I am again reading my introduction to my book tentatively titled, “Boston Gangster Wars. The 100 Gangster Murders Between 1956 and 1976″ I hope it to be ready for publication soon.
In the introduction I say that Thomas Sperrazza once said something to the effect that after you commit your first murder the rest are easy. There are a lot of people around Boston who know that is true. We seem to be the capital of the world where men roam the streets without worry after having murdered several people.
Other states people with one or two murders never see daylight outside prison walls again. A few are executed. Our right-to-life federal Department of Justice leader Bill Barr has reinstituted the death penalty and seems anxious to take the lives of as many folk he can as quickly as he can. Yet it is his special prosecutor John Durham, a life long Republican, like Attorney General Barr, that made deals that allowed murderers to walk the streets of Boston as free as a person who never got a traffic ticket.
Think of it. The following persons who committed many more murders or assisted with them than any of the persons being executed who are roaming the streets of Boston: John Martorano, Kevin Weeks, Howie Winter, Pat Nee, Steve Flemmi (sentenced to life in prison but never in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and most likely out and about), and for a while Frank Salemme who was used at trial be federal prosecutor Durham while he should have known Salemme was dissembling about his murders. He too was walking the street with those others until he was finally brought to heal. Add to the Sperrazza, courtesy of the Feds, but not Durham’s fault.
I should mention Catherine Greig. She is finally free of the federal clutches. While they let the murderers get out, she, who never even thought of doing something violent never mind committed a violent act, in 2012 pleaded guilty to using false identities to purchase Whitey Bulger medication, food, run errands and paying the couple’s bills. She was sentenced to eight years and fined $150,000. The probation recommendation was 24 months. She did get the 24 months in 2016 added on top of the eight years for refusing to testify against Whitey. John Martorano had a woman who did the same thing for him for the same number of years and she was never prosecuted. Greig received more than all the others except Martorano who got a little over six months for each of his murders.
Thinking of what Sperrazza said I recalled a post about him so I went looking for it. It was back on October 9, 2013, where I said: “If you go there [referring to the federal Bureau of Prison site] you’ll find out his number is 13696-02163 and that he is a 63-year-old white male. He was released on August 4, 2005, at the age of 55.”
He ended up getting out of prison even though he was sentenced to life without parole because he decided to cooperate with the federal prosecutors. He received the life sentence for his cold blooded murder of Ralph Cirvinale a 22-year-old man when he pulled out a gun and tried to murder another man he was having an argument with. Oh, and he also got life sentences for murdering two 18-year-old young women Karen Spinney and Susan Webster who witnessed him murdering Cirvinale.
Aside from that he murdered a Boston police officer. When he was in prison he admitted murdering the person who was with him when he murdered the young women, John Stokes. Five murders, cooperate with the federal prosecutors by naming another person who was involved in the murders with him, who was not convicted of anything Sperrazza implicated him in with his testimony, and avoid staying in prison for life.
How can the federal government do this? How can it execute some people who murdered less folk than Sperrazza while letting Sperrazza out in defiance of his state court mandate? Where is the equal justice?
Someone wrote that Durham had nothing to do with John Connolly doing time in Florida. That case was tried by Fred Wyshak. I was amazed at that comment. Was not it Durham who was behind making the deals with the people who testified against Connolly? Without those Connolly would not be in prison for life.
Matt
The same weekend we brought attorney John Clarke
to speak at Bates College we brought former cop
Mike Ruppert to speak as well.
https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/22/5881501/the-unbelievable-life-and-death-of-michael-c-ruppert
The unbelievable life and death of Michael C. Ruppert
After decades of struggle, the notorious doomsayer finally found fame and recognition. Then he shot himself.
By Matt Stroud on July 22, 2014 10:30 am
Also see
Matt
We brought attorney John Clarke to speaks at our
conference in 2001 dealing with crimes committed
by FBI agents and their coverup of the Vince Foster
Murder.
See
http://www.fbicover-up.com/
In other newessss….
https://www.foxnews.com/us/houston-police-art-acevedo-invites-laid-off-cops-come-to-houston
Police chief invites laid off cops from defunded departments to ‘Come to Houston’
The city plans to make it easier for out-of-state officers to transfer in
https://www.jta.org/2020/08/19/united-states/fbi-twitter-account-tweets-link-to-files-on-protocols-of-elders-of-zion-sparking-anger-and-confusion
FBI Twitter account tweets link to files on ‘Protocols of Elders of Zion,’ sparking anger and confusion
BY EMILY BURACK AUGUST 19, 2020 4:57 PM
https://www.whistleblowersblog.org/2017/11/articles/intelligence-community-whistleblowers/dr-whitehurst-and-the-fbi-lab-scandal/
Dr. Whitehurst and the FBI Lab Scandal
When Dr. Frederic Whitehurst initially blew the whistle on the systemic forensic fraud in the FBI crime lab, he could never have known it was the start of a lifelong fight for government accountability.
In 1994, he reported his concerns with FBI lab practices internally. It was “alterations of reports, alterations of evidence, folks testifying outside their areas of expertise in courts of law”, said Whitehurst, but “really what was going on was human rights violations. We have a right to fair trials in this country… And that’s not what was going on at the FBI lab.”
After his superiors failed to take any action, he took his concerns to the Department of Justice. Whitehurst faced significant and ongoing retaliation from the FBI, who highly criticized his claims, attacked his credibility, and fired him from his position at the FBI crime lab as chemist and lab supervisor
Matt, stop distorting the facts. It was the Democratic Clinton Justice Department, with Sterns as Boston U.S. Attorney, with Comey and Muellar and Wyshak promoting the “rogue agent” theory, who conducted all the investigations in the 1990s, who made the obscene deals with all the serial killers and with Morris the attempted murderer, and Weeks the accessory to murders . . .all those deals were cut in 1998 and 1999, before John Connolly was indicted and arrested on December 22, 1999.
It was Wyshak who worked with Democratic Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to indict John Connolly in Florida in 2005. These were entirely Democratic operations. Under Sterns, Durham was brought into Boston on December 22, 1999 solely to try the case. Durham had zero to do with the Miami case. Durham had no further role in the Connolly case after September 2002. See, below, Durham’s affidavit submitted to Congress’ Senate Judiciary Committee, stating his role in the Connolly case was from December 22, 1999 to September 16, 2002.
It is always the fault of the Democratic party in power according to all of you Trump lovers who respond to this blog. Lets see what happens when the Senate really digs into the latest report regarding Russian meddling with our elections. Seems like a lot of your Republicans perjured themselves including Trump.
William:
John Durham prosecuted John Connolly. His boss was John Ashcroft. He did the prosecuting it wasn’t the Democrats. If the deals were made by Democrats then he ratified them and worse, used perjured testimony to win his case. Typical Republican actions. From 2001 through 2008 the Republicans controlled the Attorney General’s office. All the trial happened under them. They gave Wyshak the opportunity to go to Florida. They could have stopped it if they thought it was something wrong. They did not do it.
What is it you do not understand that the prosecutions were all done under the Republicans. Don’t you understand that if they did not fully concur and endorse the actions taken by their predecessors they could have changed them. It was Durham who asked for the sentence on Connolly. Sullivan, a Republican, was U.S. Attorney in MA.
Durham saying his role in the Connolly case ended with his sentencing in 2002 is true in so far as it goes. You might recall his mandate was much broader than Connolly. He was to investigate the FBI. If he did we never heard about it. Boston’s U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said after Connolly’s sentencing: “”The conduct of John Connolly, as shown by the evidence at trial, was appalling. The effects have been grave and widespread. The most appalling cost has been loss of life.” Durham said: “”We are going to follow whatever leads we have to their logical conclusions If we find crimes, we will charge them.
That doesn’t sound to me like Durham left the case. Why do you argue against the obvious. The people most responsible for Connolly’s perilous position are Republicans. What has been the party the governors of Florida belong to who have failed to lift a hand for him. Republicans. Connolly has no hope of getting out while Trump is president because he is very anti-FBI so no one would dare cross him. He probably points to Connolly as an example of a corrupt FBI agent. He lets Russian spy Manifort out but does nothing for Connolly.
Matt and others, Please excuse my spelling. I ain’t had much book learnin
251:
Didn’t see too much spelling problems.
Matt, just want to wish you the best with your upcoming book! Can’t wait to read it.
I wish there could be an obviously better part to the ending, you were questioning what
Durham knew about or took part in the plea deals . I would say he knew everything being the attorney he is suppose to be. If anybody was at John Connolly’s sentencing
in Florida or watched on T V they would recall that after judge Blake sentenced John ,
John stood up while on T V and yelled to Whyshak YOU HAD ESCULPATORY EVIDENCE
AND YOU LET ME ROT IN THE HOLE . WHERE IS THAT EVIDENCE? Wyshak
answered ” I gave it to Durham”. Also from what I was told is that Martorano,s plea
deal wastelands one presented to Wolfe by Wyshak and Wolfe refused to sign it because he had just signed several plea deals that let other murders WALK FREE, later.
Wyshak took Mastoranos plea deal and added more so called QUID PRO QUO material to it and
Judge Wolfe signed it. When Martorano was shown this in Florida he said he knew nothing about the addition and none of the names on it. For some reason it never
got in the trial. Not bad results for prosecutors in Boston, several murderers walk and
John Connolly gets Ten years for misdemeanors or minor crimes!!!
The prosecution of John Connolly was done by the Democrats. The Clinton Justice Department under Stern at the behest of Dershowitz initiated it as a means of getting Sen Bulger. The deals were constructed by Wyshak. Clinesmith the lawyer for the FBI just plead guilty to falsifying documents to deceive the FISA Court to issue warrants against Carter Page and the Trump campaign. Wyshak deceived Judge Wolfe into accepting the Martorano deal by claiming it was more widespread than just Whitey. Shouldn’t he suffer the same fate? 2. The people that the Federal government seeks to execute are the Boston Marathon bombers who killed four including a child, maimed 200 and attempted to kill 500. Terrorists, serial killers, cop killers and mass murderers should suffer that fate. If you have no death penalty convicted murderers are free to kill guards or other inmates. Use it sparingly but it’s use is a deterrent. In Thomas Mann’s book the Magic Mountain there is a question why should the murderer live longer than the murdered? 3. If Wolfe had a hearing in September 1999 to assess the Martorano deal the negotiations for that abusive act must have been in progress for months before. Durham wasn’t here then.
NC. Durham and Ashcroft prosecuted Connolly. They are life long Republicans. The governors of Florida turning a deaf ear to Connolly’s imprisonment are Republicans. Trump and Barr who care less about Connolly are Republican.
Durham had nothing to do with the deals, and nothing to do with Miami.
The facts: (1) Globe headline, October 1, 1999: “Mobster pleads guilty to murders
Judge considers Martorano deal
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 10/01/1999” Martorano’s obscenely lenient deal was presented to Judge Wolfe before Durham began working on the John Connolly case.
(2) From John Durham’s sworn affidavit in 2017 before the Senate Judiciary committee. The list of his most significant cases: “United States v. John J. Connolly, et al Criminal No. 99-10428-JLT The Honorable Joseph L. Tauro United States District Court, District of Massachusetts Dates of Representation: December 22, 1999 – September 16, 2002.”
December 22, 1999 is months after the deal with Martorano was presented to Judge Wolfe.
Durham was not on the Connolly case until after Wyshak and his cohorts had cut deals with Martorano.
Durham had left the Connolly case in September 2002, before Wyshak convinced Flemmi to change his seven or eight years of testimony that John Connolly was an honest cop. Wyshak alone worked on Flemmi. Wyshak alone brought Flemmi to Miami to testify. Durham had nothing to do with the Miami case.
Wyshak and his cohorts in Boston, not Durham, were the architects of the obscenely lenient deals with the serial killers.
John Morris was Granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony during 1998 federal court hearings.
Kevin Weeks was arrested on November 19, 1999, and two weeks later had cut his deal to cooperate.
So, Martorano, Morris, and Weeks all had cut their deals prior to Durham coming on board in the U.S. v. Connolly case, December 22, 1999.
And, as said, after Durham ended his involvement in the Connolly case (September 2002), Wyshak elicited new testimony from Flemmi which he used in Miami.
Durham had nothing to do with the Miami case, and nothing to do with the testimony of Wyshak’s witnesses in Miami.
Durham tried Connolly. He presented perjured testimony at his trial. That is the great evil.
The great evil was framing John Connolly for doing what every agent did in handling Top Echelon Informants. Plus, Salemme’s perjury was discovered after trial. The real evil regarding the perjury was Tauro and then the appellate judges refusing to grant Connolly relief after the perjury was established.
William:
The trial lawyer having discovered the perjury of Salemme, or having heard of it, should have conceded that he deserved a new trial. It was not done but the perjury was passed off as if it was not important.
Thanks for your interesting article Matt and I look forward to reading your next book.
1.What was the point of Flemmi getting Weeks to get the names of the informants that were used to bug the Mafia Induction Ceremony in Medford from Connolly?
2. What do you think happened to Jimmy Sims who was a partner to Bulger, Flemmi and Howie Winter before he vanished?
3. Do you think that Flemmi advised Salemme to stay away from the induction ceremony in Medford?
David, thanks for your questions.
1. Fleming, and the others locked up with him in Plymouth, were trying to get the cases against them thrown out. If they could show that the informants were working for the FBI they hoped to show they were not properly identified in affidavits for electronic surveillance and that deception should be enough to invalidate the warrant. This was especially relevant for the Mafia induction ceremony which involved a roaming bug.
2. I have little doubt that he and Joe McDonald had a falling out. Joe either while drunk or possibly even when sober murdered him. The way everyone of the Winter Hill gang just accepted he was no longer around points to that.
3. Salemme said he stayed away because of his injuries received in the Saugus shooting. I believe he was ambulatory at the time and it was expected he would be there. After all he was Junior’s king’s man reporting directly to him. When Salemme read the draft manuscript of John Connolly’s book he thought it read like he was the FBI informant who told them about it. That he wasn’t. But it had to be something very compelling to keep him away. Fleming and Salemme were partners in their own illegal rackets. Whitey was upset about their relationship. Fleming was one of the informants for the FBI on the ceremony. Connolly had tipped him off about other wiretaps. It is likely Fleming gave Salemme the word to stay away