Boston Gangster Found Dead in Prison- Update ‘Whitey’ Bulger beaten to death by prison inmates with possible mob ties
FILE – This June 23, 2011, file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James “Whitey” Bulger. Bulger died in federal custody after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons say he died Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File) The Associated Press
Update.
Infamous Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, who was found dead at a West Virginia prison on Tuesday, appeared to have been fatally beaten by inmates with potential mob ties, according to a report.
Bulger, 89, “was found unresponsive” around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday morning at USP Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, W.V., where he’d been in custody since Monday, the Bureau of Prisons said in a news release. Bulger was recently moved from a prison in Florida and had a stop in Oklahoma City before arriving in West Virginia.
Two unidentified Bureau of Prisons employees told The New York Times that multiple inmates at the facility had beaten and ultimately killed Bulger. The suspected inmates were potentially “affiliated with the mob,” however details were unclear, one source told the outlet.
More at Fox News
Notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger has died in federal custody nearly five years after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Looks like his sentence was carried out.
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, died in federal prison. He was 89.
Bulger was found unresponsive Tuesday morning at the U.S. penitentiary in West Virginia where he’d just been transferred, and a medical examiner declared him dead shortly afterward, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Authorities did not immediately release a cause of death but said the FBI was notified and is investigating.
Bulger, the model for Jack Nicholson’s ruthless crime boss in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie, “The Departed,” led a largely Irish mob that ran loan-sharking, gambling and drug rackets. He also was an FBI informant who ratted on the New England mob, his gang’s main rival, in an era when bringing down the Mafia was a top national priority for the FBI.
Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after his FBI handler, John Connolly Jr., warned him he was about to be indicted. With a $2 million reward on his head, Bulger became one of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” criminals, with a place just below Osama bin Laden.
When the extent of his crimes and the FBI’s role in overlooking them became public in the late 1990s, Bulger became a source of embarrassment for the FBI. During the years he was a fugitive, the FBI battled a public perception that it had not tried very hard to find him.
After more than 16 years on the run, Bulger was captured at age 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he had been living in a rent-controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig.
Well let’s all squeak out a tear for Whitey Bulger. Or not. I’d be interested in how the FBI justified using him as an informant, and how he was able to stay a free man for so long. Anyway, AMF Whitey; this qualifies as a Feel Good Story, but needed to stand alone.
The article is cross posted from the AP’s Denise Lavoie’s article, which can be read at US News and World Report
Category: Crime, Feel Good Stories
James “Whitey” Bulger sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
NAILED IT.
😀 😀 😀
“Live by the sword, die by the sword”!
He’s dead. And he’d better stay dead.
We all should note and remember that J Edgar hated the Kennedys. We may note and remember that Joe Senior was reputed to have/be a “connected man.” Whitey in a “war” with rivals in NE. We starting to see a possible pattern here yet? Or I am a big conspiracy net? Or as another poster post on ROT- – – Clintons?
John Connolly Jr warned him? Is that the same Connolly that was Governor?
Nah, these Connollys were all Boston dirtbags. The other Gov John Connally(sp?) were of the Texas dirtbags. Same MO, different section. Lots of suspicion on the Texas Gov and LBJ when Kennedy was murde—,assassinated.
He had a criminal record during his stint in the Air Force as well. Not a particularly noted aspect of his life but seeing as this is a veteran blog.
Cthulhu:
Did not know he was in the Air Force, until you commented here.
Thank You!
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/10/30/air-force-vet-whitey-bulger-found-dead-prison-89.html
“Early into his life of crime, Bulger served an enlistment term in the U.S. Air Force. He enlisted in the service in 1948 and quickly fell afoul of authorities, doing time in military prison for assaults. At one point he was charged with rape, according to multiple sources; on another occasion, he was arrested for going absent without leave. Despite all this, he was honorably discharged in 1952.”
Repeating bullshit doesn’t make it true. I’m surprised at that. And disappointed.
“Early into his life of crime….” STOP. He started when he was 10 and spent years in reform school before enlisting. So, that’s wrong. He “quickly fell afoul of authorities.” STOP. Quickly? When, during basic? Dring AIT? What does that mean? Go ahead and guess. And he fell afoul of authorities? She probably means he was criminally charged, so why doesn’t she say so? Because she doesn’t know. She didn’t look at a record. He “did time in military prison for assaults.” Really? Source? None. Just trust her on that. She then says he was charged with rape and her corroboration is “multiple sources” none of which are identified or named. Who knows where that came from. And then we have, finally, some plain English when she says that “he was arrested for going absent without leave.” Another source I saw said that this was the reason why he was jailed. And, lastly, we have her editorial: “”Despite all this…” Despite all of what? Her say-so?
Not from Mass., are you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Bulger
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149171.The_Brothers_Bulger
And because this is a mil blog and most of us here are Veterans, we resent that some asshole’s military service is connected to a story about his criminality when that service had nothing to do with his crimes. Now, in this instance, there are various biographical sources that are at odds with one another. One says that there were “assaults” and another says that he committed “an assault” and yet another reports that he went to prison for being AWOL. All sources agree that he was honorably discharged, making me doubt that he went to “prison” at all. A Military.com piece published today was written by an AP chick named Denise Lavoie. That’s most likely your source. She doesn’t prize the military and apparently thinks that the fact that Bulger served 4 years in the USAF us significant. I don’t. In fact, I’d bet you are the only one here who thinks so. Funny, she didn’t mention what grade school he attended or whether he was a registered Democrat, or that he lived in public housing for some time or…
So, in closing, I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Cunthulu: GFY.
Your reaction seems unnecessary. Regardless of the sources they all agree he had a criminal record in service. The fact that he was honorably discharged days nothing about whether he was convicted of crimes or a crime during his service.
I mentioned his service only because this is a place that might find it interesting that he served.
“Your reaction seems unnecessary.” You don’t get to determine what I deem to be necessary. As a rule, unless you can connect a criminal’s service directly to his crimes, save it.
” making me doubt that he went to “prison” at all.”
I knew two guys in the Army who went to the stockade. Afterwards, both returned to duty and were eventually promoted. I think it is fair to assume that if they were to be given an other than honorable discharge it would have been part of the sentence.
Not at all the case, timactual.
A court-martial can only adjudge three types of discharge, all of which are less than honorable: Bad Conduct, Dishonorable, and Dismissal (for commissioned officer personnel, legally equivalent to a DD). IF one of those isn’t part of the sentence, the individual continues to serve.
However, there are at least three other types of administrative discharge besides an Honorable Discharge: General (Under Honorable Conditions); General (Under Other than Honorable Conditions); and Uncharacterized. The last is usually the result of an Entry-Level Separation. Administrative discharge proceedings (and in some cases, routine ETS) can result in the other two – or in an Honorable Discharge.
It is eminently possible for someone to (1) enlist, (2) commit a crime and end up in confinement, and (3) then receive an General/Honorable or General/UOTH shortly afterwards as the result of a separate admin action. It’s also possible for them to serve out the remainder of their contract and then receive either an Honorable or a General/Honorable discharge. (I think they can also receive a General/OTHC if the appropriate authority determines that’s what their record rates, but I’ll defer to one of our military lawyers on that.) Discharge in lieu of court-martial also results in a General/OTHC if I recall correctly. I’m pretty sure discharge because of commission of a serious civilian offense also results in a General/OTHC.
Bottom line: no court-martial is necessary for someone to get tossed with a General/OTHC discharge. Or to get booted early but receive a General/Honorable discharge, for that matter.
If the accounts of Bulger’s record are anywhere near accurate, why Bulger’s chain-of-command didn’t pitch him with an admin discharge is beyond me. Only think I can think of is that it would have been “bad optics” to do so during a war (Korean War, 1950-1953).
The operative word for me is prison. It takes no special knowledge or training to distinguish between a prison and a jail. In this case, the jail would be a stockade.
” It’s also possible for them to serve out the remainder of their contract and then receive either an Honorable or a General/Honorable discharge.”
That’s the point I was trying to make. Thanks for the information, it’s always good to learn something new.
FYI… I found your comment/post interesting. It will cause me to do a bit of research. Some inconsistencies noted by 2/17 have been mentioned, but then, inconsistencies were a part of military service back then.
There are some excellent books on this subject. I would recommend, The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr and Black Mass. Both are excellent and do touch on his military service. He was a scumbag before he went into the Air Force, he was a scumbag in the Air Force and he continued to be a scumbag after. He lived in public housing until his mother died and he moved in with one of his girlfriends. He was an evil person and is now dead by the hands of the people he ratted out. If anything we should start a GoFundMe page for the guys who did the world a favor. He was a blight on Boston and I had a cigar last night to celebrate his execution. Hope it was painful.
We can look at the miltary service of his pal Flemmi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Flemmi
Silver Star.
NOT related to his shitbaggery after the fact but there it is.
I know, that is where he got the nickname “The Rifleman”. But his whole family was a dumpster fire. One brother was a psycho who got knifed in prison and the other was a corrupt Boston Cop. All of the authors of most books say his parents were honest, hard working people. Nurture and Environment.
He was getting ready to rat on the FBI also. Pissed off both sides. Lets just say he died of natural causes.
He hit his head Colonel.
Sir, he seems to have committed suicide. It appears he stabbed himself 14 times in the back….
Accidently shot his self with a red swingline; was on his way to the basement.
I don’t think he will get over this.
Yes. The old assault stapler.
Least it solved/prevented his getting a drinking problem.
How come the Military doesn’t have the “Assault Stapler” mounted on the 5.56 M-4’S. Now those could be the new Staple for the Armed Forces.
Did he have access to the Clinton servers?
Could have. Funny thing, Robert Mueller was the US Attorney in Boston at the time the FBI was using old Whitey as an informant. So Arkancide is still in play.
Yep, funny strange, not funny haha. Ties in with my comment @ 2:48 above. Trust no one. The truth is out there.
That bastard has his tentacles so deep in so many things that Arkancide would be in play even without the Muller connection. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find out he had some kind of arrangement with the Clinton syndicate.
There was nothing to tell…All of that info came out years ago…
Good riddance.
Your user name has never been more applicable.
Do you change your user name to “The Only Whitey” now?
The Lone Whitey FTW!
Natural cause, of course. Surprised it took this long.
Well, natural cause for someone in his line of work.
We’ve had a run on inmate deaths here in Arkansas. The liberals are bitching, and the rest of us say it’s one less mouth for tax payers to feed and house. Good riddance.
“The Brothers Bulger” by Howie Carr. How ol’ Whitey and his brother ran “The Athens of America”.
My father used to tell a joke; “90% of America was settled by immigrants who saw Boston first”. I think his dislike of the city made him exaggerate a few percentage points.
Nothing of value lost.
I’m sure it was ‘work-related’ natural causes.
No real surprise here. He was a rat and “they” took him out for being one.
All it will take is for Trump to say he’s a dirtbag and the MSM and Democrats will probably attend a memorial and funeral for him to say he’s their current hero. Just like they did with MS-13.
New T-shirt design.
Che on the front Whitey on the back.
Top front the word “Murdering”.
Top of the back “Shit Bags”.
Great concept, but you need to work “Muerte” in there somewhere. Twice.
How about in block letters, red and semi-transparent watermark-style, running diagonally across the face from the viewer’s lower left to upper right?
Che’s could read “MUERTE”, while Bulger’s could read “MARBH”. (smile)
OK my mistake, how un-diverse and non-inclusive of me. Don’t want to piss off the Picts, or whomever…
“MARBH”, I had to look it up.
Dead on point, good call.
Unless his GF knows where the millions are stashed (cash), he took it to the grave.
No to worry, I think Geraldo is on the case!
Howie Carr said there would be a lot of people following her around when she gets out of prison.
He estimated $50 million is out there in safety deposit boxes.
There is a likely possibility his brother the former MA State Senate President might know as well.
You can only scream kill whitey for so long until the inevitable happens.
Two nuts were walking in Central Park and one of them was a salted.
“and how he was able to stay a free man for so long.”
The Boston office of the FBI was working for him. You remember the FBI, right? That’s the saintly law enforcement organization we are not allowed to criticize (Comey et al.).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Connolly_(FBI)
https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/29/us/fbi-agent-linked-to-mob-is-guilty-of-corruption.html
Read an article that he was approached by three inmates (he was wheelchair bound) who wheeled him into a corner that could not be seen by surveillance cameras. The inmates beat him by using a lock in a sock as a weapon until he was unconscious. They also attempted to gouge his eyes out with some type of shiv, but were unsuccessful. He fell to the ground covered in bruises and with several dents in his head.
If that’s the case, died hard, that one.
No sympathy whatsoever.
I still can’t help to imagine how that felt. Watching death walk up on you and there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it.
Looks like the article you read was likely accurate, AP:
‘Whitey’ Bulger dead: Inmate with Mafia ties investigated in killing
Mafia ties, eh? Well, that IS a surprise. (smile)
What’s that saying – “Revenge is a dish best served cold”? And the Mafia certainly has a long memory.
Check the update- he lasted one day at USP Hazelton.
True, but that’s kinda irrelevant.
Bulger apparently was ratting out Mafia rivals to the FBI for years before he got warned and went on the lam 20 years ago. He’d been in jail for 5 years before he got offed.
Sounds to me like the Mafia took its dear sweet time in taking him out – at least 5 years, and perhaps far longer (it’s conceivable they knew where Bulger was long before he was taken into custody, but intentionally held off doing him in).
Hence my “revenge is a dish best served cold” comment.
Maybe they learned this tactic from watching Antifa videos, as that is their weapon of choice.
Here is how he stayed one step ahead of the law.
John Joseph Connolly Jr. (born August 1, 1940)[2] is a former FBI agent who was convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice and murder charges stemming from his relationship with James “Whitey” Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang.
State and federal officers had been trying to imprison Whitey Bulger for years, but Bulger evaded capture until 2011. As the FBI handler for Bulger and Flemmi, Connolly (who had grown up in the Old Harbor Housing Project with Bulger) had been protecting them from prosecution by supplying Bulger with information about possible attempts to catch them. Connolly was indicted on December 22, 1999, on charges of alerting Bulger and Flemmi to investigations, falsifying FBI reports to cover their crimes, and accepting bribes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Connolly_(FBI)
He had a honorable discharge, will he get a veterans marker or just cement shoes.
He was convicted of murder, so I don’t think he’s eligible for burial in any National Cemetery. But I don’t know if that also precludes the VA providing a marker if he’s buried in a private cemetery or not.
See the last line for an answer.
e. Persons Found Guilty of a Capital Crime
Under 38 U.S.C. § 2411, interment or memorialization in a VA national cemetery or in Arlington National Cemetery is prohibited if a person is convicted of a Federal or State capital crime, for which a sentence of imprisonment for life or the death penalty may be imposed and the conviction is final. Federal officials may not inter in Veterans cemeteries persons who are shown by clear and convincing evidence to have committed a Federal or State capital crime but were unavailable for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution. Federally funded State veterans cemeteries must also adhere to this law. This prohibition is also extended to furnishing a Presidential Memorial Certificate, a burial flag, and a headstone or marker.
Thanks. Knew the USC prohibited burial in National Cemeteries for those convicted of a number of specified and/or capital crimes, but didn’t remember that the prohibition included providing headstones as well.
Looks like here Congress got it right.
Inlay a marker (non VA) at the entrance to the Callahan tunnel so everyone can drive over it.
Scatter what is left of him on the salt marsh off the Lynnway in Revere.
Just keep him out of Southie.
Dump them under the Bridge over the Neponset from Dorchester to Quincy or over by Florian Hall where he buried some of the victims. But let us all piss in the urn first. Bastard.
“I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” – Mark Twain.
I’m thinking maybe he was going to roll on Mule-ear and his minions and somebody decided he needed to be silenced. Let’s not forget Mueller fought against the release of the guys framed for murders Bulger carried out.
Meh, one less convict for the system to have to feed, clothe and house.
Just heard Howie Carr of the Boston Globe & radio on Fox. Howie frequently wrote about Whitey. He said Whitey had killed two brother-in-laws of the girlfriend he had shacked up with in Santa Monica when the FBI caught him.
Howie said he called the house of one of them just after one of those murders and the 10 year old son answered. According to Howie, Whitey told the son that his father wasn’t going to come home for Christmas.
Glad that turd finally got flushed.
“Boston Globe”
Boston Herald. He wipes his ass with the Globe.
Oh God! Could you imagine Howie writing for the Globe! Hell will have to form a Hockey Team first. The Globe was part of the Bulger Protective Service. I was shocked that Globe reporters were actually allowed to write anything on it. Mike Barnicle, the Fake Marine from Fitchburg, was always saying Whitey was a “Man of Honor”. Again, Bastard.
Owners of the Globe also own the Red Sox.
I thought Kraft from the Patriots bought it from them? Not that I have read the Globe in 25 years. Either way, Liberal Rag.
Not to memorialize, but, the end of an era.
I’m just as glad I left Boston decades ago.
Too bad he lived to 89, but justice finally prevailed.
It’s kind of an unwritten rule in prison that guys that are elderly and doing life or harsh sentences are left alone by the guards and other prisoners. They finger passing your last years shitting your pants in a wheelchair is bad enough.
You have to be a real piece of shit to get taken out when you are 90
Apparently some of the other inmates – or their capos – felt he qualified.
Natural cause. Cause of the line of work he was in
“Mob” ties? Do you mean Democrats did it?
The M-A-F-I-A has a loooong memory. He wore the rat jacket and got clipped for it..
No tears…
Whitey’s passing can best be summed up by the following quote…
“We received word this morning about the death of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger,” US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his victims and their families.”
Bwahahahahahaahah. Finally, a gov’t guy from Mass I can like.
Howie Carr’s take:
https://video.foxnews.com/v/5855571716001/
OK, his brother was a monster, but can you imagine a reporter sticking a mic in your face and informing you a close relative has just died, news to you, and then he asks how you feel?
Were me, fucker would be choking on his teeth. How’s THAT feel, m-fer?
I’ved lived my whole life here. Billy Bulger was almost as big of a corrupt piece of shit as his brother. WHitey stole from people with a Gun. Billy did it with a gavel and lawyers.
Fuck his feelings.