Whitey Bulger FBI, Bureau of Prisons, DOJ, INTERPOL Files, Congressional & Court Documents

Description

Whitey Bulger: A Criminal Life and Its Entanglements

1929:

• June 3, 1929: James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr. is born.

1956:

• Bulger is incarcerated at United States Penitentiaries including Alcatraz, Leavenworth, and Atlanta.
• 1956: Warrant issued for James J. Bulger, Jr. for bank robbery against the Highland Branch of the Melrose Trust Company of Melrose, Massachusetts.
• 1956 (Case #56-90): U.S. v. James J. Bulger, Jr. is charged with conspiracy to rob the Industrial National Bank in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The case is transferred from Rhode Island to Massachusetts.

1956-1964:

• Bureau of Prison files cover Bulger’s incarceration during this period, including personal history, medical/psychiatric history, progress reports, and parole records.

1974:

• FBI files concerning Whitey Bulger begin, indicating awareness of his involvement in loansharking, horserace-fixing, and other crimes prior to him becoming an informant.

Late 1970s – Early 1980s (Approximate):

• Bulger begins supplying information to the FBI on the Patriarca crime family, the main rival to his Winter Hill Gang.

1982:

• FBI Agent John Connolly Jr. informs Bulger and Stephen Flemmi of informant Brian Halloran’s cooperation.
• Bulger and Flemmi kill Brian Halloran and Michael Donahue, an innocent bystander who had offered Halloran a ride home.

1988 or 1989:

• Agent John Connolly indirectly warns Stephen Flemmi through Bulger that alleged extortion victim Timothy Connolly is cooperating with the FBI and would attempt to record conversations with Flemmi.

Late 1994:

• Bulger becomes a fugitive after his FBI handler warns him he is about to be indicted. He evades law enforcement for 16 years.

1995:

• William Bulger, then President of the Massachusetts Senate, has a phone conversation with his fugitive brother, Whitey, at an arranged location to avoid electronic eavesdropping.

1996:

• William Bulger becomes president of the University of Massachusetts.

1999:

• Informant Kevin Weeks reveals that William Bulger had a phone conversation with Whitey in 1995.

2001:

• William Bulger admits to a grand jury that he spoke with his brother Whitey in 1995, stating he didn’t feel it was in his brother’s best interest to turn himself in.

2002:

• House Committee on Government Reform volumes (1-3) released concerning allegations of Justice Department misconduct in New England, including FBI’s use of informants like Whitey Bulger.

2003:

• June 19, 2003: William Bulger testifies before a Congressional committee about his 1995 phone call with Whitey, after being granted immunity from prosecution for obstruction of justice. He claims the FBI never asked about Whitey’s location.
• William Bulger resigns from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts due to negative publicity.
• “The Next Step in The Investigation of the use of Informants by the Department of Justice: The Testimony of William Bulger” report/hearing transcript is produced.

2004:

• “Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants Third Report by the House Committee on Government Reform Volumes 1 & 2” is released, covering topics like efforts to protect Stephen Flemmi, William Bulger’s relationship with John Connolly, and Connolly warning Bulger/Flemmi about informants.

September 2005:

• “Special Report the FBI’s Compliance with the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines” (314 pages) is created, mentioning Bulger 40 times.

2008:

• FBI files related to Bulger extend up to this year.

June 11, 2011:

• The FBI airs a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) focusing on Bulger’s longtime companion, Catherine Greig, in 10 states where Bulger was believed to have resided or had contacts.

June 12, 2011:

• Hundreds of tips flow into the FBI after the PSA airs.
• Bulger and Greig are arrested in Santa Monica, California, the day after the PSA aired, in their rent-controlled apartment.
• 2011: Federal grand jury indictment of Catherine E. Greig.

2012:

• Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neil’s book “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob” is published, detailing William Bulger’s grand jury testimony.

June 12, 2013:

• Whitey Bulger’s trial begins in Massachusetts.
• Opening statements by prosecution and defense are made.
• Informant Kevin J. Weeks testifies about killings he saw Bulger commit.

August 12, 2013:

• Bulger is found guilty on 31 counts, including two racketeering charges, and found to have been involved in 11 murders.

November 14, 2013:

• Bulger is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years for his crimes.

April 28, 2015:

• Perjury indictment of Robert Fitzpatrick (United States of America v. Robert Fitzpatrick).

October 30, 2018:

• Bulger, in a wheelchair, is transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, near Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
• Within hours of his arrival at Hazelton, Bulger is beaten to death by fellow inmates.

July 2021:

• Many FBI documents related to Bulger are released.

Cast of Characters

• James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr.: (1929-2018) An American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was also an FBI informant. He became a fugitive in 1994, was on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list for 16 years, and was wanted for numerous crimes including 19 counts of murder. He was arrested in 2011, convicted in 2013 for racketeering and involvement in 11 murders, and sentenced to two life sentences. He was murdered by fellow inmates in prison in 2018.
• Catherine Greig: Whitey Bulger’s longtime companion. She was a fugitive with Bulger for 16 years and was arrested with him in Santa Monica, California in 2011. The FBI’s public service announcement focusing on her appearance and habits led to their capture. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2011.
• John Joseph Connolly Jr.: A corrupt FBI agent and Bulger’s FBI handler. He was convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and murder due to his activities with Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang. He warned Bulger and Flemmi about impending indictments and about informants, leading to the murder of at least one informant and an innocent bystander.
• Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi: An associate of Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang, also an FBI informant. He was involved in murders and other criminal activities with Bulger, and was protected by corrupt FBI Agent John Connolly.
• William Bulger: Whitey Bulger’s younger brother. A prominent Democratic politician in Massachusetts, lawyer, and educator. He served eighteen years as President of the Massachusetts Senate and then as president of the University of Massachusetts from 1996 to 2003. He had contact with Whitey while his brother was a fugitive, and although never proven to have engaged in illegal activity, he faced public scrutiny and was forced to resign from his university presidency after testifying to Congress about his communication with Whitey.
• Kevin J. Weeks: An informant who testified against Whitey Bulger. He revealed William Bulger’s 1995 phone call with Whitey and testified in Bulger’s 2013 trial about killings he witnessed Bulger commit.
• Brian Halloran: An informant who was killed by Bulger and Flemmi in 1982 after FBI Agent John Connolly informed them of his cooperation.
• Michael Donahue: An innocent bystander who had offered Brian Halloran a ride home. He was killed by Bulger and Flemmi along with Halloran in 1982.
• Timothy Connolly: An alleged extortion victim who was cooperating with the FBI. Agent John Connolly indirectly warned Flemmi through Bulger about Timothy Connolly’s cooperation in 1988 or 1989.
• Robert Fitzpatrick: Subject of a perjury indictment in 2015, related to the Bulger case.
• Joe “The Animal” Barboza: Another informant mentioned in the Congressional investigation into Justice Department misconduct in New England, alongside Bulger and Flemmi.
• Billy Johnson: A Massachusetts State Police trooper who had an encounter with Bulger at Logan Airport, mentioned in Congressional reports.
• U.S. Commissioner Francis H. Farrell: Issued the 1956 warrant for James J. Bulger, Jr.’s arrest for bank robbery.

Whitey Bulger FBI, Bureau of Prisons, DOJ, INTERPOL Files, Congressional Reports/Hearings & Court Documents

This collection contains 11,530 pages of material.

The files contain a text transcript of all computer recognizable text embedded into the graphic image of each page of each document, creating a searchable finding aid. Text searches can be done across all files in the collection.

James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr. (1929-2018) was an American organized crime boss and FBI informant who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston.

Bulger, while an FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive, was on the run, wanted for operating a Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO), murder (19 counts) in three states Massachusetts, Florida, and Oklahoma. conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit extortion, narcotics distribution, conspiracy to commit money laundering, extortion, and money laundering.

He was caught after spending 16 years avoiding capture after the FBI ran a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) produced by the Bureau in 10 states where it was believed Bulger had resided or still had contacts on June 11, 2011.

The PSA focused on Bulger’s longtime companion Catherine Greig. The PSA noted the 60-year-old Greig’s physical appearance, habits, and personality traits and was directed specifically at women who might come in contact with her at places such as the beauty parlor or doctor’s office. After the PSA began to air, hundreds of tips flowed into the FBI, and one of them led to the arrest of Bulger and Greig, the day after the PSA was aired, in Santa Monica, California.

He was extradited to Massachusetts and his trial began on June 12, 2013. On August 12, Bulger was found guilty on 31 counts, including two racketeering charges, and was found to have been involved in 11 murders. On November 14, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years for his crimes.

On October 30, 2018, Bulger, who was in a wheelchair, was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, near Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. He was beaten to death by his fellow inmates within hours of his arrival at Hazelton.

This collection contains:

FBI Files

4,159 pages of FBI files dating from 1974 to 2008. Many of these documents were not released by the FBI until July 2021. Bulger became a fugitive in late 1994 after his FBI handler warned him, he was about to be indicted. He then evaded law enforcement for 16 years before being arrested in his California apartment along with his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

The files show that the FBI was aware that Bulger was involved in loansharking, horserace-fixing and other crimes before recruiting him as an informant. The files show that the FBI discovered that Bulger was involved in a horse racing scheme that involved bribing jockeys and drugging horses to fix races at tracks in Boston, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

The files show that Bulger began supplying information to the FBI on the Patriarca crime family, the main rival to Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang. The files contain information gained from monitored telephone conversations and individuals wearing recording devices.

The files include 1,047 memos from and about FBI Agent John Joseph Connolly Jr. Connolly was a corrupt FBI agent who was convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and murder, due to his activities with Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang.

The files include 1,111 pages of photos and memos regarding the many items found in Bulger’s and Catherine Greig’s hideout, a $1,200 a month rent-controlled 2-bedroom apartment unit 303 at the Princess Eugenia apartment building at 1012 Third Street, Santa Monica, CA. The photographs include pictures of the $822,198 in cash found inside the walls of the apartment, an arsenal of firearms, photos and knickknacks attesting to Greig’s love of dogs, 21 bottles of mouthwash, and various other treasures obtained from a local 99 Cents Only Store.

The files include a 314-page report titled, “Special Report the FBI’s Compliance with the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines,” created in September 2005. The report includes 40 mentions of Bulger.
 
Bureau of Prison Files

579 pages of documents, dating from 1956 to 1964, from the Bureau of Prisons covering Bulger while he was incarcerated at the United States Penitentiaries at Alcatraz, Leavenworth, and Atlanta. Files cover personal history and family background, inmate property, medical and psychiatric history, progress reports, sentence data records, prisoner work records, conduct/punishment records, and parole records.

Department of Justice Files

354 pages of Department of Justice files including detailed indictments, government exhibits from Catherine Greig’s detention hearing, and DOJ press releases.

Court Documents

595 pages of court documents dating from 1956 to 2020, covering criminal and civil actions related to Whitey Bulger.

Documents include:

A warrant for the arrest of James J. Bulger, Jr., issued by U.S. Commissioner Francis H. Farrell. The warrant states that Bulger had been charged with committing bank robbery against the Highland Branch of the Melrose Trust Company of Melrose, Massachusetts in 1956.

The criminal docket to the 1956 case #56-90, U.S. v. James J. Bulger, Jr. “Whitey” Bulger who was charged with conspiracy to rob the Industrial National Bank in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The case was transferred from Rhode Island to Massachusetts.

Files of the federal grand jury that returned an indictment charging defendants with conspiracy to rob the Industrial National Bank in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

2011 Federal grand jury indictment of Catherine E. Greig.

Bulger’s 2013 trial documents: Transcript of opening statements by the prosecution and the defense. Transcript of testimony of informant Kevin J. Weeks.  Weeks testified about killings he said he saw Bulger commit. A copy of the jury instruction sheet. Bulger’s brief for appeal of the 2013 case.

Perjury indictment United States of America v. Robert Fitzpatrick, April 28, 2015.

Congressional Reports & Hearings Transcripts

5,484 pages of Congressional reports, hearing transcripts, and exhibits about or related to Whitey Bulger. Volumes include:

Investigation into Allegations of Justice Department Misconduct in New England – House Committee on Government Reform Volumes 1 to 3 (2002)

These volumes coverage alleged wrongdoing by the FBI while working with informants in organized crime investigations such as Joe “The Animal “Barboza, Whitey Bulger, and Bulger associate Steve “The Rifleman” Flemmi.

The Next Step in The Investigation of the use of Informants by the Department of Justice: The Testimony of William Bulger (2003)

William Bulger was a Democratic politician in Massachusetts, lawyer, and educator from South Boston. He served for eighteen-years as President of the Massachusetts Senate. He then became president of the University of Massachusetts from 1996 to 2003. It has never been proved that he engaged in any illegal activity with his older brother Whitey.

In 2003, William Bulger testified in a congressional hearing about communications he had with his then-fugitive brother. An informant, Kevin Weeks, revealed in 1999 that William had a phone conversation with Whitey in 1995, two weeks after he fled to avoid racketeering charges. In 2001, before a grand jury, William admitted to talking with his brother.

According to authors Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neil in their 2012 book, “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob,” William was asked during his grand jury testimony why he didn’t urge Whitey to turn himself in, William replied that he didn’t feel it was in his brother’s best interest to give himself up at the time.

After some of William’s testimony was published in The Boston Globe, he testified to a Congressional committee about the incident on June 19, 2003, after being granted immunity from prosecution for obstruction of justice. William told Congress that he went to an arranged location in 1995 to take a call from his fugitive brother, apparently to avoid electronic eavesdropping. He claimed that not notifying authorities about the call was “in no way inconsistent with my devotion to my own responsibilities, my public responsibilities” as state senate president.

William told Congress that the FBI never asked if he knew of Whitey’s location. A former FBI agent told the committee that William declined to submit to an interview with the FBI. Due to the negative publicity, he was forced to resign from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts.

Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants Third Report by the House Committee on Government Reform Volumes 1 & 2 (2004)

Among the many issues and topics covered in the two volumes of reporting of the Committee’s investigation includes:

Efforts to protect Stephen Flemmi after the Deegan murder trial.

Massachusetts State Police trooper Billy Johnson’s encounter with Bulger at Logan Airport

William Bulger’s relationship with former FBI special agent and Bulger’s handler, John Connolly

FBI Agent John Connolly in 1982 informing Bulger and Flemmi of informant Brian Halloran’s cooperation, and Bulger and Flemmi promptly killing Halloran and Michael Donahue, an innocent bystander who had offered Halloran a ride home.

In 1988 or 1989, Agent John Connolly indirectly warning Stephen Flemmi through Bulger that alleged extortion victim Timothy Connolly was cooperating with the FBI and would attempt to record conversations with Flemmi.

INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) Files

369 pages of files from the International Criminal Police Organization, better known as INTERPOL, concerning Whitey Bulger. INTERPOL is an international organization that establishes worldwide police cooperation. It is the world’s largest international police organization. Its Headquarters is located in Lyon, France.

The well redacted memos contain information distributed to INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus in 195 member states.