‘Whitey’ Bulger verdict puts end to historic saga
Posted by: Timothy Tibbetts on 08/13/2013 03:12 AM
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A federal jury Monday found that James “Whitey” Bulger participated in drug trafficking, 11 murders — including strangling a young woman — and assorted other crimes, a verdict that sends the aging gangster to jail for life and punctures the “good bad guy” myth he cultivated over decades.
The jury found prosecutors proved Bulger participated in 11 of the 19 murders he was accused of in the 1970s and 1980s.
The only charge Bulger was acquitted of was the extortion of Kevin Hayes, a former bookmaker who said he had been extorted by Weeks.
Jurors found prosecutors failed to prove Bulger was involved in the slayings of seven others: Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O’Brien, James “Spike” O’Toole, Al Notarangeli, James Sousa, and Francis “Buddy” Leonard. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether Bulger was involved in the strangulation of another woman, Debra Davis, in 1981.
Bulger, 83, stood passively in US District Court on the same South Boston waterfront where he committed some of his crimes, as a clerk repeatedly proclaimed “guilty” to 31 of the 32 counts with which he had been charged. As he was led away, he turned and gave a thumbs-up sign to his family members, before he was heckled by a relative of one of his many victims.
Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak, who began targeting Bulger in the early ’90s, said the conviction was vindication for the prosecutors and investigators.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “And I think justice prevailed.”
Video and many more details in a well written, detailed story is available at http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/08/12/bulgerverdict/3vP29WkTkRtUEJ7cyCv5FL/story.html
The jury found prosecutors proved Bulger participated in 11 of the 19 murders he was accused of in the 1970s and 1980s. The only charge Bulger was acquitted of was the extortion of Kevin Hayes, a former bookmaker who said he had been extorted by Weeks.
Jurors found prosecutors failed to prove Bulger was involved in the slayings of seven others: Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O’Brien, James “Spike” O’Toole, Al Notarangeli, James Sousa, and Francis “Buddy” Leonard. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether Bulger was involved in the strangulation of another woman, Debra Davis, in 1981.
Bulger, 83, stood passively in US District Court on the same South Boston waterfront where he committed some of his crimes, as a clerk repeatedly proclaimed “guilty” to 31 of the 32 counts with which he had been charged. As he was led away, he turned and gave a thumbs-up sign to his family members, before he was heckled by a relative of one of his many victims.
Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak, who began targeting Bulger in the early ’90s, said the conviction was vindication for the prosecutors and investigators.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “And I think justice prevailed.”
Video and many more details in a well written, detailed story is available at http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/08/12/bulgerverdict/3vP29WkTkRtUEJ7cyCv5FL/story.html
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