Whitey Bulger
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger (September 3rd, 1929 - October 30th, 2018) was probably the most infamous Irish-American mob boss in American history and at one point, second on the FBI's Most Wanted List behind Osama bin Laden. He took over the Winter Hill gang in South Boston, Massachusetts after being released from Alcatraz prison in the 1960s. During his prison sentence in the 1950s and 60s, he was subject to LSD experiments by the CIA to test mind control, giving him night terrors for the rest of his life. He was convicted on 19 counts of murder. His criminal history was the subject of the film Black Mass in which he was portrayed by veteran actor Johnny Depp.
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| “ | There are lessons again and again throughout your whole life. You gotta learn from these things. | „ |
| ~ Whitey Bulger |
Unlike most mobsters, Bulger was an informant to the FBI, an act despised by many mobsters. Corrupt agent John Connolly, also an Irish American, constantly tipped Bulger off about police and FBI bugs, wiretaps and other important information. His younger brother William "Billy" Bulger was also President of the Massachusetts State Senate until he was dismissed due to his connections. Throughout the 1980s, Bulger and his associates operated rackets throughout eastern Massachusetts including extortion, loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijackings and arms trafficking. State and federal agencies were repeatedly stymied in their attempts to build cases against Bulger and his inner circle. This was caused by several factors. Among them was Bulger's fear of wiretaps and policy of never discussing business over the telephone or in the car. Other reasons were South Boston's code of silence, and corruption within the Boston Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, and the FBI. Although Connolly was Bulger's most infamous source inside law enforcement, his associate Kevin Weeks has stated that Massachusetts State Police Lt. Richard J. Schneiderhan, the crew's only source inside that agency, was valued more highly.
Bulger sold weapons to the Irish Republican Army during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as he was sympathetic to their cause.
Tipped one last time in 1995, Bulger went into hiding with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg. He spent 16 years on the run until he was caught in Southern California in 2011. They used the aliases Charlie and Carol Gasko and we're known as an elderly couple. He was
Just hours after he was transferred to FCI Hazleton in West Virginia, the wheelchair-bound Bulger was beaten to his death on October 30, 2018. He was 89 years old. He had been beaten to death by multiple inmates, including gangster Freddy Geas, armed with a sock-wrapped padlock and a shiv. His eyes had nearly been gouged out and his tongue almost cut off. They wheeled him to an area of the prison where cameras weren't present. Geas had reportedly been angry at Bulger for killing women and children (which are seen as off-limits) as well as being an informant (known as snitching or ratting out). On November 8, 2018, a funeral mass was held for Bulger at Saint Monica – Saint Augustine Church in South Boston. Family members, including his brother, former Massachusetts state Senate president William M. Bulger, and the twin sister of Catherine Greig, attended.
He has often been compared to Pablo Escobar, due to both men being the most infamous crime lords in their respective countries.