"The next day, Corsetti reported the meeting to the Boston police. I certainly always stand by him. [90] After being captured alongside Bulger, Greig sought release on bail and home confinement,[91] a request that was denied. If he'd told Jimmy that someone had driven him, he might have gotten a pass. "[43]:30 Kenny would later testify that Winter Hill enforcers Stephen Flemmi and John Martorano were in the car with Bulger. Bulger only had one son,Douglas Glenn Cyr, who was born whilst Bulger wasclimbing the ranks of the Winter Hill gang in South Boston. [105] Bulger was also in poor health, as he was unable to walk and had a damaged hip, often falling out of bed. 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. [61], On November 17, 1999, Weeks was arrested by a combined force of the DEA and the Massachusetts State Police. Other Facts. According to Weeks, Bulger briefly considered killing Shea, but eventually decided to extort a weekly cut of his profits. [8][9][10], Bulger was arraigned in federal court on July 6, 2011. [34], Shortly after his release in April 1948, Bulger joined the United States Air Force, but he had not reformed. "[122] William said that the only contact with his brother during the fugitive years was a short telephone call in January 1995, shortly after his brother was indicted. Although Connolly was Bulger's most infamous source inside law enforcement, Weeks has stated that Massachusetts State Police Lt. Richard J. Schneiderhan, the crew's only source inside that agency, was valued more highly.[54][55]. [1][13][14][15] Bulger and Greig were then extradited to Boston and taken to court under heavy guard. And now he wanted to kill a friend of Jimmy. He repeatedly got in fights with other inmates who accused Bulger of being "a rat." I shot Donald.' Even after he retired, Connolly still had friends in the FBI, and he and Jimmy kept meeting to let each other know what was going on. "[129] At six years of age, Douglas died from Reye syndrome after having a severe allergic reaction to an aspirin injection. Bulger later complained that the inmates had been "recruited by deception" and were told they were helping to find "a cure for schizophrenia", when in fact they were being used to research mind control. His eyes had nearly been gouged out and his tongue almost cut off;[108][109][110] a law enforcement official described Bulger as "unrecognizable". whitey bulger son cause of death. As Donahue and Halloran drove out of the parking lot, Weeks signaled Bulger by stating, "The balloon is in the air" over a walkie-talkie. Bulger and Flemmi were instead named as unindicted co-conspirators. [127] Bulger and Cyr began living together in 1966, when Cyr was 21 and a waitress at a North Quincy caf. It would be another six months before it became clearer. Tommy's second and last mistake had been getting into the car with Jimmy, Stevie, and Johnny Martorano. 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. Flemmi has identified the second shooter as Patrick Nee, who has denied the allegation and has yet to be charged. Jimmy and I were friends, not like father and son. He hated the nickname 'Whitey'. [63] However, there were unconfirmed sightings elsewhere. In 2010, the FBI turned its focus to Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. He smoked. Money didn't matter, his power didn't matter. "People say Bulger liked to visit Santa Monica Pier", "Calif. cop: I knew he was here all along! [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. [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. Jimmy had prepared for the run for years. He was also ordered to forfeit $25.2million and pay $19.5million in restitution. Cyr met Bulger in the 60s when she was working as a waitress in North Quincy, Massachusetts. According to Weeks's memoirs, in 1980 Boston Herald reporter Paul Corsetti began researching an article about Louis Litif's murder and Bulger's suspected involvement. Federal prosecutors . Bulger declined to seek bail and remained in custody. Bulger was widely thought to have obtained his share of the jackpot illegitimately.[58]. [51]:216 Connolly reported that Halloran was shopping this information to the FBI for a chance for him and his family to be placed in the Witness Protection Program. Later in his sentence, he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary and, in 1963, to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Bulger replied, "You've stepped over the line. The notorious gangster died of "blunt force injuries to the head" after being assaulted by multiple people, according to his death. It was over. The Department of Justice says Bulger was found unresponsive in his cell around 8:20 a.m. Prison staff attempted life-saving measures, but Bulger was later pronounced dead by the Preston County . 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. 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. ", "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=1152429028, 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 30 April 2023, at 05:22. That night, as always, he was talking in his obnoxious loud voice. [64][65] Following his arrest, Bulger revealed that instead of being reclusive, he had in fact traveled frequently, with witnesses coming forward to say they had seen him on the Santa Monica Pier and elsewhere in southern California. If he needs help getting attorneys and what have you, I'd be happy to help him. ", "Hearing this afternoon for fugitive mobster snared by FBI", "James 'Whitey' Bulger captured after 16 years on the run", "Mobster's run almost textbook case of evasion", "FBI used 'ruse' to lure mobster to his capture", "Tip That Led To Bulger Arrest Came From Iceland", "Death-penalty states waiting for bite of Bulger", "Bulger offers new details to authorities", "James "Whitey" Bulger Pleads Not Guilty to 48 Charges in Boston Court", "Bulger's former associate Kevin Weeks speaks out", "The long, unlikely journey of Cathy Greig", "A Gangster's Gal Was Loyal to the End of Life on the Run", "Pal: Catherine Greig had 'a thing' for boys on 'darker side's", "Whitey Bulger's Wily Girlfriend Catherine Greig", "Brockton lawyer Kevin Reddington hired to defend Catherine Greig", "Feds detail role of Catherine Greig, kin in life on run", "Catherine Greig attorney says she'll go to trial Quincy, MA", "Girlfriend gets 8 years for hiding 'Whitey' Bulger", 'Whitey' Bulger's Girlfriend Faces More Time for Her Silence, Judge sentences 'unapologetic' Catherine Greig to 21 months, 'Whitey' Bulger's girlfriend refuses to testify, "Jury in James 'Whitey' Bulger trial begins deliberations", "Bulger, guilty in 11 murders, will appeal", "Judge to 'Whitey' Bulger: Depravity of your crimes is unfathomable", "Okla., Fla. prosecutors: Bulger death penalty trial decisions after Boston sentencing", "James 'Whitey' Bulger moved to Oklahoma prison", "James 'Whitey' Bulger dead, had been moved to W. Va", "Whitey Bulger's Fatal Prison Beating: 'He Was Unrecognizable', "Notorious mob boss Whitey Bulger found dead in prison", "Mob Boss James 'Whitey' Bulger Beaten to Death With 'Lock-in-a-Sock', "Meet the mob hitman suspected of killing Whitey Bulger", Prison drops visits after Whitey Bulger slaying, "Whitey Bulger's eyes reportedly almost gouged out in deadly attack", "Notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger has been reportedly killed in prison", "Springfield hitman eyed in Whitey Bulger's slaying", "This mafia hitman, Fotios 'Freddy' Geas, hated 'rats'. He was issued a pistol permit within 24 hours. Halloran lived long enough to identify his attacker as Bulger associate James Flynn, who was later tried and acquitted. Nevertheless, he received an honorable discharge in 1952 and returned to Massachusetts. [43]:6468, Bulger and Flemmi then took over the remnants of the Winter Hill Gang and used their status as informants to eliminate competition. On July 7, 1996, a federal grand jury in Boston returned a 29-count indictment against Bulger and four other leaders of the Winter Hill Gang and the Patriarca Family; Bulger was indicted on 13 counts of racketeering. They overheard two of the agents who were listening in on the bug mention that they should have told one of their informants to give "a list of questions" to the other wiseguys. We both were. [16] The racketeering counts included allegations that Bulger was complicit in 19 murders. [43]:300301, On September 5, 2006, federal judge Reginald C. Lindsay ruled that the mishandling of Bulger and Flemmi caused the 1984 murder of informant John McIntyre, awarding his family $3.1million in damages. [31]:49 In May 1938, the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Project was opened in the neighborhood of South Boston. State and federal agencies were repeatedly stymied in their attempts to build cases against Bulger and his inner circle. I would see, over and over again, that some of these people had been arrested for crimes that were mentioned in these reports. In 1971, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) approached Bulger and attempted to recruit him as an informant as part of their effort against the Patriarca crime family. A couple days later Jimmy told me about the scene with the cop and was glad to hear how uncomfortable he had made Corsetti. Nicknamed "Whitey" as a child because of his white-blond hair. [35]:5759 Litif told an outraged Bulger he was also going to kill his partner, "Joe the Barber", whom he accused of stealing from the bookmaking operation. Cyr and Bulger lived together for 12 years and were married according to Common Law. Billy said, 'Don't worry about it. Other reasons included South Boston's code of silence and corruption within the FBI, the Boston Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police. [19] In October 2018, he was transferred to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City,[103] and then a few days later to the Federal Penitentiary in West Virginia. His father, Angelo "Andy" Martorano was an immigrant from Riesi, Sicily, and with his family he emigrated to the United States around 1915, to East Boston.His mother, Elizabeth Mary "Bess" Hunt, was of Irish descent, who lived in Somerville. "[35]:9091, In 1979, Winter was arrested, along with many members of his inner circle, on charges of fixing horse races. Tommy King, in 1975, was one example. She worked as a dental hygienist. [18] Bulger was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida. Douglas died when he was just 6 years old after coming down with Reyes Syndrome. Whitey Bulger has died. [53], Throughout the 1980s, Bulger, Flemmi, and Weeks operated rackets throughout eastern Massachusetts including loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, and extortion. Two sources told NBC News that Fotios "Freddy" Geas, a. He initially insisted he was his alias, Charlie Gasko, according to FBI special agent Scott Garriola, until he eventually admitted: You know who I am; Im Whitey Bulger, reports Biography. However, the nickname "Whitey" stuck. [88] The criminal complaint against her alleges that she harbored a fugitive, Whitey Bulger. In a 2004 interview, Winter recalled that the highly intelligent Bulger "could teach the devil tricks". [105] This was the third homicide at the prison in a 40-day span. Investigators have reportedly identified Fotios. 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. "[119], On August 18, 2022, three men were indicted in connection with the beating death of Bulger: Fotios Geas, Paul J. DeCologero, and Sean McKinnon. "[35]:261, In the aftermath, Weeks decided to cut a deal with federal prosecutors and revealed where almost every penny was stashed and every body was buried. FBI Agent John Morris was put in charge of the Organized Crime Squad at the FBI's Boston field office in December 1977. In 1982, a South Boston cocaine dealer named Edward Brian Halloran, known on the streets as "Balloonhead", approached the FBI and stated that he had witnessed Bulger and Flemmi murdering Litif. After reporting the story for several days, Corsetti was approached by a man who said, "I'm Jim Bulger and if you continue to write shit about me, I'm going to blow your fucking head off. His actions were covert, hidden even fromor perhaps hidden especially from those who loved and cared about him. Even though he was the boss, he always treated me equally, like an associate, not a son. "Anyone involved in . [68][69][70], Bulger was captured as a result of the work of the Bulger Fugitive Task Force, which consisted of FBI agents and a Deputy U.S. ", "Fourth Superseding Indictment in Case Number 94-10287-MLW, United States v. Francis P. Salemme, et al", "Third Superseding Indictment in Case Number 99-10371-RGS, United States v. James J. Bulger, et al", "Search for Whitey Bulger turns to Canada". The question today, more than a year after his gruesome murder in a West Virginia prison, is whether his killer or killers will ever be brought to justice. [31], Weeks stated that, although several plans were considered, all were abandoned because there was too much risk of injuring Carr's wife and children. I do not know where he has been over the past eight years. In the next few months, three low-level Winter Hill Gang members were executed, mostly believed to be in retribution for the kidnapping. Today we're going to do something on Whitey Bulger, another very polarizing figure because recently 3 people were indicted for his murder. Bulger drove up with another man armed with a silenced MAC-10; Bulger himself carried a .30 Carbine. And Jimmy said, "I'm never going to hurt like this again."[129]. "He probably won't show. 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. He was 81 years old at the time of the arrest. No question about it. 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. 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. Their base was the Transit Caf in South Boston, which later became Whitey's Triple O's. 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. They just knocked the people from Southie during busing. Bulger was charged with murder, "conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, narcotics distribution and money-laundering". During the return voyage, the Irish Navy stopped Marita Ann and seized the hidden arsenal, arresting IRA members Martin Ferris, Mike Browne, and John Crawley. When reporter Dick Lehr first heard the rumor that Whitey Bulger gangster, son of Southie, despiser of snitches and rats was an FBI informant, he had one thought: Sour grapes. He later told mobster Kevin Weeks[35] that while there, he was used as a human subject in the CIA-sponsored MK-ULTRA program. However, the verdict was overturned on appeal due to the late filing of the claims. Only it wasn't Paulie. Tommy's problems began when he and Jimmy had worked in Triple O's. [62] A businessman watching Hannibal recognized a photograph of Bulger in a scene featuring the website of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. Nov. 2, 201803:07. Boston police detective Michael Flemmi, Stephen's brother, informed Weeks of the arrest. After interrogating McIntyre over several hours, however, Bulger decided that he did not have the discipline to cut ties with everyone. [31] Nee disputes this, claiming that Killeen was murdered by Mullen enforcers James Mantville and Tommy King, not Bulger. [20] Bulger, who was in a wheelchair, was beaten to death by inmates on October 30, 2018, within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. He described his experience as "nightmarish" and said it took him "to the depths of insanity", writing in his notebooks that he heard voices and feared being "committed for life" if he admitted this to anyone. This was caused by several factors. [5][6][7] Beginning in 1997, press reports exposed various instances of criminal misconduct by federal, state, and local officials with ties to Bulger, causing embarrassment to several government agencies, especially to His longevity and success in organized crime largely can be attributed to . Bulger soon resumed his criminal activities, and in 1956 he was convicted for a string of bank robberies committed in three states. [31], Bulger and Stanley spent the next three weeks traveling to New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco before Stanley decided that she wanted to return to her children. So Jimmy decided to kill him. Mike Shannon, a CBC star in three . He said that during his days as a fugitive he often went back and forth across the border to Mexico to buy medicine for his heart disease. 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. New details are emerging about the prison murder of notorious Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger and who may have been behind it. Longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon greets fans during Day 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm Up in St. Louis on January 20, 2019. [49], In February 1979, federal prosecutors indicted numerous members of the Winter Hill Gang, including boss Howie Winter, for fixing horse races. To be a successful fugitive you have to cut all contacts from your previous life. Bulger and Flemmi were left out of the indictments. This money was used to buy weapons for the IRA which would be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in the trawler Valhalla. [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. He quietly served a long prison sentence and refused to admit to having paid protection money to Bulger, Flemmi and Weeks. The jury acquitted Bulger of killing Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O'Brien, James O'Toole, Al Notorangeli, James Sousa and Francis Leonard. [42]:123125. [81], In a 2011 interview, Kevin Weeks expressed surprise at Bulger's decision to cooperate after his arrest. Early life. She has been living quietly in South Boston with her twin sister Margaret McCusker. The former organized crime boss was killed after being transferred to Hazelton Federal Prison in West Virginia, according to NBC News. It was more preparation than anything, getting ready for another life. I still care for him. After Bulger's arrest, Cyr announced her support of him,[131] stating: If he wanted to see me, I'd be happy to. Bulgers life on the run ended in June 2011, when he was caught and arrested in Santa Monica, California, after a 16-year manhunt. James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger was the boss of the largely Irish Mob in Boston from the 1970s through the 1990s. By 1982, Morris was "thoroughly compromised", having had Bulger buy plane tickets for his then-girlfriend Debbie Noseworthy to visit him in Georgia while he was being trained for drug investigations. Bulger hated the name; he preferred to be called "Jim", "Jimmy", or even "Boots". And he obviously had. Bulger was in a wheelchair and had been beaten to death by multiple inmates armed with a sock-wrapped padlock and a shiv. Two people on video footage shot in Taormina, Sicily, formerly thought to be Bulger and Greig walking in the streets of the city center, were later identified as a tourist couple from Germany. [32] The Bulger family moved in and the children grew up there. [104] According to prison documents obtained by The New York Times, Bulger gained a reputation for disconcerting behavior during his time in prison: "At the Coleman prison complex in Florida in September 2014, he was disciplined multiple times, including once for masturbating in front of a male staff member and once, in February, for threatening a female medical staff member". [31], In 1980, Bulger was approached in Triple O's by Louis Litif, a Lebanese-American neighborhood bookmaker. His son, Douglas Cyr, did die at the age of 6 from Reye's Syndrome (a bad reaction to aspirin) in 1973. . He would then demand a large cash payment as the price of not killing them. Born: September 3, 1929, Boston, Mass. Notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was killed Tuesday inside a federal prison in West Virginia and investigators are probing whether he was beaten to death by another inmate or. Family members, including his brother, former Massachusetts state Senate president William M. Bulger, and the twin sister of Catherine Greig attended. The cop who gave him the permit told him, 'I'm glad my last name is not Corsetti.' This amount was second only to Osama Bin Laden's capture reward on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. 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? Jimmy drove straight to his mentor Billy O'Sullivan's house on Savin Hill Avenue and told O'Sullivan 'I shot the wrong one. According to Biography, Douglas had a severe allergic reaction to aspirin. He was just 6 years old. The reporter who seemed to do the most research and put real effort into getting the true story without having been there was Shelley Murphy, who had been at the Herald for ten years when she went to work for the Globe in 1993. David Wheeler's father Roger was shot on Bulger's orders in 1982 The Boston Police Department, operating on a tip, raided a butcher shop in South Boston co-owned by Bulger and two other Winter Hill members. Lindsey and Whitey quickly launched a romantic relationship, which by the way inadvertently produced a son, Douglas, the next year. In 1993 and 1994, before the pinches came down, Jimmy and Stevie were traveling on the French and Italian Riviera. Flynn remained the prime suspect until 1999, when Weeks agreed to cooperate with investigators and identified Bulger as one of the shooters. I got the feeling that he was resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't coming back. Bulger refused to sanction this, but Litif vowed to proceed. I had known all along, however, that it would not be easy for anyone to capture Jimmy. [51]:206268, According to Weeks, when Bulger met with McIntyre in a South Boston house, he hoped to avoid murdering the informant and offered to send him to South America with money and the understanding that he was never to contact his family or friends again. [74], Authorities received a tip from a woman in Iceland that Bulger was living in an apartment near a beach in Santa Monica. [56] Valhalla rendezvoused 120 nautical miles (220km; 140mi) off the west coast of Ireland with the Marita Ann, an IRA ship that had sailed from Tralee. Shortly after that, a week or so before my wedding, Louie was found stuffed into a garbage bag in the trunk of his car, which had been dumped in the South End. The two fled together, but Stanley wanted to return home to her children. There is simply no other explanation for the transfer of someone in his condition and inmate status to be placed in the general population of one of the country's most violent federal penitentiaries. He then killed McIntyre and went upstairs to take a nap while Weeks and Flemmi removed the corpse's teeth with a pair of pliers and buried it in the basement. Whitey Bulger did indeed participate in an LSD testing program in the 1950s in prison . Weeks also said that Bulger enforced strict rules over the dealers who operated on his territory,[35]:156 strictly forbidding the use of PCP and selling drugs to children,[35]:179 adding that those dealers who refused to play by his rules were violently driven out of his turf.
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