means on FBI's Most Wanted List, two down, eight to go", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whitey_Bulger&oldid=1142774879, Two life sentences plus five years, forfeiture of $25.2, Bulger is mentioned considerably in the book, The character of Frank Costello (played by, "Notorious mob boss Whitey Bulger found dead in prison" from, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 08:47. [114] According to ABC News, Bulger's medical status had been lowered on October 8, 2018, shortly before he was transferred. Tommy King, in 1975, was one example. Money didn't matter, his power didn't matter. [74] In Oklahoma, where Bulger is alleged to have ordered the killing of businessman Roger Wheeler Sr., in 1981, Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said, "It is our intention to bring Bulger to justice and to be held accountable for the murder of Mr. Fuck 'em. UPDATE (Aug. 18, 2022, 5:00 p.m. Bulger and the Killeens fled Boston, fearing they would be next. Two men have emerged as the possible killers of former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger who was found dead in jail. As long as Jimmy was an active informant, Connolly said, he could justify meeting with Jimmy and giving him valuable information. [35]:167, It would not be until the 1999 cooperation of Weeks that Bulger, by then a fugitive, was conclusively linked to the drug trade by investigators. To be a successful fugitive you have to cut all contacts from your previous life. Bulger had also set up safe deposit boxes containing cash, jewelry and passports in locations across North America and Europe, including Florida, Oklahoma, Montreal, Dublin, London, Birmingham and Venice. Carr has been among the most aggressive critics of the Bulger brothers, Whitey and Billy, for their careers in the Boston area; among his works is the book The Brothers Bulger, detailing the Bulger brothers' 25-year period of controlling Boston politics and the Boston underworld. Bulger fathered one child, Douglas Glenn Cyr (19671973), during a 12-year relationship with Lindsey Cyr, a waitress and former fashion model living in North Weymouth, Massachusetts. Bulger was sentenced to a juvenile reformatory for these offenses. [2][3] On December 23, 1994, Bulger fled the Boston area and went into hiding after his former FBI handler, John Connolly, tipped him off about a pending RICO indictment against him. FBI Special Agent John Connolly was assigned to make the pitch. James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (/ b l d r /; September 3, 1929 - October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston. Most of the time, The Boston Globe wasn't as inaccurate as the Herald. Guards immediately undertook lifesaving measures, officials said, but he was pronounced dead. FBI Special Agent Dennis Condon noted in his log in September 1973 that Bulger and Nee had been heavily shaking down the neighborhood's bookmakers and loan sharks. Bulger only had one son, Douglas . At the end of our dinner, he seemed more aware of everything around him. I still care for him. By definition, his was a secretive life. Casper told Bulger that such a sentence was necessary given his "unfathomable" crimes, some of which inflicted "agonizing" suffering on his victims. Those guys have been giving up everyone for thirty years. Weeks stated that Carr was targeted because he was "writing nasty stories about people, he was an oxygen thief who didn't deserve to breathe." This money was used to buy weapons for the IRA which would be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in the trawler Valhalla. [84] Before his 1987 death by drug overdose, McGonagle reportedly held Bulger responsible for the murders of his brothers, twins Donald and Paul McGonagle, who were killed in the fighting which occurred during the Mullen-Killeen gang war. [74], Authorities received a tip from a woman in Iceland that Bulger was living in an apartment near a beach in Santa Monica. "[82], Bulger's companion during his years as a fugitive was his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig (born April 3, 1951), who was nearly 22 years his junior. Flynn remained the prime suspect until 1999, when Weeks agreed to cooperate with investigators and identified Bulger as one of the shooters. Whitey Bulger was a prominent figure in Boston's organized crime scene from the 1970s until the mid-'90s when he fled the area. And Jimmy saw it. [93], In September 2015, Greig was indicted on a charge of criminal contempt stemming from her refusal to testify before a grand jury about whether other people aided Bulger while he was a fugitive. Boston mob kingpin James "Whitey" Bulger was beaten to death in a West Virginia prison cell just one day after his arrival at U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton, according to his death certificate, obtained Thursday by several news networks. [31], In late August or early September 1974, Bulger and an accomplice reportedly set fire to an elementary school in Wellesley to intimidate U.S. District Court Judge Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr. over his mandated plan to desegregate schools in the city of Boston by means of busing. [94] In February 2016, Greig pleaded guilty to this charge. "[118] The Bulger family sought US$200,000 in damages. He had the means and kept a low profile. [17] On November 14, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. The operation had been compromised by IRA member Sean O'Callaghan, who was an informant for the Irish National Police. However, he was repeatedly unfaithful to her with a host of other women, and was often absent while overseeing the running of his organization. Black Mass: Directed by Scott Cooper. [57], When Valhalla crew member John McIntyre was arrested "for trying to visit his estranged wife", he confessed his role in the weapons smuggling to the Boston Police. And we all made him vulnerable. In return, Connolly, as Bulger's FBI handler, ensured that the Winter Hill Gang were effectively ignored. According to retired FBI agent Scott Bakken, "Here you have somebody who is far more sophisticated than some 18-year-old who killed someone in a drive-by. [122] Following this testimony, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney waged an extended and ultimately successful effort to get William to resign from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts, which he finally did in August 2003. He had even joined associations in Baxter's name, building an entire portfolio for the guy. Connolly kept telling me that 90 percent of the information in the files came from Stevie. [88] The criminal complaint against her alleges that she harbored a fugitive, Whitey Bulger. "[43]:30 Kenny would later testify that Winter Hill enforcers Stephen Flemmi and John Martorano were in the car with Bulger. After the 1972 truce, Bulger and the Mullens were in control of South Boston's criminal underworld. It was my good friend John Martorano." Martorano rapidly became one of the Winter Hill Gang's most prolific enforcers under the tenures of Howie Winter and Whitey Bulger. [35]:xvixvii In 1997, shortly after The Boston Globe disclosed that Bulger and Flemmi had been informants, Weeks met with Connolly, who showed him a photocopy of Bulger's FBI informant file. After arriving at the scene, Weeks staked out the Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant, where Halloran was dining. In June 2012, Greig pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity fraud, receiving a sentence of eight years in prison. Although it is a documented fact that Bulger soon followed Flemmi's example, exactly how and why continues to be debated. You're no longer just a bookmaker. One of the inmates sent to solitary . I have not aided James Bulger in any way while he has been a fugitive. The US mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger, who was convicted of 11 murders after spending 16 years on the run, has been jailed by a Boston court. "[35]:207, In his memoirs, Kevin Weeks related his participation in an attempt to assassinate reporter Howie Carr at his house in suburban Acton. Bulger had previously donated to NORAID and shipped weapons"guns and a block of C-4 plastic explosives"in a van to the IRA in the early 1980s. "I . Although Bulger adamantly denied it, the FBI revealed that he had served as an informant for several years starting in 1975. Even after 1983, when Morris was transferred to head up the Boston FBI's anti-drug task force, he remained an accomplice to Connolly and Bulger. "People say Bulger liked to visit Santa Monica Pier", "Calif. cop: I knew he was here all along! Connolly allegedly said that the FBI could help in Bulger's feud with Patriarca underboss Gennaro Angiulo. So Jimmy decided to kill him. Three men, including a Mafia hitman, have been indicted in the 2018 killing of notorious Boston mob boss James . And Jimmy said, "I'm never going to hurt like this again."[129]. No, no one's worried about him. Bulger was 89 years old. Nearly four years after James "Whitey" Bulger's killing, 55-year-old Fotios "Freddy" Geas, 48-year-old Paul "Pauly" DeCologero, and 36-year-old Sean McKinnon were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. No more warnings. [31] He spent time in the military prison for several assaults and was later arrested by Air Force police in 1950 for going absent without leave. Still, I wish I'd killed him. During the most violent period of The Troubles, sympathy for Irish nationalism and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was very common in South Boston, as were efforts to raise money and smuggle weapons for the IRA's campaign against the British presence in Northern Ireland. Bulger and Flemmi were left out of the indictments. In 1971, Killeen's younger brother Kenny allegedly shot and mauled Michael "Mickey" Dwyer, a member of the rival Mullen Gang, during a brawl at the Transit Caf. Later reports of a sighting in Italy in April 2007 proved false. Flanked by Weeks and Flemmi, Bulger would inform each dealer that he had been offered a substantial sum in return for that dealer's assassination. He told Weeks, "Every day out there is another day I beat them. In a sit-down at Chandler's nightclub in Boston's South End, the Mullens were represented by Nee and King, and the Killeens by Bulger. But I don't think they'll ever catch him. At one point, FBI agents were sent to Uruguay to investigate a lead. The station is owned by the CBS Television Stations subsidiary of CBS Corporation, and is the sister station to CW station WPSG (channel 57). Bulger's death certificate was released by NBC10 Boston on Thursday and it confirmed that Bulger's cause of death was "Blunt Force Injuries of the Head" that he sustained while after was "Assaulted by other (s)" in his . I can't believe he's so chatty right now. ET): Sean McKinnon was one of three men indicted on Thursday in Whitey Bulger's death. He was formerly an influential leader of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. Weeks, a bouncer at the bar, said, "He wasn't a big guy, maybe five seven and 185 pounds. "[51]:194. In a decision that would prove costly to him, Donahue offered Halloran a ride home. James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (/bldr/; September 3, 1929 October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston. They also liked to describe me as, 'Whitey's surrogate son', another example of the media putting labels on people they wrote about. Bulger remained at large for sixteen years. In 1993 and 1994, before the pinches came down, Jimmy and Stevie were traveling on the French and Italian Riviera. [86] Greig's younger brother David, a close associate of Bulger, was found shot dead on Cape Cod in an apparent suicide. He wanted another opportunity to "finish the job," but Bulger advised him to forget about Howie Carr. Bulger's death . However, while awaiting trial in Rhode Island's Wyatt federal prison, Weeks was approached by a fellow inmate, a "made man" in the Patriarca family, who told him, "Kid, what are you doing? [127] Bulger and Cyr began living together in 1966, when Cyr was 21 and a waitress at a North Quincy caf. Whitey Bulger has died. Although [McGonagle] never did anything, he kept on stirring everything up with his mouth. "I remember all of this cause I spent a lot of time with my dad at the . Only it wasn't Paulie. A gang war resulted, leading to a string of killings throughout Boston and the surrounding suburbs. On January 5, 1995, Bulger prepared to return to Boston, believing that it had been a false alarm. After listening to the pitch, Bulger is said to have responded, "Alright, if they want to play checkers, we'll play chess. A week later, Tommy was dead. This earned Shea a legendary reputation in South Boston. The information they supplied to the FBI in subsequent years was responsible for the imprisonment of several of Bulger's associates whom Bulger viewed as threats; however, the main victim of their relationship with the federal government was the Patriarca family, which was based in Boston's North End and in Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island. Bulger was bleeding profusely when he was found by prison authorities at 8:20 Tuesday morning. He then drove to Boston and dropped off Stanley in a parking lot. But in the long run, Jimmy and I got sidetracked and the maggot lived. Bulger and Flemmi were originally going to be part of this indictment, but Connolly and Morris were able to persuade prosecutor Jeremiah T. O'Sullivan to drop the charges against them at the last minute. Geas and DeCologero are accused of striking Bulger, 89, in the head several times in October 2018, causing his death, the district attorney's office said. She has been living quietly in South Boston with her twin sister Margaret McCusker. When their lawyer, Tony Cardinale, learned about this, he realized that the FBI had lied about the basis for the bug in order to protect an informant. McIntyre implicated Bulger in the botched smuggling to FBI agent Roderick Kennedy, but Kennedy "insisted that [Bulger's handler] Connolly overheard him talking about someone on the Valhalla cooperating".