Boston's Bulger is killed in federal prison

James "Whitey" Bulger, longtime Boston underworld figure, was found dead Tuesday, October 30, within a high-security penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia.

Sources indicated that Bulger was "killed." Federal authorities are investigating the circumstances.  The New York Times, citing two unnamed Federal Bureau of Prisons employees, reported that at least two inmates beat Bulger to death. The Boston Globe reported that the prison in Hazelton has experienced a string of violent attacks. Two other inmates were killed in fights at the understaffed institution earlier this year, according to the Globe. Bulger was found unresponsive at 8:20 a.m. Efforts were made to revive him.

Eighty-nine-year-old Bulger, sentenced to two life prison terms after being convicted of involvement in eleven murders, had only arrived in Hazelton on Monday, October 29. He was transferred from a prison in Florida and held for a time at a transfer facility in Oklahoma City.

Bulger was part of South Boston's Winter Hill Gang. While engaged in his own illicit rackets, he fed information to the FBI about Mafia rivals and assisted in the dismantling of the Angiulo Mafia organization in Boston in the 1980s. His cooperation with federal agents provided him with protection from prosecution for more than a decade. When authorities finally were poised to arrest Bulger early in 1995, he was apparently tipped off and vanished. The indictment against him included charges that he participated in nineteen gangland killings.

FBI corruption was revealed in 2002, when Bulger's handler, John J. Connolly, Jr., was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice.

Bulger quickly earned the top spot on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The government reward for information leading to his arrest reached $2 million in September 2008. A worldwide search (there were reports that Bulger might have fled to Sicily) ended on June 22, 2011, with Bulger's arrest in California. He had been living in Santa Monica with his longtime companion Catherine Greig. Agents found $800,000 in cash and more than thirty firearms hidden in their apartment.

Catherine Greig pleaded guilty to helping Bulger elude the police. She was sentenced in 2012 to eight years in prison. She remains behind bars in Minnesota.

Bulger came to trial at Boston's federal courthouse in June 2013. The jury concluded five days of deliberations on August 12, 2013, finding Bulger guilty of racketeering offenses and participation in eleven murders. On November 14, 2013, he was sentenced by federal Judge Denise J. Casper to two consecutive life sentences plus five years.

Born September 3, 1929, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Bulger grew up in a South Boston housing project. His criminal activity started at an early age. He was arrested in 1956 for bank robbery. Following conviction, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison, but served just nine years. When he emerged from prison, he became a key member of the Winter Hill Gang. A younger brother, William, went into politics and became a longtime leader in the Massachusetts State Legislature.

Sources:

• "Crime lord Whitey Bulger appears in LA court, remanded to Massachusetts," New York Post, June 23, 2011, nypost.com.
• "Fugitive Boston mobster arrested on Westside," Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2011.
• "James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in West Virginia prison, sources say," WCVB-5 Boston, Oct. 30, 2018, wcvb.com.
• "Whitey Bulger, galpal nabbed in California," Boston Herald, June 23, 2011.
• Butterfield, Fox, "F.B.I. agent linked to mob is guilty of corruption," New York Times, May 29, 2002, p. 14, nytimes.com.
• Harvey, Matt, "Update: U.S. Attorney Powell in WV...," WVNews, Oct. 30, 2018, wvnews.com.
• Kennedy, Helen, "Boston mobster James (Whitey) Bulger spotted in Sicily?" New York Daily News, Sept. 15, 2007, nydailynews.com.
• Ivory, Danielle, and William K. Rashbaum, "Whitey Bulger said to have been killed by inmates in prison attack," New York Times, Oct. 30, 2018.
• McFadden, Robert D., "Whitey Bulger, notorious Boston mobster and informant, is dead at 89," New York Times, Oct. 30, 2018, nytimes.com.
• Pulice, Chris, "Inmate death at United States Penitentiary Hazelton," U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, news release, Oct. 30, 2018.
• Rocheleau, Matt, and Emily Sweeney, "James 'Whitey' Bulger's killing is just the latest in a string of troubling violence for W.Va. prison," Boston Globe, Oct. 30, 2018, bostonglobe.com.

Bulger captured, fugitive for 16 years

South Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger (right) and his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig were arrested yesterday (Wednesday, June 22) in Santa Monica, California, according to numerous published reports. Bulger, 82, had been a fugitive from justice for 16 years. He is accused of participating in 19 murders and other crimes. Greig is accused of harboring a fugitive.

- Los Angeles Times: "Fugitive Boston mobster arrested on Westside."
- Boston Herald: "Whitey Bulger, galpal nabbed in California."
- New York Post: "Mobster 'Whitey' Bulger arrested after 16 years on the lam."
- Reuters: "Accused Boston crime boss 'Whitey' Bulger arrested."

Bulger served as boss of the South Boston, Massachusetts, Winter Hill Gang, while also working as an FBI informer against the regional Mafia. His corrupt FBI handler, John J. Connolly Jr., tipped him off to a pending federal indictment in December 1994. (Connolly was later convicted of racketeering-leaking government information and of second degree murder.) Bulger and his girlfriend immediately disappeared. The reward for Bulger's capture had reached as high as $2 million.

Earlier in the week, the FBI unveiled a new publicity campaign targeting Catherine Greig. That prompted extensive coverage of the Bulger case in Boston-area media.

- FBI: "Have You Seen This Woman?"

Bulger and Greig are expected to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles today (Thursday, June 23).

Octogenarian Bulger still tops FBI list

A recently released FBI Most Wanted list has a familiar name in its top spot: James J. "Whitey" Bulger, according to a story by Patrick Cooper of IrishCentral.com. A $2 million reward is offered for information leading to Bulger's capture.

      The 81-year-old, a fugitive Irish-American gang boss from Boston, reportedly has been in hiding since his early 1995 racketeering indictment. He also was charged on Sept. 28, 2000, with participating in 19 murders during the 1970s and 1980s. Bulger received some protection from the Boston area FBI as he served as an informant against the New England Mafia.
      Bulger's FBI handler, former FBI agent John Connolly was convicted of racketeering in 2002 and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Connolly was convicted of second-degree murder late in 2008. He was found guilty of providing Bulger and a Winter Hill Gang underling, Stephen Flemmi, with information that led to the death of potential government witness John B. Callahan in 1982. Connolly was sentenced in January 2009 to 40 years in prison that murder conviction. The sentencing judge noted at the time that the statute of limitations on the murder charge may have lapsed.

Read more about Bulger:
The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century.
Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob.

Former FBI agent Connolly gets 40 years, but...

John J. Connolly, a former FBI agent recently convicted of second-degree murder, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe. However, the judge in the case believes it is unlikely that the conviction will stand on appeal.

Judge Stanford Blake of Miami-Dade Circuit Court noted that a defense challenge citing the statute of limitations was legally correct. Blake said he could not throw out the conviction because the defense argument was not made until almost a month after the verdict was returned.

Connolly (left), 68, is already serving a sentence in federal prison that continues until 2011. He was recently convicted of leaking information to Boston area mobsters James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi that led to killing of potential government witness John B. Callahan. Callahan had knowledge of Bulger's and Flemmi's role in the 1981 killing of Jai Alai businessman Roger Wheeler. Callahan's body was found Aug. 2, 1982, in the trunk of his car at Miami International Airport.

Ex-agent Connolly guilty of 2d-degree murder

John Connolly (right), a former FBI agent who became involved with the Boston underworld, was convicted in a Miami courtroom yesterday of second degree murder, according to a story by Curt Anderson of the AP.

Jurors deliberated for two-plus days after the two-month trial before deciding that Connolly leaked information to Boston organized crime figures that led to the 1982 shooting death of former world Jai-Alai president John Callahan. Connolly warned the gangsters that Callahan could provide evidence linking them to a 1981 killing.

Connolly was the FBI's handler for two top-level informants in the Boston underworld, James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi. The former FBI agent was convicted in 2002 of racketeering and is serving a 10-year prison sentence. Connolly reportedly received $235,000 from Bulger and his gang in return for protection. Connolly has been accused of leaking information to Bulger, including news of a pending indictment against Bulger. The Boston gang boss managed to avoid arrest in 1995 and remains at large.

This latest Connolly conviction carries the possibility of a life sentence in prison.

Ex-FBI agent portrayed as 'just another' gangster

Prosecutor Fred Wyshak told a Florida jury Monday that ex-FBI agent John J. Connolly (right) functioned as "just another member" of the Boston area Winter Hill Gang in the 1980s, according to a story by Edmund H. Mahoney of the Hartford Courant. Connolly, 68, convicted in 2002 of racketeering and serving a 10-year prison sentence, is now on trial for murder and conspiracy.

Wyshak, U.S. attorney working with Florida state prosecutor Michael Von Zamft on the case, delivered the trial's opening statement. Wyshak said Connolly spent time with gang leaders, vacationed with them, shared information with them and profited from their illegal activities.

Connolly is charged with helping to set up the 1982 assassination of former World Jai Alai president John B. Callahan. According to prosecutors, Connolly informed Winter Hill Gang chiefs James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi that Callahan was preparing to cooperate in an investigation of an earlier gang murder. Gang hitman John V. Martorano then killed Callahan to prevent him from talking to authorities. Flemmi and Martorano have pleaded guilty to participating in Callahan's murder. They are expected to testify against Connolly. Bulger remains at large.

Defense attorneys argued that the gang needed no help to decide that Callahan was about to aid investigators. Attorney Manuel Casabielle defended Connolly's relationship with Bulger and Flemmi, saying the former FBI agent recruited them as informants and used the information they provided to dismantle the New England Mafia.

Casabielle charged that prosecutors have accused his client of various wrongdoings spanning a quarter century in the hope of winning convictions. "It's not fair to take a bunch of mud and throw it at an individual and hope some of it sticks," he said.

FBI doubles reward for Bulger information

Two million dollars is now offered for information leading to the arrest of fugitive New England gang boss James "Whitey" Bulger, according to a news release from the FBI's Boston field office. With announcement of the reward - just doubled from $1 million - the FBI is circulating new "age enhanced" photos of Bulger.

(Watch video.)

Bulger, formerly leader of a Boston-area Irish gang, has been in hiding since his racketeering indictment early in 1995. He was also charged on Sept. 28, 2000, with participating in 19 murders during the 1970s and 1980s.

Authorities say Bulger cooperated in FBI investigations of his Italian underworld rivals while continuing his own criminal career.

'Cadillac Frank' sentenced, expects to be out in '09

Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme, 74-year-old former boss of the New England Crime Family, was sentenced Tuesday to five years for lying and obstruction of justice, according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe. With credit for time served, he could be released from prison by December or January. After prison, he will be in a supervised release program for three years, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

In a plea deal, Salemme (right) admitted lying to investigators about the May 1993 disappearance of Steven A. DiSarro, owner of a nightclub in South Boston known as "The Channel." Salemme maintains that he had nothing to do with DiSarro's disappearance. The nightclub owner is presumed to have been murdered. A decade ago, Salemme told investigators that former New England boss Nicholas Bianco wanted DiSarro eliminated.

"I want to categorically deny that I had anything to do with DiSarro, the assault or the murder...," Salemme told the court before hearing his sentence.

Salemme took over as New England boss after Bianco was removed by federal prosecution and by his November 1994 death in prison. During a power struggle within the Boston and Providence-based Mafia, Salemme was indicted on racketeering charges in January 1995.

Also indicted at that time were James "Whitey" Bulger (left) and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi. Bulger and Flemmi were longtime FBI informants. According to Salemme, former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. warned Salemme, Bulger and Flemmi of the indictments. Bulger and Flemmi fled. Bulger remains a fugitive. Salemme became a government witness against Connolly in 1999, helping to convict Connolly of racketeering.

Salemme was released into the witness protection program in 2003. He was back in custody in 2004 after prosecutors accused him of covering up his son Frank Jr.'s alleged involvement in DiSarro's slaying. Salemme denied the charge. Frank Jr. died in 2005 of lymphoma.

Prosecutors noted that DiSarro's disappearance occurred shortly after investigators began looking into the relationship between the Salemmes and The Channel.

'Cadillac Frank' could be home by Christmas

Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme, former bigshot of the New England Mafia, could be out of prison by Christmas under a plea deal revealed yesterday, according to a report by UPI.

Salemme (right), 74, cooperated in federal investigations into Massachusetts mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. Investigators caught Salemme holding back information on a murder committed by his own son in 1993. Federal charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements followed.

Under the plea deal, Salemme will plead guilty to the two counts against him, and prosecutors will ask in April for a prison sentence of 51 to 63 months, minus time served. Salemme will not admit to allegations that he watched his son Frank strangle nightclub owner Steven DiSarro and helped dispose of DiSarro's body, according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe.

Salemme, reputed onetime boss of the Patriarca Crime Family, is believed to have been allied with Bulger (left) until a 1999 federal racketeering conviction. He became convinced that Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi turned him in. In 2001, he agreed to cooperate in the investigation of fugitive Bulger and his ties to former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. Salemme was released from prison into the witness protection program in 2003, only to be rearrested the following year on the most recent charges.

Flemmi is serving a life sentence for murder. Bulger is still at large.

FBI says Bulger might be in Sicily

The FBI has released photographs and video that it says could be fugitive mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig, according to a story by Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News.

The images, taken in the area of Taormina, Sicily, were obtained through a U.S. drug enforcement agent who happened to be vacationing there in April and spotted the couple. The FBI is hoping others might be able to help identify the couple. A $1 million reward is offered for information leading to Bulger's capture.

Bulger led the Winter Hill Gang in Boston while aiding FBI investigations of local Italian mobsters. He has been charged with participating in 19 murders.

Feds pressing for Bulger info

According to the March 17 broadcast of America's Most Wanted, federal authorities have released a surveillance video of James "Whitey" Bulger in the hope of locating the fugitive.

Bulger, a former Boston area gang leader and federal informant, has been in hiding for the past eight years. He and Steven "the Rifleman" Flemmi provided information on the New England Mafia to FBI agent John Connolly, who has since been linked with criminal activity and convicted of racketeering.

Bulger was indicted for racketeering in January 1995 but apparently learned of his pending arrest and escaped. He was reportedly a key member of Boston's Winter Hill Gang. His brother Billy Bulger is a veteran legislator in the State of Massachusetts.

Related MobNews posts:

• Informant Mercurio dies at 70 02-13-07
• Dukakis testifies in Limone lawsuit 12-14-06
• Salvati, Limone sue FBI for 1960s frameup 08-19-2006
• Attorney: FBI responsible for mob hit 06-30-2006
• Agent had 'Whitey' concerns in '81 06-14-2006
• FBI 'condoned' crimes, gang hits 06-07-2006
  

Informant Mercurio dies at 70

The death of Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio (right), a New England mobster who turned into an informant and helped the FBI listen in on a Patriarca Family induction ceremony, was revealed by a family member this week. A story by David Abel and April Simpson of the Boston Globe said Mercurio died on Dec. 11 of a pulmonary embolism. He was 70.

Mercurio's cooperation with the FBI led to the first-ever bugging of a Mafia induction ceremony. In October 1989, electronic devices were placed in a Medford, MA, home, and agents listened in as the New England Crime Family initiated four new members. The family reportedly was led at that time by Raymond Patriarca Jr. (left), who attended the ceremony. Sixteen other mobsters attended. Patriarca was jailed in the early 1990s, winning his release in December of 1998.

Working with both the Boston branch of the Mafia and the non-Italian Winter Hill Gang in the underworld, Mercurio also ran Vanessa's Italian Food Shop in the Prudential Center. In the late 1980s, the FBI bugged the shop, acquiring enough evidence against Mercurio to convince him to work for the now-notorious FBI handler John J. Connolly (also handler for James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi).

In addition to providing evidence against his fellow Mafiosi, Mercurio eventually helped convict Connolly of racketeering. Connolly is now serving a 10-year sentence on a 2002 convicion. Mercurio's work on that case caused a judge to reduce a 110-month prison sentence against him.
Mercurio went into the federal witness-protection program. He spent his last years in Little Rock, Arkansas. His mother-in-law, Judith Gopoian, brought news of his death to the press, according to a story in the Providence Journal.

Dukakis testifies in Limone lawsuit

Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis testified yesterday in a civil trial related to the false imprisonment of Peter Limone and three other men convicted of the 1965 killing Edward "Teddy" Deegan, according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe.

Dukakis was asked about his official review of a 1983 petition to show clemency to Limone. The former governor noted that U.S. Attorney William F. Weld sent him a letter urging him to reject the petition and keep Limone behind bars, arguing that, if released, Limone would "assume charge of the day-to-day operations of organized crime in this area." Dukakis sided with Weld at the time. And Limone remained in prison.

Since then, it has become clear that the local office of the FBI helped to set up Limone, Louis Greco, Joseph Salvati and Henry Tameleo for the Deegan murder in order to protect its relationship with longtime informants and Massachusetts crime figures James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi. FBI agent John J. Connolly, who served as the federal handler for Bulger and Flemmi, was convicted of racketeering. Bulger has been sought by law enforcement for years.

The four convicted men were jailed in 1968. Tameleo and Greco died in prison. Limone and Salvati were released in 2001.

Limone, Salvati and the families of Tameleo and Greco are suing the federal government for $100 million, charging that the FBI provided a false witness against them - Joseph "the Animal" Barboza - and knowingly helped convict them for a crime they did not commit.

Law enforcement officials believe Limone has returned to a position of importance in the New England Mafia since his release from prison. The Boston Herald recently reported that Carmen "the Big Cheese" DiNunzio (arrested on Dec. 1 for extortion and gambling conspiracy) became the leader of the Boston wing of the Providence RI-based Mafia family after Limone turned down the job.

Tameleo was also a key figure in the regional mob. He reportedly served as underboss to New England crime lord Raymond L.S. Patriarca.

Barboza entered the witness protection program, but New England mobsters tracked him to northern California and reportedly beat him to death in 1976.

Other MobNews items related to the New England Mafia:
RI gambling ring connected to Mafia 12-13-2006
Providence mobster Gomes dies at age 73 12-07-2006
DiNunzio released on $20K cash bail 12-05-2006
Mass. police arrest DiNunzio 12-02-2006
Mass. men sentenced for witness tampering 09-02-2006
Salvati, Limone sue FBI for 1960s frameup 08-19-2006
'Saint' pleads guilty 07-12-2006
R.I. mobster to plead guilty 07-08-2006
Attorney: FBI responsible for mob hit 06-30-2006
Mass. police search again for teen's remains 06-30-2006
Ex-gangster's son strives to be 'White Rapper' 06-26-2006
Agent had 'Whitey' concerns in '81 06-14-2006
FBI 'condoned' crimes, gang hits 06-07-2006
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