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Whitey Bulger Trial Begins in Boston

Opening Arguments were held today in the Boston trial of alleged mobster/fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger. I haven't had time to follow the case recently but if you are, here's a thread to discuss it.

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    Personally, I find this case ... (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Jun 12, 2013 at 02:36:47 PM EST
    ... to potentially be the most interesting of any of the current or recent Trials of the Century du Jour, because as far as the defendant James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is concerned, and despite local folklore, there's no evidence that whatever he's alleged to have done was ever for the overall betterment of anyone other than Whitey Bulger.

    Brother William "Billy" Bulger, the formerly well-respected President of both the Massachusetts State Senate and the University of Massachusetts, became collateral damage to Whitey's career in Boston's underworld when he was compelled by then-Gov. Mitt Romney to resign from UMass in 2003, after he publicly admitted that he had maintained contact with his fugitive brother via pay phones, without ever once notifying the authorities of their conversations.

    That same year, Brother John Bulger, a Massachusetts state magistrate, was convicted of two counts of perjury for having misled the authorities regarding his own personal contacts with Whitey.

    (Although to be fair, had Whitey been my brother, it's an open question whether I'd have done any different were I in William's or John's shoes. After all, family is family, and absent either very compelling evidence of serious crimes or an immediate or imminent threat of harm to someone, there are probably very few people who would willingly turn his or her blood relative over to the police or FBI.)

    I suspect that the Bulger trial will provide a rare and fascinating glimpse into the darker netherworlds of organized racketeering and public corruption in urban New England. You know, I think I'll watch Martin Scorsese's The Departed again, just to get further in the mood.

    In an interesting aside, from deep within the dark recesses of my treasure trove of otherwise useless trivia, Whitey Bulger is also one of the last federal prisoners to have ever resided at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay (Inmate No. AZ1428). He was transferred there from the Atlanta Penitentiary in November 1959, and then again to Fort Leavenworth in November 1962, when Alcatraz was shut down.

    Aloha.

    Fresh Air (none / 0) (#4)
    by Slado on Wed Jun 12, 2013 at 09:14:54 PM EST
    Recently did a great interview with the two authors of a book about Whitey.

    A great listen if you want to learn more abut him.

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    Heard that one (none / 0) (#5)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 13, 2013 at 03:07:32 PM EST
    Fascinating stuff.

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    FBI Corruption? (none / 0) (#1)
    by squeaky on Wed Jun 12, 2013 at 11:56:07 AM EST
    Wonder how FBI corruption will figure into the trial. It is alleged that Bulger was an FBI informant handled by John Connolley who turned out to be one of the few bad apples at the FBI.

    And, considering that the FBI claims to know who was responsible for the Gardner Heist, why has that information not been made public.. not expecting it from the Bulger trial, but one can only hope..


    Well, (none / 0) (#2)
    by bocajeff on Wed Jun 12, 2013 at 01:16:52 PM EST
    The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
    Oh what a tangled web we weave....

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