[108][112][113] Geas, 51, and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, a Genovese crime family capo who was shot in a Springfield, Massachusetts parking lot. Guards immediately undertook lifesaving measures, officials said, but he was pronounced dead. The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly. 10 photos from outside 'Whitey' Bulger's South Boston funeral [53], Throughout the 1980s, Bulger, Flemmi, and Weeks operated rackets throughout eastern Massachusetts including loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, and extortion. 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. The cop who gave him the permit told him, 'I'm glad my last name is not Corsetti.' He wasn't healthy anyway. A week later, Tommy was dead. [33] By then he had joined a street gang known as the "Shamrocks" and would eventually be arrested for assault, forgery and armed robbery. Police officers found the employee hanging from a beef rack, having been severely tortured and held for more than six days. This earned Shea a legendary reputation in South Boston. When Bulger arrived at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson there were other famous inmates there, including Brian David Mitchell, Steven Dale Green and Montoya Snchez.[97]. James Whitey Bulger: Boston gangster found dead in W.Va. prison - USA TODAY James 'Whitey' Bulger: three charged with 2018 prison killing of Boston They were ruthless murderers, Whitey himself was hardened after several life events, like a stint in Alcatraz and the death of his only son. [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. "[51]:194. [35][36] Evidence of the experiments were later confirmed as CIA documentation emerged. Gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in prison - BBC News 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? The FBI, by this time considered compromised, was not informed. In the next few months, three low-level Winter Hill Gang members were executed, mostly believed to be in retribution for the kidnapping. Three years have passed since Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was killed at a West Virginia prison, but federal officials investigating his death have yet to charge anyone, the. The two gangs joined forces, with Winter as overall boss. [80] Many anticipated, and some feared,[who?] [32] The Bulger family moved in and the children grew up there. Their base was the Transit Caf in South Boston, which later became Whitey's Triple O's. [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. If he had a gun on him, he would go out in a blaze of glory rather than spend the rest of his life in jail. [85] The body of Paul McGonagle, of whom Greig's sister Margaret was a widow, lay hidden and buried for 25 years on Tenean Beach in Dorchester. Weeks said, "I don't understand because he's not the same as I remember him. The former organized crime boss was killed after being transferred to Hazelton Federal Prison in West Virginia, according to NBC News. 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. [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. Even when there were 400 people in the bar, you always knew Louie was there. James "Whitey'' Bulger, the ruthless Boston gangster who eluded authorities for 16 years before being captured and then convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders, has died at a prison in. A Mafia hitman is among three men charged in 'Whitey' Bulger's prison death There they remained for two. [31] Nee disputes this, claiming that Killeen was murdered by Mullen enforcers James Mantville and Tommy King, not Bulger. "James 'Whitey' Bulger is captured but not in a bookstore". [83], At about age 20, Greig married Robert "Bobby" McGonagle, a Boston firefighter. I think he liked the legitimacy a political cause gave him," Whitey pal Patrick Nee recalled. Bulger's life had many women - and not just Lindsay Cyr, whose affair with Bulger produced a son, Douglas Glenn Cyr, in 1967. Inmates knew James 'Whitey' Bulger was coming to prison where he was "[71], A reward of US$2million had been offered for information leading to his capture. 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. If he needs help getting attorneys and what have you, I'd be happy to help him. [92] In March 2012, however, Greig pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. That night, as always, he was talking in his obnoxious loud voice. However, the nickname "Whitey" stuck. [19], Bulger 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. 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. "Whitey loved being associated with the IRA and the cause of Irish freedom. 'He was wearing green underwear and was in a green garbage bag. BOSTON A former FBI agent convicted of second-degree murder for leaking information to Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger that led to the 1982 shooting death of a gambling executive can be released from prison on medical grounds, officials ruled Wednesday. He repeatedly got in fights with other inmates who accused Bulger of being "a rat." By definition, his was a secretive life. He pleaded not guilty to 48 charges, including 19 counts of murder, extortion, money laundering, obstruction of justice, perjury, narcotics distribution and weapons violations. Tommy King, in 1975, was one example. I can't believe he's so chatty right now. [44] During this era, Bulger's victims included Mullen veterans McGonagle, King, and James "Spike" O'Toole. [28][29][30] Their first child, James Joseph Bulger Jr., was born in 1929. Read about that story here. In 1993 and 1994, before the pinches came down, Jimmy and Stevie were traveling on the French and Italian Riviera. Connolly kept telling me that 90 percent of the information in the files came from Stevie. One of the inmates sent to solitary . Whitey Bulger has died. [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. FBI Agent John Morris was put in charge of the Organized Crime Squad at the FBI's Boston field office in December 1977. Fuck 'em. Family members, including his brother, former Massachusetts state Senate president William M. Bulger, and the twin sister of Catherine Greig attended. [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. [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. It was hard to figure out why Louie lied to Jimmy that night. "[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. [82] Weeks added that he is not afraid of Bulger, and that the residents of Boston should not be either: "I don't think he's Pablo Escobar where he can just walk out of his prison cell and come to South Boston or anywhere. 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. "Don't worry about it", Bulger responded. They didn't ask me to go, not that I would have wanted to. [63] However, there were unconfirmed sightings elsewhere. And now he wanted to kill a friend of Jimmy. Although by this time he was aware of Bulger's FBI deal, he was determined to remain faithful to the neighborhood code of silence. He wouldn't hesitate. Bulger's third petition for parole, in 1965, was granted after he had served nine years in prison. The campaign focused on Greig, describing her as an animal lover who frequently went to beauty salons. Michael Donahue, a friend of Halloran's from Dorchester, incidentally ran into him at the restaurant. 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. [97] However, rumors circulated that the psychologist[citation needed] was too sympathetic to Bulger, and may even have allowed him to use her cell phone. [127] Bulger and Cyr began living together in 1966, when Cyr was 21 and a waitress at a North Quincy caf. The boy died at age 6 of Reye's syndrome - a rare, fatal . He later told mobster Kevin Weeks[35] that while there, he was used as a human subject in the CIA-sponsored MK-ULTRA program. It was Donald. I didn't fully understand all the aspects of his case. "I remember all of this cause I spent a lot of time with my dad at the . The bloody Biden and Bulger files - IrishCentral.com [128], After his split from Cyr, Bulger began a relationship with Theresa Stanley, a South Boston divorce with several children. Suspecting that this was not the first time this had happened, Cardinale sought to force prosecutors to reveal the identities of any informants used in connection with the case. Who killed Whitey Bulger? Two suspects emerge behind mob - Sky News He was found by prison. Gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in prison - BBC News Donahue was shot in the head and killed instantly. 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. Infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger has been found dead in a US federal prison in West Virginia. FBI Special Agent John Connolly was assigned to make the pitch. Published Oct. 29, 2021. He was tried on thirty-two counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion and weapons charges, including complicity in nineteen murders. Boston police detective Michael Flemmi, Stephen's brother, informed Weeks of the arrest. [18] Bulger was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida. "[43]:14, Weeks considers it more likely that Flemmi had betrayed Bulger to the FBI, given the choice to supply information to the Bureau or return to prison. Born: September 3, 1929, Boston, Mass. In 1943, 14-year-old Bulger was arrested and charged with larceny. After evading the police for 16 years - for twelve of which he was on. [43]:54 Morris not only proved himself unable to rein in Connolly's protection of Bulger, but even began assisting him. Grim New Details About Whitey Bulger's Death Revealed Prosecutors allege that a mere 12 hours after Bulger arrived at USP Hazelton, he was found dead in his cell. The convicted mobster and murderer died in prison in 2018. "[35]:207 Corsetti sought help from the Patriarca crime family, but they said that Bulger was outside their control. [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. [79], Immediately after being brought back to Boston, Bulger began talking to authorities. Over the years that followed, Bulger began to remove opposition by persuading Winter to sanction the killings of those who "stepped out of line". In a decision that would prove costly to him, Donahue offered Halloran a ride home. 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. The jury acquitted Bulger of killing Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O'Brien, James O'Toole, Al Notorangeli, James Sousa and Francis Leonard. [95], Greig served much of her eight-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca in Minnesota,[96] but was also detained at various points in Rhode Island ahead of proceedings in the criminal contempt case. Whitey Bulger was a prominent figure in Boston's organized crime scene from the 1970s until the mid-'90s when he fled the area. 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 James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger was the boss of the largely Irish Mob in Boston from the 1970s through the 1990s. Connolly allegedly said that the FBI could help in Bulger's feud with Patriarca underboss Gennaro Angiulo. "[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. If he saw them coming, he would take them with him. [16] On August 12, Bulger was found guilty on 31 counts, including both racketeering charges, and was found to have been involved in eleven murders. He wanted another opportunity to "finish the job," but Bulger advised him to forget about Howie Carr. "His murder would have been an attack on the system, like attacking freedom of the press, the fabric of the American way of life, and they would have spared no expense to solve the crime. No more warnings. [97] Bulger, who started his imprisonment with a rigorous exercise regime, was by this point using a wheelchair. James Whitey Was A Crime Figure In Boston's Crime | ipl.org 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". The Killeens were led by three brothersDonnie, Kenny and Eddiealong with Billy O'Sullivan and Jack Curran. Whitey Bulger Death: 3 Charged in Killing of Boston Mob Boss - NBC Boston Weeks immediately passed the information on to Bulger, who altered his plans. 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. Most of South Boston's cocaine and marijuana trafficking was under the control of a crew led by mobster John Shea. As long as Jimmy was an active informant, Connolly said, he could justify meeting with Jimmy and giving him valuable information. It would be another six months before it became clearer. He was one of the most infamous criminals to ever be killed behind bars. Whitey Bulger: Inmates knew of Boston mob boss' transfer before murder He was formerly an influential leader of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. Officials finally confirmed on Thursday the brutal way Whitey was whacked in October 2018. "[118] The Bulger family sought US$200,000 in damages. Nowalk said that on the day of the . After interrogating McIntyre over several hours, however, Bulger decided that he did not have the discipline to cut ties with everyone. [109] Massachusetts-based mafia hitman Fotios "Freddy" Geas was the primary suspect in orchestrating the killing of Bulger. 'Whitey' Bulger's cause of death in prison revealed | Fox News [102], In September 2014, Bulger entered the Coleman II United States Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida. I had known all along, however, that it would not be easy for anyone to capture Jimmy. Cyr awoke to a 3am phone call from a U-S Marshall Thursday that the man she had a child with and lived with for 12 years - James "Whitey" Bulger - had been caught after 16 years on the run. Notorious mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger killed inside prison In a long political career, William rose to become President of the Massachusetts Senate. Bulger, the ruthless leader who was at the helm of the South Boston-based Winter Hill Gang, was convicted in 2013 for his involvement in a slew of crimes, including 11 murders. [16] The racketeering counts included allegations that Bulger was complicit in 19 murders. According to Weeks, Bulger briefly considered killing Shea, but eventually decided to extort a weekly cut of his profits. And he was. They stepped into the power vacuum and took over the leadership of the Winter Hill Gang, transferring its headquarters to the Lancaster Street Garage in Boston's West End, near the Boston Garden. He would then demand a large cash payment as the price of not killing them. [42]:123125. The killing, Nowalk said, took all of seven minutes. 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. After the 1972 truce, Bulger and the Mullens were in control of South Boston's criminal underworld. 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". She declined to speak during her sentencing. Even before he went on the run, he would always say, "Let's all go to hell together." On December 23, 1994, Bulger fled the Boston area and went into hiding after his former FBI handler, John Connolly, tipped him off . Bulger was sentenced to a juvenile reformatory for these offenses. The last nickname came from his habit of wearing cowboy boots, which he used to hide a switchblade. 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. ", "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". [61], On November 17, 1999, Weeks was arrested by a combined force of the DEA and the Massachusetts State Police. Bulger and the other gunman, both disguised, opened fire and sprayed Halloran and Donahue's car with bullets. "[122] He added: "while I worried about my brother, I now recognize that I didn't fully grasp the dimensions of his life. However, the verdict was overturned on appeal due to the late filing of the claims. Whitey Bulger, the notorious and colorful Boston mobster whose life was captured on the big screen, has died in a federal prison and - according to TMZ - the death was gruesome and brutal.. Whitey Bulger's Fatal Prison Beating: 'He Was Unrecognizable' [59], After fleeing Boston, Bulger and Stanley spent four days over Christmas in Selden, New York, before spending New Year's Day in a hotel in New Orleans's French Quarter. Whitey Bulger, Boston crime boss and elusive fugitive, dead in prison 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. [37], Bulger and eighteen other inmates, all of whom had volunteered in return for reduced sentences, were given LSD and other drugs over an eighteen-month period. Two men have emerged as the possible killers of former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger who was found dead in jail. William Bulger served in the military during the Korean War but was never posted to Korea. Douglas Glenn Cyr, Whitey Bulger's Son: 5 Fast Facts - Heavy.com 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. Whitey Bulger's Chilling Death Certificate Confirms How He - HuffPost Connolly confirmed Bulger's suspicions of McIntyre, leading Bulger and Flemmi to consider murdering McIntyre for his betrayal. 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. The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly . [105], Bulger was transferred from the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City to United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, in West Virginia on October 29, 2018. He would rather plead out to a life sentence than put his family through the embarrassment of a trial. A gang war resulted, leading to a string of killings throughout Boston and the surrounding suburbs. [128] According to Cyr, "He used to say that there were four people he would turn up on a street corner for: Douglas, me, Billy, or his mother. 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. "He probably won't show. [123][124][125], John "Jackie" Bulger, a retired Massachusetts court clerk magistrate, was convicted in April 2003 of committing perjury in front of two grand juries regarding sworn statements he gave concerning contacts with his fugitive brother.[126]. Crime Boss Whitey Bulger's Family Loses Bid to Sue Feds Over - Newsweek An employee for Coin-O-Matic, a cash laundering vending machine company owned by the Patriarcas, was kidnapped on the job. [84] She and Bulger lived together for a time at her home in Squantum, a section of Quincy. 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. [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. [74][78] Bulger was 89 when he was . "Whitey Bulger took over and my dad didn't like him. Halloran lived long enough to identify his attacker as Bulger associate James Flynn, who was later tried and acquitted. Wheeler". She has been living quietly in South Boston with her twin sister Margaret McCusker. Three men, including a Mafia hitman, have been indicted in the 2018 killing of notorious Boston mob boss James . This amount was second only to Osama Bin Laden's capture reward on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.