James 'Whitey' Bulger

James Joseph Whitey Bulger Jr September 3 1929  October 30 2018 was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang an Irish mob group based in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville Massachusetts northwest of Boston On December 23 1994 Bulger went into hiding after his former FBI handler John Connolly tipped him off about a pending RICO indictment against him He remained at large for sixteen years After his 2011 capture federal prosecutors tried Bulger for nineteen murders based on grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks and other former criminal associates Although he adamantly denied it the FBI stated that Bulger had served as an informant for several years starting in 1975 providing information about the inner workings of the Patriarca crime family his ItalianAmerican Mafia rivals based in Boston and Providence Rhode Island In return Connolly as Bulgers FBI handler ensured that the Winter Hill Gang was effectively ignored 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 the FBI Five years after his flight from the Boston area he was added to the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list he was considered the most wanted person on the list behind Osama bin Laden Another twelve years passed before he was apprehended along with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig outside an apartment complex in Santa Monica California Bulger and Greig were extradited to Boston and taken to court under heavy guard 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 Bulger declined to seek bail and remained in custody His trial began in June 2013 He was tried on thirtytwo counts of racketeering money laundering extortion and weapons charges including complicity in nineteen murders On August 12 he was found guilty on thirtyone counts including both racketeering charges and was found to have been involved in eleven murders On November 14 he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years by US District Court Judge Denise J Casper He was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville Florida He was transferred to several facilities in October 2018 first to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma and then to the United States Penitentiary Hazelton near Bruceton Mills West Virginia Bulger who was in a wheelchair was beaten to death by inmates on October 30 2018 within hours of his arrival at Hazelton In 2022 Fotios Geas Paul DeCologero and Sean McKinnon were charged with conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder in Bulgers death From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia