There is one final mystery. A big gap exists in the motion for discovery by Carney & Brennan (C&B). It had to be deliberately created because it represents the gut of the motion. It relates to the relationship between the two major protagonist in this drama: Agent John Connolly and James “Whitey” Bulger.
I’ll talk about this Monday. Today I feel compelled to discuss and highlight another issue which just dawned on me.
I find it curious that on behalf of Whitey C&B are alleging Connolly fabricated Whitey’s his role as an informant. The reason they offer is surprising. It is that the: “Department of Justice Provided Employees Like John Connolly Incentive To Lie About Their Relationships With Organized Crime Figures.”
They point to the benefits Connolly received. They say his actions with his Top Echelon informants were so appreciated by his superiors that they “recommended him for “salary increases, monetary awards. and promotions.” They could have added that Connolly was allowed to attend graduate school at Harvard.
Oddly they quote his corrupt supervisor John Morris. In his evaluation of Connolly he stated, “His performance has been at the level to which all should aspire to attain but few will realistically reach.” Earlier in their motion, C&B pointed out that “Connolly reportedly worked with at least sixteen informants and maybe in excess of twenty. Connolly worked and handled at least eleven of them during the relevant time frame.”
It seems part of C&B’s motion undermines their argument in another part. If Connolly is so good at the job of gaining informants and he has achieved such great success judging from the numbers, why does Connolly have to fabricate Whitey as an informant.
Surely Connolly had would have received as many commendations and awards from his superiors without Whitey. He would not have added Whitey to his stable when it really had no consequence. C&B needed to argue alternatively.
They also assert: “John Connolly needed to cover his illegitimate relationship with James Bulger by making it appear that the relationship was legitimate.” This also doesn’t add up. The whole idea that Connolly “needed to cover” his relationship with Whitey is foolish. The only one who could question it would be in the FBI.
It had implicit trust in Connolly since he had so many informants. It would be unlikely to question him about anything. Even had it, no one outside the FBI would have known about it because it may have caused the family embarrassment.
If in the oft chance Connolly had not listed Whitey as an informant and he was asked about his relationship with Whitey he had the perfect cover. Flemmi. Whitey as Flemmi’s partner was passing on information Flemmi was providing. Flemmi was not carried on the books as an informant even though everyone in the FBI Boston office knew he was one.
In the context of the motion, accusing Connolly of an illegitimate relationship seems wrong. No one ever suggests Connolly had an illegitimate relationship with any other of the more than 20 informants. None of them, except Whitey and his partner Flemmi, ever suggested the relationship was illegitimate.
None of that group ever stated he paid Connolly for information. Flemmi alleges Connolly was paid for information. We know Flemmi and the truth are strangers. Even then, Flemmi never said he handed him any money. He said Whitey paid him, or said that’s what Whitey told him.
None seem to find it odd that the only gangsters who’ve alleged Connolly received money from them are those who were jammed in. None of his other informants even suggested it. If you are a greedy FBI agent on the take you take from everyone.
Look at Connolly’s supervisor John Morris. He dealt with two Top Echelon informant. He admitted he took money and gifts from both of them after he got his deal with the Feds. Connolly is alleged to be corrupt in only one out of twenty times.
When you’re corrupt your corrupt all the way. Things don’t fit on closer inspection.
Matt, Agreed.
Its easy to play the game the way its played now. CI’s, ghost CI’s and secret SOI’s make it easy to establish so called probable cause but your right if you play too fast and loose with the facts you become no better than the bad guys. Then what’s the point ?
You know the ends doesn’t justify the means if your case isn’t real.
Enjoy the blog and your honest perspective.
Notoboyo:
Thanks. I also enjoy your participation.
Above typo……your objective, not our objective
also, you should consider that you stop ‘battering” the authorities who did their job by prosecuting and incarcerating John Connolly. I would say our main objective is the Bulger trial is to look for or create a reason to free John Connolly. If that ever happens, do you think you can get him to talk about the visitation to K.E., the resultant derailing of sexual assault charges on MacKenzie and the continued victimization of young girls by MacKenzie made possible by the FBI, K.E., and the BPD. Like MLK never stopped fighting for justice, I will not stop fighting for justice either regarding the corruption related to MacKebzie, the Bulger cohort and to include the citing of MA Army National Gard soldiers who abused female subordinates. Perhaps in your investigations you can/should help solve the weapons heists at a norfolk county ma army guard armory some years ago that was thought to have had an OC crime connection instead of things unrelated to Ulger but that you seem to like to cite perhaps to fit into your description of everything that was done wrong to John Connolly.
You see, some women consider the souls of young girls and young ladies ripped from their hearts by animals like Bulger cohort MacKenzie, to be relevant and important….much more important than the flashy OC guys who partake of drugs with eachother, kill each other, brandish their guns and get vaidation from their groupie girls & guys and their law enforcement connections/handlers, Yes, some people do consider the souls of innocent young girls much more important and relevant, I’m sorry you do not nor did Kathleen Eckland (K.E.) and boy was she mean about it – some people handed down power get very nasty and k.e. is one of those people whose meanness is supported by the folks related to Bulger and corruption.
God bless the little girls victimized by MacKenzie, especially the little girls who were victimized in his self described “dog room”. The rest of you should all be ashamed of yourselves for letting this happen and claiming it is not relevant.
There are 2 categories of official law enforcement informants, not to be confused with cooperating witnesses which is an enirely different animal.
Documented meaning there names, prints and CI agreement are in official files. This type of CI can be paid for information and is considered an official informant.
The second type are undocumented. These informants still provide info and can be “helped out” in pending or future criminal matters but they can not be paid and are not officially identified as informants (Whitey?)
CI’s are the life blood of modern law enforcement and also one of the biggest problem areas.
Some informants don’t consider themselves informants because they act more like mercenary cops targeting people at the behest of the government (Whitey?).
The CI game has always caused problems here and nationwide. Some noteworthy scandals outside of Whitey was with the BPD.
Detectives were writing affadavits for search warrants based on so called CI’s that never existed. The scandal came to light after BPD Officer Sherman Griffiths was shot and killed during a drug raid in Dorchester. The investigation uncovered the ghost informants and derailed a number of careers.
The Feds also use SOI’s Source of Information who are not considered informants but covert operatives that work cases, provide info, operate undercover and get paid all anonymously with zero oversight. The Feds deny they exist but thats all part of the cover.
As Matt says the cops of today are lazy and don’t want to get down and dirty to do the job. Real undercover work is almost non-existent, most so called UC operations like nearly all of the FBI terrorist investigations are conducted by CI’s and now the secret SOI’s.
All of this leads to abuse and the scandals we now know of will be nothing next to the ones still being covered up.
Matt, I think I choose to fall out of favor with you. You seem to have an attitude like John Connolly had, and look like at where that got him. It’s incredibly horrible for you to have no regard for the many young girls who were sexually abused by Bulgers cohort and to falsely claim it is not related. The only reason it’s not publicly disclosed is due to corruption and you prefer to support that notion.
I do believe John Connolly is right where he belongs.
Jan:
You want to cover MacKenzie, I choose not to. You think Connolly belongs in jail. I don’t. I don’t ask that anyone agree with me. I’m interested in the discussion of matters relating to Whitey.
I don’t hold Whitey responsible for the sins of MacKenzie. I read MacKenzie’s book. He’s not a nice person. You tell me he’s done lots of horrid things. I have no reason to doubt you.
I don’t want people writing about the Iraq war, local politics, North Korea, the Catholic Church, March Madness, their favorite meal or restaurant, or other things only tangentially touching this blog. William Connolly who I have edited quite severely made the percipient observation that someone has to call the tune. He has many things he would like to write about that I have edited out. He hasn’t resorted to pique but understands I have to keep the the discussion within limits so that the music is understandable.
MacKenzie, who was frequently at Bulger’s abode hitting the heavy bag amongst other things is related to the Bulger case as are the corrupt authorities who allowed MacKenzie to walk, repeatedly, a cell and a prison dentist are in order for them. Many of you have misogynistic tendencies where young girls brutalized by the Bulger gang are considered to be an irrelevant topic according to you, inconsequential, however, the self perceived big shot guys are always of primary importance…now, what does O’Brien have to do with Whitey Bulger?? K.E. loved the association, made her queen for the day(s).
Notoboyo:
Good comment. you made me reflect upon the past. When I worked with informants they were all of the one category which is they weren’t documented in any way. None of the police forces I worked with felt secure enough to put that information down in writing. The cops would take the steps to protect themselves by making it known to one other cop who they trusted who their informants are. No paper trail provided safety.
I’d say I never met an informant but one detective I used to talk with recently tells me he did bring a guy to my office who was one of his major informants. After he did his best to refresh my memory of the conversation I vaguely recollected it. WE never played around with ghost informants or any deceptive tactics. It was too dangerous and I never wanted to lose my credibility. Once you slip over the line then you become no better than the gangsters. I always kept in mind that if I did anything wrong and a gangster learned of it I’d also be totally compromised and unable to do my job.
When we used the informants I tried to ensure there were ways to check his information with the old type police work involving surveillance and going through records. During the time I was running these operations we never lost a case where we executed a search or even a warrantless search. I know there is a way to do it right but it does require a lot of effort.
The secret to the successful use of informants is to have good cops working with you. I was lucky and had guys who liked the job and liked the chase and were willing to do the work. It would never feel good to use the wrong means to get someone since you never want to become like the person you are after.
Matt, perhaps one could argue that Conley was another Annie Dookhan? How do we know we his other informants are real?
Asking, not stating.
Ernie:
There’s only one Annie Dookhan. I don’t know yet if she will go on the POOF Hall of Fame. She certainly created havoc in the system which the last time I read about it they were still trying to figure out what to do. It’s because her actions had such profound effect that she may not be eligible for membership. The charges against her seem to be a little bit overdone. She never could have done what she did if there was proper oversight. I see her as more of a jamoke than a criminal. I always found her type case the most difficult to handle. I’m sure she didn’t understand the consequences of her actions yet the harm she caused, both financially, in wasted time, and probable undermining valid cases, mounts up into the tens of millions of dollars. The public will want its pounds of flesh. But what do you accomplish by putting her in prison? I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.
We know some of Connolly’s informants are real. He ran both Flemmi and Mercurio. Both were significant players. We’ll pass on Whitey for now. Your question is a good one. We really will never know whether he had as many as some claim or no more than two or three. That information the FBI keeps to itself.
What does Annie Dookhan have to do with Whitey Bulger? Dookhan never met the man…..MacZkenzie was one of his enforcers. If John Connolly says he is not the agent who visited K.E. then you should suggestbto hiscatty. that J. Connolly sign an affidavit stating that.
Jan:
I’ve covered Annie Dookham last year. I do sometimes talk of other subjects as they relate to the Massachusetts justice system. I don’t think battering MacKenzie adds much to the blog so I choose not to do it.
You refer to sex offender as being battered when citing his crimes for which the MA justice system has never held him accountable for? Wow…. Are you sure you have no familiarity with who in the Norfolk county court allegedly let sexual assault charges against him go unanswered for? You sure you don’t know who MacKenzie is or Fallon? I don’t think you’re doing John Connolly any favors or O’Brien with some of your statements.
Not sure if you noticed my comment in yesterday’s post – Regarding regarding your omitting of some names – you explained you omitted K.E.’s name because you you do not know her, however, you also explained you did know the Fallon’s or Boyle family name, yet you never omitted their names. People like K.E. have been just as calculating, devious and criminal as some of the others.
Above was supposed to read “explained you did not know the Fallons or Boyle family….”