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. It was more preparation than anything, getting ready for another life. Reyes (Reye) syndrome is a rare but serious condition that causes swelling in the liver and brain. Wheeler". [citation needed]. Their base was the Transit Caf in South Boston, which later became Whitey's Triple O's. Even though he was the boss, he always treated me equally, like an associate, not a son. the FBI.[8][9][10][11]. [18] Bulger was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida. Whitey Bulger died after apparent beating in West Virginia prison . This led to him meeting more experienced criminals and finding more lucrative opportunities. 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. 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". James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (/bldr/; September 3, 1929 October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston. Although Bulger adamantly denied it, the FBI revealed that he had served as an informant for several years starting in 1975. There were more and more names of Polish and Irish guys, of people we had done business with, of friends of mine. Casper. Lindsey and Whitey quickly launched a romantic relationship, which by the way inadvertently produced a son, Douglas, the next year. She says Bulger never wanted a child because it made him vulnerable, but he loved him dearly and after Douglas died of Reyes. And we all made him vulnerable. "[71], A reward of US$2million had been offered for information leading to his capture. Connolly kept Bulger and Flemmi closely briefed on what Halloran was saying, specifically his claims, false according to Weeks, to having participated in the Tulsa, Oklahoma murder of businessman Roger Wheeler. I certainly always stand by him. Lindsay stated the FBI failed to properly supervise Connolly and "stuck its head in the sand" regarding numerous allegations that Bulger and Flemmi were involved in drug trafficking, murder and other crimes for decades. It was hard to figure out why Louie lied to Jimmy that night. 10 photos from outside 'Whitey' Bulger's South Boston funeral "[35]:53, At the time, Weeks was about to get married and, shortly before the wedding, informed Bulger that he was having difficulty finding a seat for Litif at the reception. In 2011, however, he was captured. After settling in Everett, Massachusetts, James Sr. married Jane Veronica "Jean" McCarthy,[27] a first-generation Irish immigrant. Bulger declined to seek bail and remained in custody. Although sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, he was granted parole in 1965 following stints at such notorious penitentiaries as Leavenworth and Alcatraz. "[43]:30 Kenny would later testify that Winter Hill enforcers Stephen Flemmi and John Martorano were in the car with Bulger. James 'Whitey' Bulger: Son of Whitey Bulger says father should be [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. Bulger's life had many women - and not just Lindsay Cyr, whose affair with Bulger produced a son, Douglas Glenn Cyr, in 1967. Whitey Bulger Cause of Death: How Did the Mobster Die? In 1988, Bulger's status as an FBI informant was revealed publicly when the Globe's "Spotlight" team, led by journalist Gerard O'Neill, published a story detailing his work with the Bureau while still actively committing crimes. The notorious gangster died of "blunt force injuries to the head" after being assaulted by multiple people, according to his death. "[122] He added: "while I worried about my brother, I now recognize that I didn't fully grasp the dimensions of his life. [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. [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. Nicknamed "Whitey" as a child because of his white-blond hair. Whitey Bulger's prison warden: 'I think he wanted to die' - NBC News [31] Nee disputes this, claiming that Killeen was murdered by Mullen enforcers James Mantville and Tommy King, not Bulger. 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. [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. FBI Special Agent John Connolly was assigned to make the pitch. However, when Carr came out the front door holding the hand of his young daughter, Weeks could not bring himself to shoot. Connolly stood trial in 2008 in Miami, Florida. After his 2011 arrest, federal prosecutors tried Bulger for nineteen murders based on grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks and other former criminal associates. In 1993 and 1994, before the pinches came down, Jimmy and Stevie were traveling on the French and Italian Riviera. In response, Bulger fled Boston on December 23, 1994, accompanied by his common-law wife Theresa Stanley. But, Connolly told me, he had to put Jimmy's name on the files to keep his file active. And Jimmy saw it. Bulger then used black spray paint to scrawl "Bus Teddy" on the sidewalk outside of the national historic site.[46][47]. The Justice Department's inspector general has found a series of missteps by federal Bureau of Prisons officials preceded . [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. "[51]:194. Halloran lived long enough to identify his attacker as Bulger associate James Flynn, who was later tried and acquitted. [31], In 1980, Bulger was approached in Triple O's by Louis Litif, a Lebanese-American neighborhood bookmaker. Jimmy and I were friends, not like father and son. He would then demand a large cash payment as the price of not killing them. [86] Greig's younger brother David, a close associate of Bulger, was found shot dead on Cape Cod in an apparent suicide. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, Learn how and when to remove this template message, desegregate schools in the city of Boston, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, "Famed crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger arrested in Santa Monica", "Whitey Bulger Is Arrested in California", "In South Boston, Mixed Memories of Whitey Bulger", "Convicted Mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger, 89, Found Dead In Prison", "FBI helped Bulger evade detection, ex-cop says", "Whitey Bulger arrest may revive old scandals", "Nabbed Gangster 'Whitey' Bulger Could Spill FBI Corruption Secrets", "James 'Whitey' Bulger's capture could cause trouble inside the FBI", "Capture Of Boston Gangster Could Mean More Scandal", "Mobster Whitey Bulger arrested in California", "One of America's Top Fugitives James 'Whitey' Bulger: Caught in Santa Monica", "Whitey Bulger, notorious Boston gangster, convicted in sweeping racketeering case; jury finds he participated in 11 murders", "Whitey Bulger transferred to federal prison in Florida", "Whitey Bulger moved from Florida prison to Oklahoma City transfer facility", "Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in West Virginia prison a day after transfer", "Whitey Bulger Is Dead in Prison at 89; Long-Hunted Boston Mob Boss", "Prison drops visits after Whitey Bulger slaying", "Whitey Bulger Death: 3 Charged in Killing of Boston Mob Boss NBC Boston", "James 'Whitey' Bulger: Three men charged in mob boss murder", "Three men indicted in prison beating death of Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger", "The Bulger Mystique Part 1. [74][78] He'd never return to South Boston. He would not be arrested again for forty-six years.[41]. In 1943, 14-year-old Bulger was arrested and charged with larceny. [105], Bulger was transferred from the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City to United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, in West Virginia on October 29, 2018. How Did Whitey Bulger Die in Prison? Sit Down with Michael Franzese His longevity and success in organized crime largely can be attributed to . Douglas died in 1972 from Reyes Syndrome. During the discovery phase, Salemme and DeLuca were listening to a tape from a roving bug, which is normally authorized when the FBI has no advance knowledge of where criminal activity will take place. [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. [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. [93], In September 2015, Greig was indicted on a charge of criminal contempt stemming from her refusal to testify before a grand jury about whether other people aided Bulger while he was a fugitive. Review: 'Small Mercies,' by Dennis Lehane - The New York Times If he needs help getting attorneys and what have you, I'd be happy to help him. [89] She was represented in the criminal proceedings by the prominent criminal attorney Kevin Reddington of Brockton, Massachusetts. In the next few months, three low-level Winter Hill Gang members were executed, mostly believed to be in retribution for the kidnapping. The notorious Boston mobster was found dead in a West Virginia prison Tuesday morning. 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. Notorious mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger killed inside prison I got the feeling that he was resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't coming back. In fact, from the moment that Cyr found out that she was pregnant, she said that Bulger was most concerned about the baby. [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. [61], On November 17, 1999, Weeks was arrested by a combined force of the DEA and the Massachusetts State Police. Uncredited/AP. [67], After sixteen years at large and twelve years on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica, California, on June 22, 2011. You're out of business. It was Donald. The other Bulger children, William Bulger and John P. Bulger, excelled at school; James Bulger Jr. became drawn into street life. 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.. [16] The racketeering counts included allegations that Bulger was complicit in 19 murders. "Whitey" Bulger had one son with a waitress and former model Lindsey Cyr. [121], In December 2002, William Bulger appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and refused to testify, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. You're no longer just a bookmaker. After interrogating McIntyre over several hours, however, Bulger decided that he did not have the discipline to cut ties with everyone. Of Arab descent, he had a mustache like Saddam Hussein. 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. After arriving at the scene, Weeks staked out the Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant, where Halloran was dining. 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 Douglas was born, Bulger spent as much time with his son as he could, really bonding with him, as any father-son relationship should be. According to an interview conducted with Globe reporters Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy, Weeks "estimated that Whitey made about thirty million dollars most of it from shaking down drug dealers to let them do business on his turf. "James 'Whitey' Bulger is captured but not in a bookstore". Later in his sentence, he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary and, in 1963, to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Bulger was charged with murder, "conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, narcotics distribution and money-laundering". Both families were awarded several million dollars in damages. It was over. But Jimmy and I usually ended up laughing at most of the news stories, as time and time again the media had it wrong, over and over again holding to their pledge to never let the truth get in the way of a good story. He would rather plead out to a life sentence than put his family through the embarrassment of a trial. So I don't know what he's doing". By then he was 81 years old. His family, and Halloran's, eventually filed a civil lawsuit against the U.S. government after learning that Connolly had informed Bulger of Halloran's informant status. The jury acquitted Bulger of killing Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O'Brien, James O'Toole, Al Notorangeli, James Sousa and Francis Leonard. His health also declined due to a lack of exercise. [20] Bulger, who was in a wheelchair, was beaten to death by inmates on October 30, 2018, within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. [66] A confirmed report by an off-duty Boston police officer after a San Diego screening of The Departed also led to a search in southern California that lasted "a few weeks". People familiar with Coin-O-Matic knew exactly who the employee was, but the code of silence was still very strong in South Boston. it had been bullshit when Connolly told me that the files hadn't been disseminated, that they had been for his own personal use. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Bulger was beaten to death by at least two inmates, according to four Federal Bureau of Prisons employees who were not named. The following year, she gave birth to Douglas. 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]. Whitey Bulger's death certificate says he died from blunt force [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. [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. At Coleman, Bulger started experiencing night terrors, which he attributed to the experiments he had taken part in while incarcerated in the 1950s, where he had been administered LSD. [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. [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. Eventually, however, the massive profits of drugs proved irresistible. But it wouldn't have lasted long, since Jimmy had no intention of letting Louie run wild.[50]. But in the long run, Jimmy and I got sidetracked and the maggot lived. The former organized crime boss was killed after being transferred to Hazelton Federal Prison in West Virginia, according to NBC News. "Don't worry about it", Bulger responded. Nov. 2, 201803:07. "[35]:58 Litif responded that, as Bulger was his friend, he had nothing to worry about. 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. I can't believe he's so chatty right now. How did 'Whitey' Bulger die? So Jimmy decided to kill him. Marty Butler is, of course, a thinly veiled stand-in for Whitey Bulger . Whitey Bulger and The Cozy Crime Writer CrimeReads If he saw them coming, he would take them with him. To be a successful fugitive you have to cut all contacts from your previous life. [122] Following this testimony, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney waged an extended and ultimately successful effort to get William to resign from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts, which he finally did in August 2003. UPI. He told Weeks, "Every day out there is another day I beat them. His actions were covert, hidden even fromor perhaps hidden especially from those who loved and cared about him. Apparently, the inmate was not motivated by any personal issues with Bulger, but commmitted the near-fatal assault so that he would be sent to solitary confinement, allegedly to avoid paying for drugs he had acquired from other prisoners. "[35]:207 Corsetti sought help from the Patriarca crime family, but they said that Bulger was outside their control. [1][13][14][15] Bulger and Greig were then extradited to Boston and taken to court under heavy guard. After his retirement he was appointed President of the University of Massachusetts system. On June 12, 2013, Bulger went on trial in South Boston's John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse before Judge Denise J. Casper on 32 counts of racketeering and firearms possession. [83] Greig has been described as intelligent, hardworking and educated, although was very subservient to, and dominated by, Bulger. Johnny Martorano - Wikipedia [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. [102], In September 2014, Bulger entered the Coleman II United States Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida. [45], "As a criminal, he made a point of only preying upon criminals And when things couldn't be worked out to his satisfaction with these people, after all the other options had been explored, he wouldn't hesitate to use violence. [citation needed], In the summer of 1991, Bulger and Weeks, along with associates Patrick and Michael Linskey, came into possession of a winning Massachusetts Lottery ticket which had been bought at a store he owned. [31], 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. [20][106] At 8:20a.m. on October 30, the 89-year-old Bulger[107] was found dead. 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. Born: September 3, 1929, Boston, Mass. State and federal agencies were repeatedly stymied in their attempts to build cases against Bulger and his inner circle. He had been stabbed with an ice pick and shot. [72][73] Bulger had been featured on the television show America's Most Wanted sixteen times, first in 1995, and finally on October 2, 2010. [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. The wheelchair-bound ex-mob boss was . Tommy King, in 1975, was one example. Whitey Bulger did indeed participate in an LSD testing program in the 1950s in prison . Apparently, Louie had insisted that he'd come by himself and that nobody had driven him over. Senate president: A mix of family, Southie, power", "Ancestry offers Whitey and Billy Bulger", "Boston Crime Boss James 'Whitey' Bulger Wanted for Murder", "The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief', The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War, "I-Team: Whitey Bulger's Notebook Chronicles LSD Prison Testing", "Whitey bulger: i was a guinea pig for cia drug experiments", "Gangster's Life Lures Host of Storytellers", "Bulger linked to '70s antibusing attack", "New Book Offers Glimpse Into 'Whitey' Bulger's Early Years", "Gerard O'Neill, Boston Globe Investigative Reporter, Dies at 76", "A Voice for Those Silenced in a Mobster's Reign", Former State Police Lieutenant Convicted Of Obstruction, "Mob underling's tale of guns, drugs, fear", "Mike Barnicle: The best friend a gangster could have: When Whitey Bulger was at the peak of his power, he could always count on a friendly columnist to do his P.R. "[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. Bulger coldly responded, "We're not friends anymore, Louie. They also liked to describe me as, 'Whitey's surrogate son', another example of the media putting labels on people they wrote about.