Catherine Greig was James J. “Whitey” Bulger’s partner, girlfriend, common-law-wife, or however else you wish to describe her for most of his 16 years on the run. Prior to that time for many years she and Theresa Stanley were his girls at one time or another, even perhaps on the same day. There seemed little doubt that she was in love with Whitey. Like any woman who lived with a guy she helped him out in his daily needs running to the store for him etc.
Catherine Greig is unusual in this whole Whitey Bulger saga. She is the only one who kept her mouth shut throughout it. She is the only one who paid a price for keeping her mouth shut. The latter came about when she was dragged back in front of a grand jury after having received the highest sentence in American history for a person with no prior record who committed a non violent and non drug related crime. Already doing a totally inappropriate sentence from a judge who threw judicial ethics out the window and allowed people to come in and castigate her for something she had no connection with, she was brought before a second judge who told her that her continuing refusal to give testimony to the grand jury might well cause him to sentence her to life in prison.
That’s pressure my friend. When the supposed “tough guys” Kevin Weeks, Stephen Flemmi, John Martorano, or Frank Salemme were faced with time, much less than life, they folded. All the rest of the Southie guys who were part of the underworld also folded. There were so many rats running to the prosecutor’s office in the federal building on the waterfront to get a deal that traffic was tied up on the Summer Street bridge for days on end.
That’s not to say there aren’t other stand-up lads and lassies in Southie. There are many. They are tough people but like my late lamented cousin Roger stayed on the right side of the law. Barely.
I can’t think of one other person who got jammed up who didn’t look for a deal by squealing on his buddies. Even Whitey, he tried to get himself out of his pickle by turning on John Connolly his FBI handler. He had his lawyer telling the world that he was paying Connolly tons of money (hundreds of thousands) for information. I never believed it. Having chased after these guys for much of my career I knew how cheap they were. Whitey didn’t see the contradiction in his positions: Connolly wanted to help him out because, (a) they were from Old Harbor Village in Southie; (b) because he looked up to him; (c) because it looked good to have him as a top echelon informant; (d) because he was doing his brother a favor; (e) because he gave him money and (e) a reason to be named later.
I’d note even Weeks could only say Connolly got $5,000, if he is to be believed having failed lie detector tests, and he was the guy handing out the payments. Strange though, Connolly is said to have over a dozen other top echelon informants. None testified they paid Connolly anything.
How then can I say Greig was the only one if Connolly also kept his mouth shut. Simply, Connolly had no one to implicate and he wouldn’t lie, unlike others, to get himself a deal. As I’ve admonished people if you are going to commit a federal crime make sure you don’t do it by yourself. You need someone to throw away if you get caught.
Greig had lots of information the prosecutor wanted – not the least would have been to satisfy any prurient interest in Whitey’s life he might have had so that he could funnel it over to the writers at the Boston Globe and perhaps Howie Carr.
Are you suggesting the federal prosecutors would leak grand jury testimony to the Globe? They have, as we well know. They gave his brother’s testimony to it. So it is not beyond them.
Greig was what is called bushwhacked. She had one of the best criminal lawyers representing her, Kevin Reddington. He knew probation was going to recommend about two years under the federal guidelines. He advised her of that and she elected to plead guilty. The judge hit her with eight. She was sentenced for Whitey’s murders about which it was never shown she had any knowledge of. When she fled with Whitey no one outside his helpers knew of them.
Those who have been around for a while know the story. It’s good she is out from the worst conditions. I hope some good folk in South Boston are looking for a location to put up a statue to her – just call it “courage.”
The Feds don’t just leak in Boston but in DC and Alexandria. Wyshak is a disgrace to the Flag.
Matt, William, NC and others , I also agree with you all 100 % and more on what was said in post and especially comments. The sad thing about this is that when these corrupt judicial polices were taking place say 20 or so years ago since then several government agencies also know and think and believe the same way we do,have remained silent ? The Mass. Fed Dep of Justice to this day is trying in their old ways
to dictate policy to keep John Connollys efforts to gain his rightful freedom that was wrongfully taken from him. Let’s hope that what is going on in Floida now will leed to John Connollys freedom.
Also remember, that on this blog a retired FBI agent has repeatedly informed your readers that Financial Experts (the IRS, I recall) TWICE did a thorough review of all John Connolly’s finances and possessions, and concluded everything he owned ( he and his wife) were fully accountable by his salary, his income from a rental property he owned in South Boston, and his wife’s income.
IN OTHER WORDS, thorough investigations revealed NO EVIDENCE of John Connolly receiving any money from any outside source . . .
And, Matt, you correctly note, that in his 20 plus years as a highly decorated, FBI agent, the man most responsible for taking down the New England Mafia, according to Joe Pistone, NO ONE ELSE EVER ACCUSED JOHN CONNOLLY OF TAKING A DIME , , ,NONE OF HIS OTHER DOZEN OR MORE TEI’s, none of the other criminals he dealt with over his carreer.
It was only about 10 years after John Connolly retired in 1990, around 2000, that Federal Prosecutors, the Sterns Gang I call them, for they were assassins of a sort, character assassins, no worse character assassin than to falsely indict . . .around 2000 FED PROSECUTORS in cutting deals with serial killers like Martorano, then Flemmi, got the serial killers to “REMEMBER” that john Connolly did or said something bad.
What would a conscienceless serial killer say to avoid execution, or to get our of jail early? Martorano got 12 years for his fabrications which the Boston Jury rejected . . .12 yeaars for 20 murders, and the FEDs gave Martorano $20,000 cash as a pay off the day he was released early, and the FED deal also let Martorano say NOTHING about the crimes (murders) of his brother or other gangster associates. Martorano a made member of the MAFIA,, a mass murderer, was given a slap on the wrist for his lies, which the Boston Jury did not believe one word of.
Good to remember that John Connolly was acquitted of 9 charges, all the serious charges, and all charges related to taking anything of value (no money, no ring , , ,not guilty) . . .good to remember the Boston Jury di d not believe One Word of Martorano, yet the intellectually and morally corrupt Wyshak took Martorano to Miami to have him repeat a confabulation, triple hearsay, that Whitey told Martorano that John Connolly said, “If Callahan talks we’ll all be in trouble.”
The corruption of the Federal Prosecutors who persecuted innocent people, probation officers etc, tne bookie’s wife, a nurse with a clean record, etc, etc, should be thoroughly investigated.
Most galling was Wyshak’s use of Flemmi whom Wyshak knew had for 8 years said JOhn Connolly was an honest cop, who never intended anyone be murdered or harmed, who repeatedly told Flemmi and others “no violence, no murders”, . . .to take Flemmi to MIami and have him recant prior sword testimony (Boeri’s reports) and to echo Martorano’s clearly manufactured recollections, are GROTESQUE ABUSES OF FEDERAL PROSECTURIAL POWER . . .by these Jihadi Javerts
Think of the OBSCENELY lenient deals the Fed Prosecutors cut with serial killers, serial perjurers, the rapists of women, an FBI Agent, Morris, who leaked names of TEI’s to the MEDIA hoping they would be killed, an attempted murderer . . . .then think of all the innocent men and women they persecuted and over prosecuted . . . .
INVESTIGATE THE FEDERAL ABUSE OF POWER BY THESE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS the last 20 years, and by their abettors in BLACK ROBES and in the Clerk’s Offices of the Boston Federal Courthouse.
Do not let the JIHADI JAVERTS and their co-conspirators get away with the abuse of federal power.
ALL THAT IS NECESSARY OF EVIL TO TRIUMPH (FEDERAL ABUSE OF POWER) IS FOR GOOD PEOPLE TO DO AND SAY NOTHING.
I REST MY CASE ON MY 9 PUBLISHED BOOKS.
AS MY LIFELONG FRIEND, REDSKIN OF SAVIN HILL, USED TO SAY IN POKER GAMES WHEN HE HELD A WINNING HAND: “READ ‘EM AND WEEP!”
Matt you are correct in pointing out the cruel abuse of power by Federal Prosecutors and Federal Judges and the chronic leaking to the Media from that corrupt EDIFICE OF INIQUITY, the Federal Courthouse in Boston.
David Boeri, the only honest reporter in Boston, correctly reported that from 1995 to about 2003, Steve Flemmi while in Federal Custody, repeatedly stated that John Connolly was an honest FBI agent who never took a dime, and who never did or said anything intending anyone be harmed or killed. In FACT, Morris, Flemmi, etc, all stated repeatedly that all Top Echelon Informants were repeatedly told by John Connolly “no violence, no murders.”
the corrupt FEDS got Flemmi to compose a new story in 2003 and took him to MIami to lie on the witness stand that he remembered John Connolly said if Callahan talks we’ll all be in trouble, and this was a signal from Connolly to kill Callahan , , , ,a signal that contradicted Connolly’s directives to Flemmis, Flemmi’s 8 years of prior sworn testimony, and JOhn Connolly’s 20 plus years as an FBI agent
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How dishonest are the judges and prosecutors at the Federal Courthouse in Boston? Connolly gets 10 years for trivial offenses( even the Globe said he was acquitted of the serious charges) and Grieg gets 10 years for her non offenses What penalty did Gotti’s, Gambino’s, Castellano’s Anguilo’s and Al Capone’s wives suffer? None. In the Abbatobad raid that killed Bin Laden they didn’t even arrest his wife. So for the idiotic national government Whitey was a worse criminal than the head of Al Qaeda? 2. The media and their partners at the Federal Courthouse in Boston ran a multi decade long smear campaign against an innocent politician they disfavored. Dershowitz, the congenital liar, called him the Godfather of the Winter Hill gang which the press propagated. He also called all Boston Cops liars. Just a vicious character assassin . Carr on the radio recently admitted he got grand jury material. The Russian collusion lie against Trump is comparable to their effort against Sen. Bulger. It was a media wilding and a media frenzy. A totally bogus story The Duke lacrosse case comes to mind. The case against Grieg and Sen. Bulger was all Fake News. The media are the enemy of the honest people. They are the focus of evil in the modern world. 3. A special prosecutor is needed to clean up the mess in Boston. A G Barr should appoint Rudy Guilliani and he should call a grand jury to investigate the leaks of grand jury material and of signals intel as well as the prosecution of the Probation Officers for what was transparently a non crime. Wyshak, Ortiz and Coakley should be in the dock.
Agree 100% with NC’s comments.
The Federal Prosecutors Office in Boston which has chronically abused prosecutorial power and chronically leaked and conspired with the leftist media in Boston and with Howie Carr and his onetime partner Allan Dershowitz, acted like Jihadi Javerts on their pursuit of INNOCENT MEN, like Bill Bulger, the Probation Officers, Caswell Motels, Boston Police Officer Kenny Conley, and on their malicious persecution of John Connolly . . . .Read my books, THE FIX, CHARACTER ASSASSINS I AND II, where my thoughts are spelled out.