Anthony
Super Moderator
BOSTON. James “Whitey†Bulger, 83, the feared Boston mob boss in 1970s and ‘80s who became one of the nation’s most-wanted fugitives, was convicted Monday in a string of 11 killings, racketeering charges, acts of extortion, conspiracy, money-laundering and drug dealing. Bulger showed no reaction and looked away from the jury when hearing the verdict.
Bulger disappeared in 1995 after a corrupt agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned him he was going to be indicted, at the time he was FBI informant. He was on the run for 16 years before authorities found him in Santa Monica, California. Authorities said he had an arsenal of weapons and $822,000 in cash hidden in the walls of his retirement bungalow.
His sentencing is set for November 13.
Catherine Greig, Bulger’s girlfriend was sentenced to eight years in prison in June, 2012 for helping Bulger evade capture during 16 years on the run. Her attorney told reporters she still loves Bulger and doesn't regret helping him stay on the run.
After he took off, he left behind a city that wondered if he would ever be caught and even if the F.B.I., which had been complicit in many of his crimes, was really searching for him.
“This was the worst case of corruption in the history of the F.B.I.,†said Michael D. Kendall, a former federal prosecutor who investigated some aspects of Mr. Bulger’s activities. “It was a multigenerational, systematic alliance with organized crime, where the F.B.I. was actively participating in the murders of government witnesses, or at least allowing them to occur.â€
As Bulger was being led away, one woman in the gallery was heard saying “Rat-a-tat-tat, Whitey!†apparently imitating machine gun.
Patricia Donahue wept as the verdict was read, her husband Michael Donahue, an innocent victim who was killed in a hail of gunfire while providing a ride to an FBI informant marked for death by Bulger.
“He’s guilty of murdering my husband. There’s nobody that said that,†his widow said. “It brings out a lot of emotion, and when it finally happens, it’s kind of hard.â€
Michael Donahue’s son Thomas Donahue, who was 8 years old when his father was killed told reporters; “Thirty-one years of deceit, of cover-up. Finally we have somebody guilty of it. Thirty-one years, that’s a long time.†He said that when he heard the verdict in his father’s slaying, “I wanted to jump up. I was like, ‘Damn right.’â€
Martin Scorsese made a movie “The Departed,†where Bulger was the model for the character played by Jack Nicholson, a benevolent crime boss.
“This trial helped burst the bubble of idolizing those times and recognized the true hardships that he caused,†said Michael Cassidy, a former state prosecutor and now a professor at Boston College Law School. “Many families were devastated by the drugs and crime, and it’s important for the city not to have a false memory of what was going on. These weren’t the glory days.â€
“When you hear about those days, it’s as if all that took place in another century, on another planet,†said Thomas J. Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University. “Thos were the bad old days of Boston, and there is nothing to be nostalgic about. There was brutality at every level.â€
Bulger disappeared in 1995 after a corrupt agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned him he was going to be indicted, at the time he was FBI informant. He was on the run for 16 years before authorities found him in Santa Monica, California. Authorities said he had an arsenal of weapons and $822,000 in cash hidden in the walls of his retirement bungalow.
His sentencing is set for November 13.
Catherine Greig, Bulger’s girlfriend was sentenced to eight years in prison in June, 2012 for helping Bulger evade capture during 16 years on the run. Her attorney told reporters she still loves Bulger and doesn't regret helping him stay on the run.
After he took off, he left behind a city that wondered if he would ever be caught and even if the F.B.I., which had been complicit in many of his crimes, was really searching for him.
“This was the worst case of corruption in the history of the F.B.I.,†said Michael D. Kendall, a former federal prosecutor who investigated some aspects of Mr. Bulger’s activities. “It was a multigenerational, systematic alliance with organized crime, where the F.B.I. was actively participating in the murders of government witnesses, or at least allowing them to occur.â€
As Bulger was being led away, one woman in the gallery was heard saying “Rat-a-tat-tat, Whitey!†apparently imitating machine gun.
Patricia Donahue wept as the verdict was read, her husband Michael Donahue, an innocent victim who was killed in a hail of gunfire while providing a ride to an FBI informant marked for death by Bulger.
“He’s guilty of murdering my husband. There’s nobody that said that,†his widow said. “It brings out a lot of emotion, and when it finally happens, it’s kind of hard.â€
Michael Donahue’s son Thomas Donahue, who was 8 years old when his father was killed told reporters; “Thirty-one years of deceit, of cover-up. Finally we have somebody guilty of it. Thirty-one years, that’s a long time.†He said that when he heard the verdict in his father’s slaying, “I wanted to jump up. I was like, ‘Damn right.’â€
Martin Scorsese made a movie “The Departed,†where Bulger was the model for the character played by Jack Nicholson, a benevolent crime boss.
“This trial helped burst the bubble of idolizing those times and recognized the true hardships that he caused,†said Michael Cassidy, a former state prosecutor and now a professor at Boston College Law School. “Many families were devastated by the drugs and crime, and it’s important for the city not to have a false memory of what was going on. These weren’t the glory days.â€
“When you hear about those days, it’s as if all that took place in another century, on another planet,†said Thomas J. Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University. “Thos were the bad old days of Boston, and there is nothing to be nostalgic about. There was brutality at every level.â€