As both the head of Boston’s infamous Winter Hill Gang and an FBI informant, Whitey Bulger made countless enemies — so it came as no surprise when he was killed in grisly fashion in 2018.
Wikimedia CommonsA 2011 mugshot of Whitey Bulger .
James “ Whitey ” Bulger ’s death at the hand of his fellow inmates was a tenacious time amount . Throughout the late 20th century , Bulger led the Winter Hill Gang , a Boston - base crime governing body responsible for murders , racketeering , fixing horse races , and drug and coat of arms trafficking .
Bulger finally fled Boston in the early nineties once he found himself on the microwave radar of the Federal Bureau of Investigation . For 16 years , Bulger was on the lam , successfully evading seizure despite holding a top smudge on the FBI ’s Most Wanted listing . But his good destiny eventually ran out in 2011 .
Wikimedia CommonsA 2011 mugshot of Whitey Bulger.
Upon his arrest and strong belief , Bulger was eventually sent to USP Hazelton in West Virginia , one of the most dangerous prisons in the country .
There , on Oct. 30 , 2018 , three inmate savagely beat Whitey Bulger to death , fill up a brute chapter in Boston ’s long story with direct crime .
Whitey Bulger’s Early Life Of Crime
James Joseph “ Whitey ” Bulgerwas acquit in Everett , Massachusetts in 1929 to parents of Irish descent . When he was a child , his kin fatefully moved to South Boston .
Bulger grew up comparatively pathetic , and quickly became broom up in South Boston ’s rough offence scene . He reportedly commence street fighting at a new age and joined a local ring called the Shamrocks . Then , at the age of just 13 or 14 , he was arrested for larceny and sent to a juvenile detainment centre .
U.S. Attorney ’s Office of MassachusettsA untested Whitey Bulger .
U.S. Attorney’s Office of MassachusettsA young Whitey Bulger.
Upon his discharge in 1948 , Bulger join the U.S. Air Force , gained his eminent school diploma , and coach to be a mechanic . From an foreigner ’s position , it appear that Bulger had deform over a new folio .
That was far from the slip .
In 1952 , the military discharge him after he was turn back for going AWOL . Only four year later , Bulger was condemn to prison house for bank robbery .
Boston PoliceA mugshot of Whitey Bulger in 1953.
While in the Atlanta Penitentiary , Bulger claimed to be a victim of the CIA’sMK - Ultra experiment , a disturbing research project involving hallucinogenic drugs and attempted mind ascendancy .
Whatever harmful effect this experiment might have had on Bulger , his participation earned him a reduced condemnation . He was parole in 1965 and return to South Boston , where he start develop in the social station of the Winter Hill Gang , a powerful Irish Mob organization .
By the late 1970s , Bulger had become the grouping ’s leader . And throughout his sovereignty , he was creditworthy for multitudinous murders .
Wikimedia CommonsAn FBI surveillance image of Bulger with his partner Stephen Flemmi.
Meanwhile , Bulger secretly served as an FBI informant , entering into a corrupt exchange that would protect him from stay for decades and give up him to exercise greater control over Boston ’s criminal underworld .
Boston PoliceA mugshot of Whitey Bulger in 1953 .
Bulger ’s handler , FBI AgentJohn Connolly , lean him off that the way was finally onto him , and in 1994 , Bulger went on the run .
Wikimedia CommonsThe home in California where Bulger was hiding from the law.
Life On The Lam
For about 16 years , Whitey Bulger was on the running game from authorities . His name regularly decorate the FBI ’s Most precious list , right below Osama Bin Laden ’s . While at turgid , Bulger on the face of it traveled constantly , stopping in New York , Louisiana , California , Chicago , Florida , and even his hometown of Boston , to name just a few position .
Meanwhile , Bulger was indicted on dozen of counts of various criminal offense , including racketeering and murder .
Wikimedia CommonsAn FBI surveillance image of Bulger with his partner Stephen Flemmi .
Public DomainFotios Geas, one of the men accused of murdering Whitey Bulger on Oct. 30, 2018.
The FBI scoured the nation and even search a handful of foreign rural area for Bulger , include Italy , Ireland , France , Brazil , and Thailand . But despite this global manhunt , authorities still had no thought where he might be .
“ Here you have somebody who is far more advanced than some 18 - class - erstwhile who killed someone in a drive - by , ” FBI agent Scott Bakken toldCBS Newsin 2011 . “ To be a successful fugitive from justice you have to cut off all contacts from your previous living . He had the means and kept a scurvy visibility . ”
Then , in 2011 , an Icelandic woman survive in Santa Monica , California called the authorities with a shocking report .
Whitey Bulger’s Capture In California
For a bit of years , Anna Björnsdóttir , a former beauty queer and Miss Iceland 1974 , split her sentence between Europe and Santa Monica .
During her stays in California , she had become close friends with Carol Gasko , a woman who lived in the locality with her quiet hubby , Charlie . But one day , while check a word report on wanted criminal Whitey Bulger , Björnsdóttir realized that Charlie Gasko was not the retiring human race she ’d to begin with believe him to be .
Björnsdóttir cover him to the FBI , and on June 22 , authority arrested the “ Gaskos , ” who were revealed to be Whitey Bulger and his longtime girlfriend , Catherine Greig .
In their apartment , FBI agents find over $ 800,000 , more than 30 gun for hire , and various fake recognition text file .
Wikimedia CommonsThe home in California where Bulger was hiding from the jurisprudence .
During his trial in Boston , Bulger pleaded not guilty to 48 charges relate to murder , blockage of judge , money laundering , extortion , perjury , racketeering , and weapons violations . He was finally convicted of 11 slaying , as well as a chain of other criminal offence .
On Nov. 14 , 2013 , a jurist sentenced Bulger to life in prison house . At last , the infamous law-breaking boss was behind bars .
Whitey Bulger’s Death At The Hands Of His Fellow Inmates
For most of his time , Whitey Bulger was immure at U.S. Penitentiary Coleman II in Florida .
However , at this point , the former gangster was in his 80s , and his health was not what it once was . He reportedly have from night threat and heart issues and required the utilization of a wheelchair to get around .
His behavior in prison was also poor . On one occasion , Bulger reportedly threatened a female medical worker , and on another , he was caught fuck off in front of a male staff worker . As punishment for these incident , he was given keep up stays in solitary labour .
It was these disciplinal issue that allegedly prompted sanction to transfer Bulger to USP Hazelton on Oct. 29 , 2018 , despite his aesculapian emergence .
The following morning , only about 12 hour after Bulger arrived , prison guard found the 89 - class - old dead in his cell .
security measures footage recovered from the day of the execution shows two inmates rolling Bulger ’s wheelchair into a corner out of the camera ’s view , where they , along with a third accomplice , brutally attacked him . The inmates shell him to death with a padlock stuffed in a sock , force out out his eyes , and attempted to cut out his tongue with a serrated spoon .
“ They apparently tuned him up to the point where he was unrecognizable , ” said a senior law enforcement official , according to a 2018New York Timesarticle .
The inmates imply in the attack were identified as 32 - year - old Sean McKinnon , a Massachusetts mobster name Paul J. DeCologero , and 51 - twelvemonth - oldFotios “ Freddy ” Geas — a former Mafia hitman who reportedly hated “ strikebreaker . ”
The Investigation Into Whitey Bulger’s Death
To many , it seemed as though Whitey Bulger ’s death was preventable . How could prison functionary have allowed a high - visibility convict in poor wellness fall victim to violence immediately after his transfer ?
“ I ’m not surprised that he got strike , ” Ed Davis , a former Boston law commissioner , tell theNew York Timesin 2018 . “ I ’m surprised that they let him get rack up . ”
In 2022 , the Department of Justice release areportdetailing several issues with how the Bureau of Prisons managed Bulger ’s case .
Public DomainFotios Geas , one of the men criminate of murdering Whitey Bulger on Oct. 30 , 2018 .
The news report encounter “ serious task operation and direction failures at multiple layer ” within the Federal Bureau of Prisons ’ manipulation of his transportation .
Not only did Bureau of Prisons force not adequately deal Bulger ’s aesculapian condition or properly communicate with one another about the move , but a telephone number of personnel “ verbalise openly about Bulger ’s upcoming arrival in the presence of Hazelton inpatient , ” despite Bulger ’s history and potential hazard of harm upon arrival .
The DOJ also determine that prison house official give way to by rights “ value whether Bulger face harm from other inmates at Hazelton . ”
What ’s more , this was n’t the only time something like this had occurred at Hazelton . The prison house had a reputation for being grossly short-staffed and severe — making it an odd selection for a high - profile inmate like Whitey Bulger .
Indeed , the U.S. Department of Justice listed Hazelton as the second virulent in the county in their2024 theme , based on the prison ’s loser to prevent 14 inmate deaths over the course of eight years .
The Aftermath Of The Murder
A year after Whitey Bulger ’s death , his family sued the Bureau of Prisons , aver that official had sent Bulger to Hazelton despite cognize the danger he face there . However , a federal judge usher out the suit in 2022 .
Meanwhile , the three man accused of play persona in Bulger ’s end reach a plea pile in May 2024 . Geas and DeCologero , who are accused of bludgeon Bulger to expiry , face murder charge . McKinnon , meanwhile , allegedly acted as a lookout during the tone-beginning . All three have been charged with confederacy to practice slaying . They will now plead “ guilty ” in their forthcoming hearings .
For many , the news of Whitey Bulger ’s expiry was more than welcome .
“ I detest to be diseased , but knowing the agency of mortal he was , it ’s likely a long time coming , fancy that he was responsible for so many other families ’ and people ’s misery over the year , ” an acquaintance of Bulger ’s pal told theNew York Times . “ There ’s an old expression , ‘ What fail around come around . ' ”
“ It ’s been a prospicient time waiting , ” said Patricia Donahue , whose married man was killed in a shot linked to Bulger in 1982 . “ Now my kin can relax a small bit , now that we do n’t have to worry about hearing his name all the sentence . ”
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