Whitey: The Joe Berlinger Film: How Can You Say Whitey Is Not An Informant When It Is So Obvious He is One

Are you convinced Whitey was not an informant? Then let’s consider this.

When John Morris testified at the Connolly trial he said that he met on nine or ten times with Whitey, and Stevie Flemmi for social gatherings. He said they always came together along with John Connolly the FBI agent. Nick Gianturco, another FBI agent who  met with them, said pretty much the same thing when he testified about meeting them for dinner suggesting it is better for three people to come in one car rather than having four cars show up at a place. FBI supervisor James Ring would also socialize with them as would Agent Dennis Condon.

Agent Robert Fitzpatrick told how he went to Whitey’s condo in Quincy to meet with him. The purpose of the meeting was to see whether what Whitey was providing to the FBI was such to keep him as a Top Echelon Informant. That was the meeting where Whitey said he was not an informant. It was also the meeting where Agent Connolly was lurking in the background to support Whitey. Fitzpatrick told us how he was upset Connolly was there. Strangely, he never said anything to Connolly about it but chastised Connolly’s supervisor Morris who drove him to the meeting. The real question is why did Whitey agree to meet with him if he wasn’t an informant?

And another thing, doesn’t it seem Connolly is around Whitey quite a lot.

On October 17, 1984, James A. Ring, the supervisor of the FBI’s organized crime squad in Boston wrote a memorandum noting about Whitey and Stevie that “Both of these informants are in the constant company of each other, and when contacts are made . . . both sources are generally present.” It confirms what Morris says.

We know from Weeks among others that sometimes Whitey met alone with Connolly. When he didn’t do that, he met with him with Flemmi. No one has told that I can recall of Connolly meet alone with Flemmi.

We know that Flemmi was the source of information about the Mafia to Connolly. How is it Whitey would not know Flemmi is an informant if the only time Flemmi talked to Connolly was when he was in his presence.

That’s all good stuff to question Whitey’s claim. The real clincher though, is that memorandum back on 11/25/80 from SAC Sarhatt about his interview at a hotel with Whitey.

This is the memo Attorney Brennan made much ado about in Berlinger’s  documentary. He pointed to the last paragraph of the memo that the FBI wanted to hide and when it released the memo it had covered it up.  What was left out read: “OBSERVATIONS I am not certain that I am convinced that informant is not telling the full story of his involvement  At such time as we no longer need his information concerning another sensitive matter, consideration should be made to closing him and  on making him a target.”

I don’t see where that helps Whitey prove he was not an informant; it seems it is proof that he is and the FBI is protecting him.

There were other events occurring at that time. Sarhatt knew Jeremiah O’Sullivan was working with John Morris’s organized crime squad in preparation for a wiretap on Anguilo and Baione which would begin in January 1981. SAC Sarhatt after the interview of Whitey wanted to see if there would be a downside to closing Whitey. O’Sullivan asked/told him not to do it as his information is crucial to the wiretap. O’Sullivan according to the memo said “there was sufficient justification for continuing him regardless of his current activities to be able to prosecute LCN members.”  Agent Morris and others said that was not true. The were already prepared to do the wiretap without any information from Whitey or Stevie. The affidavit had been completed without them.

All that is an aside on the issue of informant. What tells is that Whitey spend 4 hours with SAC Sarhatt who set up the meeting to determine whether he should be kept on as an informant. According to Sarhatt Whitey explained why he was giving the FBI information (warm feeling to Rico, close feelings with Connolly, hatred of Mafia.) He told him the State Police were aware of his informant role; Whitey didn’t deny it. He said no one would believe it and he still wanted to continue being an informant.He reports Whitey also said if he’s killed it will because of the “vendetta” (his favorite word) between the Mafia and his gang who hate but tolerate each other and not because he is an informant.

If Whitey were not an informant, why is he even meeting with these top FBI guys who are trying to decide whether to protect him or target him. Is it possible Connolly told him that he would have to pretend he was if Connolly was going to continue to meet with him and pass on the information?  That could be but its doubtful.

I suppose the clincher for me is that Stevie was an informant; it is hard to see how Whitey would not know that. We are supposed to believe he  knows everything, is constantly on the alert, and a master criminal but he missed Stevie being an informant. I doubt it. He said no one was closer to him than Stevie. Given that was the case, how would he not have known and gone along with it?

 

15 Comments

  1. Bravo!! Excellent article! You nailed it!

    If anyone knows where Whitey’s money is, my money is on Jackie Bulger.

    Regards,
    Brian

  2. Re: Flemmi rule 35 motion from his Florida plea – has the usao made any ruling on that rule 35 for the reduced sentence? Also, he’s in some type of club fed but have we deciphered exactly where he is currently held? (Not in BOP custody)

    • JIM- Flemmi is buried somewhere in the system, wondering why it is impossible to find anything on him as of late. I began looking at his properties around Ma and it seems alot of it got transferred to his son and other individuals, it is impossible to get a clear idea on what FED playground he is relaxing at.

      • shit, makes sense. I’d read about his son “reconnecting” with his father / guy that killed his sister. Those properties must of been a major factor in that reconnection.

      • Doubting:

        I expect he is well hidden –

    • Jim:

      During Whitey’s trial Wyshak would not commit that Flemmi would never get a deduction in his sentence. If there is a need for a Rule 35 motion it may not come until after Whitey dies. In the meantime Flemmi may already be doing his sentence in some vacation spot – he certainly is not doing any hard time since he has conned the prosecutors, as have most of the criminals, into going to bat for him.

  3. Hi Matt and do you think that it profited Bulger to play both the FBI and the Mafia like his his associate Flemmi?

    Did Jimmy the Bear Flemmi recruit his younger brother Stevie into the top echelon informant program?

    • David:

      Fairly certain that Vincent “Jimmy” Flemmi is the younger of the two brothers, not the other way around.

    • David:

      It profited Bulger to befriend Connolly absolutely. Both he and Flemmi benefited greatly from that. Bulger never played off against the Mafia as much as Flemmi did since he did not have access to that information.

      I believe Stevie was the oldest brother. He had a lot to do with his brother Vincent “Jimmy the Bear” helping out the FBI since he was working with it at the time. While Vincent was in prison FBI agents Condon and Rico recommended him as an FBI informant even though they knew he wa a murderer and planned to continue that profession.

  4. Matt

    If Whitey was an informant then Mark Felt
    was an informant. a top echelon informant

    Lets face it.
    You are trekking towards the truth
    Main Stream Media is trying to sell you something

    In other news

    The Washington Post is the official Public Relations firm representing the FBI
    in Wasington DC.

    After all that is where deep throat went to exposè Watergate when Nixon
    passed him over for promotion.

    Also note the Washington Post and the rest of MSM Nain Steam Media
    were conspicously absent from covering the 1999 Memphis Trial of the Century
    where attorney William Pepper was able to convince the jury FBI agents had murdered
    Martin Luther King.

    Yes FBI agents also assassinated President Kennedy
    and his brother Robert Kennedy.

    Shhhh! Don’t let any of the Militia Groups and
    Patriot Groups hear about this.
    The might occupy the men’s room at Disneyworld in protest.
    Besides they are busy now working for the Koch brothers
    trying to force Congress to open up Wildlife Refuges
    for Koch Brothers and Exxon Mobil drilling.

    couple of reads
    you do know what to do?

    1.

    Letters to the Editor
    FBI agents place their lives on the line for Americans

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fbi-agents-place-their-lives-on-the-line-for-americans/2016/01/04/cf71b9ac-b0b1-11e5-b281-43c0b56f61fa_story.html

    January 4 at 5:28 PM

    Regarding Frank Askin’s Jan. 1 Washington Forum commentary, “Thanks for the surveillance, J. Edgar”:

    The FBI gained greater authority to investigate civil rights matters with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After the law’s enactment, investigations revealed that the Soviet KGB, using the Communist Party USA, had infiltrated the civil rights movement in an effort to disrupt U.S. domestic stability and negatively influence U.S. foreign policy.

    FBI special agents dedicated their lives to ensure that the movement was not deterred nor covertly influenced by foreign intelligence services; I would have sacrificed my life to further the movement’s cause. Under the leadership of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and directors after him, FBI special agents did and continue to place their lives on the line every day to guarantee the constitutional rights of all Americans without fail.

    David A. Espie, Crofton

    The writer is a retired FBI special agent.

    2.

    Who Killed Robert Kennedy? by Philip Melanson

    Far fewer are aware that the investigation into Robert Kennedy’s death was … With the FBI’s assistance, they spent the next fourteen months investigating the murder. … The files made it clear that the LAPD had engaged in a massive cover-up, …
    RFK assassination witness tells CNN: There was a second shooter …
    http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/28/justice/california-rfk-second-gun/
    Apr 30, 2012 – RFK assassination witness comes forward 06:24. Nina …. Rhodes-Hughes tells CNN the FBI’s eight-shot claim is “completely false. ….. of other witnesses which confirms the existence of the cover-up efforts,” he told CNN.
    The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination: New Revelations on the … › Books › History › Americas › United States
    A reexamination of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy presents new … F. Kennedy Assassination: New Revelations on the Conspiracy and Cover-Up, …. and, the official investigation authorities (LAPD, FBI) covered up evidence that …

    3

    Deep Throat (Watergate) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Deep Throat is the pseudonym given to the secret informant who provided …. At least one of the men was a former Central Intelligence Agency employee. …. Felt was also embittered at having been passed over for Director of the FBI and …
    FBI’s No. 2 Was ‘Deep Throat’: Mark Felt Ends 30-Year Mystery of …
    ..
    Jun 4, 2012 – Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The … fresh from the suburbs to a man whom many FBI agents considered the best … Wounded that he was passed over for the top job, furious at Nixon’s …
    Watergate’s Deep Throat, Mark Felt, dies – The Guardian
    Mark Felt
    Dec 19, 2008 – Mark Felt, better known as Deep Throat – the mysterious FBI source behind the … bitter at being passed over when Nixon appointed an FBI outsider and confidante, … into Watergate, may have been acting as a double agent.
    W. Mark Felt, “Deep Throat,” Dies At 95 – CBS
    Dec 19, 2008 – 2 At FBI Kept The Nation Guessing Over Watergate For Almost 30 Years. … passed over career agents including Felt when he selected loyalist …
    W. Mark Felt, Watergate’s Deep Throat, dies – NBC News

    Dec 19, 2008 – W. Mark Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as … off reporters to the Watergate scandal that toppled a president, has died. … The FBI agent would scrawl a time to meet on page 20 of Woodward’s copy … at being passed over when Nixon appointed an FBI outsider and confidante, …
    Ex-FBI official: I’m ‘Deep Throat’ – NBC News
    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8047258/ns/us…/t/ex-fbi-official-im-deep-throat/
    Jun 1, 2005 – Washington Post confirms claim by agency’s former deputy director … “I’m the guy they used to call Deep Throat,” Felt, the former No. … Hoover as FBI director after Hoover’s death, but was passed over by Nixon for the job.

  5. Waiting for Matt to announce his own conclusions. Also, Matt, what’s your take on Catherine Greig’s decision to plead guilty to a contempt charge? Is there a deal in the works, or have the feds finally decided to stop torturing this woman?

    • Dan:

      I missed that but have caught up. I’m surprised to tell you the truth. Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, had her plead guilty the first time and she walked into a buzz saw. I don’t think there is a deal. We’ll have to see what the feds are going to recommended but I’d guess it is another five years or more. They are desperate to get her to talk and may continue this fiasco forever having her die in prison. It will be up to the federal judiciary to see how much it will go along with the federal prosecutors attempt to bury her. I don’d believe there is any intention on the part of the federals to stop torturing her but her admant refusal to cooperate is torturing them.

    • Dan:

      I notice a status conference is scheduled for 1/13 at 2:00 for Greig – there is also a date of 1/19 for a response to be filed. Will have to watche that.

  6. Matt
    ALL of these meetings Whitey Bulger had with known law enforcement now leads me to believe was an informant.

  7. Matt
    Based on this post it would seem you would conclude Whitey was an informant. It seems you are flip flopping, no. You make a strong case for Whitey being an informant on one hand and then a very strong case he was not an informant. Couldnt a real possibility be that Whitey Bulger was giving information to Connolly and/or Morris but never agreed “in principle” to being an informant. That would be Machiavellian, no? Playing both sides. Or perhaps Whitey was an informant for periods of his criminal carrer when it suited him and/or the Feds (Connolly and Morris)