Yesterday we learned that two Boston Globe reporters have written a book that’s coming out this week.: “Whitey Bulger: America’s Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice.”
These reporters have been covering the events surrounding Whitey for many years but they’ve been working for the Boston Globe during this period of time. What we will be getting is the stereotypical Whitey that has already been given to us by other Boston newspaper people like Globe reporters Lehr and O’Neill who wrote the flawed Black Mass and Howie Carr the Herald columnist who wrote the fiction The Brothers Bulger and the life story of the killer John Martorano called the Hitman.
The theme will not vary from the same-old, same-old surface analysis of Whitey which has become the accepted belief of the general public because of its repetition. It will tell us what the other gangsters have told us about Whitey and will do its best to implicate Billy Bulger, his brother, in Whitey’s being enabled to carry on his criminal life, a mistruth the Globe insists on perpetuating. I say this because a glance at the article shows off to the side above two pictures of Whitey in a little box set aside for emphasis the statement: “The book describes how a rebellious Bulger grew to realize the importance of political influence.” All one can take from that is it is just another of the Boston Globe’s attempt to carry on the smear Billy Bulger.
In a strange move the Globe has the authors of the book review their own book. They inform us, as I just suggested that this is more Globe-speak, the story was written “with editorial support from The Globe” It will be protective of the prosecutors and the FBI since they rely on them for tips and stories. (One of the authors was leaked Billy’s secret grand jury testimony.) How then will we get anything from it other than what we have already heard about Whitey?
After rehashing much of what is out there, the authors have ventured into other areas, one of which is new and others not previously carried in Black Mass because they are of a recent origin. The new item that is emphasized is the letters that have been written by Whitey to a former convict, 81-year-old Dick Sunday who Whitey served time with in Atlanta and Alcatraz. Dick Sunday, we’re told is a “highly decorated” Army private, sort of like Stevie Flemmi. Dick states he was innocent of the rape charges he was convicted of while in Korea.
Reminds me of the exchange between Andy Dufrensne and Red in Shawshank Redemption. Andy asks Red what he is in for and Red says murder. Andy then asks, “Innocent?” Red replies shaking his head, “Only guilty man in Shawshank.” A line Red would later use again when telling another prisoner who protests his innocence, “You’re going to fit right in. Everyone in here is innocent.”
Once a convict ever looking for a con. Dick first wrote to Bulger and they became pen pals. The first thing that came to my mind was to wonder how much money Dick stuck-up the Globe for to give them the letters? We’re not told.
Then I wondered why Whitey would write to him about his actions. He had to know they would see the light of day. Of course the letters are all self-serving nonsense. Whitey portrays himself as the “good guy” surrounded by evil outsiders. He is being kept locked up 23 hours a day and some of his free meals aren’t at the proper temperature. They are the usual complaints of prisoners who seem not to understand they are in prison.
Yet they do point out Whitey’s dilemma. He has no case. No one is going to believe a thing he says. For the first time I began to think that Whitey is not going to testify at trial. If it hasn’t already, it will dawn on him that no one is going to believe his testimony just like no one believes anything self-serving that he wrote in his letters to Dick.
Kevin Weeks early on after Whitey was arrested said Whitey would not testify because he’d not want to subject his family to further embarrassment. I pooh-poohed his suggestion saying Whitey will want to tell his tale. Now I think Kevin is right. Whitey’s testimony will be ridiculed and he’ll become a laughing-stock figure. For as long as his trial lasts, he will wrongfully subject his family to the slings and arrows of an outrageous press.
I suggest this because I was intrigued by the comment in the article that Whitey said he offered to plead guilty to 19 murders “including some he says he did not commit.” I’m assuming that comes from one of his letters to Dick Sunday. If it exists that’s a nice bit of evidence for the prosecutors. I can see Freddy Wyshak or Brian Kelly standing up to begin cross-examination. He’ll hold up the letter containing that statement which will have been admitted into evidence. He’ll read those emphasized words, He’ll then say, “Now Mr. Bulger, lets talk about those murders that you admitted you committed!”
Case over! We know the immunity defense will not go to the jury because it has no basis in fact; and we know that if Whitey admits to murdering people he’ll be sitting in a cell in ADX, Florence, Colorado, before the summer is out. He apparently is unhappy with his Plymouth cell and wishes he was back at Alcatraz but when he gets to ADX he’ll think Plymouth was a bit of happiness.
Since the topic of the day is new books on the Bulger situation, has anyone else read RICO the new ebook available from Amazon telling H Paul Rico’s side of the affair?
I don’t agree with all of it but I think it deserves to be read and considered since this site ( and kudos to you Matt) has evolved to be one where the known “facts” of the case are reviewed with a critical eye.
For the record I believe John Connolly was a crooked FBI agent who was properly convicted in both Boston and Miami. I also think that WB committed many although not of the murders laid at his door. I’ve read everything posted on this site and respect the opinions of those who disagree with me but disagree we must.
As far as Paul Rico, I never had anything to do with him in Boston (I was about 15 yoa when he left for Miami). I did meet and interact with him and associated Miami FBI S/A’ s in Miami in the early to mid1980’s re the Callahan murder. In RICO his actions are attributed to his loyalty to World Jai Alai. Being there, I disagree.
JHG:
Did not read the book. Did you read Rico’s testimony before the Congressional committee? He went in without a lawyer and against his lawyer’s advice and told the Committee ask me anything you want. He gave back as good as he got without conceding a point. Thanks for telling me about it, I’ll have to read it. Rico’s been routinely smeared everywhere, and I’m not free from being part of it, so I should read another view.
I have Connolly rightfully convicted in Boston but have problems with the Florida matter, as I’ve explained. I know your point of view and respect it but as you suggest, and we have the right to do this in America, we can disagree. I’ve no doubt Whitey killed some of the people but not all of them. Up until where I cut off in my narrative around 1974 I have a reasonable doubt he committed any murder but I’ll go forward analyzing the others when I get back to my review.
Thanks again for telling me about the book.
Bill:
Great assessment of all these reporter/authors. Matt also has a good point about the prosecutors. US Attorneys in MA are prohibited by state ethic rules from commenting publicly on the credibility of witnesses and defendants. Therefore they pay Cullen, Carr and Murphy handsomely with free copy and illegally leaked evidence to conduct their robust smear campaign. The US Attorneys’ tactic with reporters is quite the same as it is with “cooperating witnesses” like Martorano. They simply lock a pillar of moral fortitude like Martorano in a tiny cell until he starts “proffering” the type of evidence they want. The more he “proffers” what the prosecutor wants, the more freedom and cash he will receive. They say watching legislation being made is like watching sausage being made. In Boston Federal Court, watching evidence being made is like watching a newspaper article being made. Shelley Murphy probably figured things out a little bit faster than Martorano. That’s why the US Attorney leaked Billy Bulger’s grand jury testimony directly to Shelley Murphy. That US Attorney already knew how ethically uninhibited she is when there is a buck on the table.
The DOJ has been using Lehr and O’Neil, two other Globe journalists for decades. The first assignment Lehr and O’Neil were given by the DOJ was to disclose to the world that Whitey was an informant so he would be murdered. Judge Wolf concluded that Morris’s intent of the disclosure to the Globe was a murder conspiracy. Has the SOL run on that conspiracy to murder? If not, Lehr and O’Neil could end up in jail. It’s sickly ironic that the statute blew 30 years ago on the charge John Connolly is in jail for. Lehr was once asked in public if the Globe ever hesitated to consider the impact of printing Morris’s story. His response was “No, we felt it was a viable story.” More irony in his word selection.
The corruption of evidence and news reporting in this case is the inevitable result of the US Attorney’s absolute power. The US Attorney can get anyone to do anything for them because everyone must act to please them. Reporters are supposed to be the safeguard against the government. Unfortunately, even reporters suffer the same frailties as the rest of humanity. They suffer from desires for money, fame, and even power.
It’s in this regard that Cullen and Murphy are simply toadies for Wyshak. The primary role Wyshak has for these stooges is creating a false reality in the court of public opinion like he has created with his purchased testimony inside the courtroom. Particularly telling is that in each of the Globe pieces in which they pimp their fiction, they repeat “we were trying to be objective”, “we were trying to be fair to Whitey”. They doth protest too much. These two fattys have made a living selling Wyshak’s smut for twenty years and they never had to do any work. Now they are simply cashing in on a larger scale to publicize Wyshak’s spin and smear before the trial. This gravy train is pulling into the station in June. Afterward, Wyshak and company are going to shut this operation down and pray that none of their “witnesses” or “reporters” forgets where their bread was buttered. He wants this case closed fast and never spoken of again. There was one rogue FBI Agent, one evil gangster and that’s all their is to the story!
If any of these authors were serious about finding the truth, they wouldn’t be relying on Martorano, Flemmi, and Weeks. They’d be digging into the many variations of the stories these guys “proferred”. How can any real journalist not even inquire about the mystery back seat shooter!? Good thing at least one blogger is looking at the evidence with some objectivity.
The history of the DOJ is replete with examples of their energetic smear machine and their ownership of unethical journalists. There are uncanny parallels to their current campaign against Connolly and the Bulgers. By way of an anecdote, one of J. Egdar Hoover’s first publicity coups was the commercial branding of John Dillinger, “Public Enemy Number One.” Hoover followed up with television PSA advertisements touting the “integrity” of his agency. The DOJ has continuously worked to control their public image. That image is critical to them being able to remain above the law. The consequences for doing anything to tarnish that image are severe, but someone already wrote about that.
Patty:
Don’t have too much to add to your good observations. It made me realize that if you or I wrote about what it was like in the newspaper business we would have very little credibility; but it doesn’t seem to bother anyone that people with no experience in law enforcement or prosecution can opine on what they think happened. That’s why going through their tales as if one was getting ready to present evidence at trial one begins to see the huge holes in all their stories. Wyshak and his newspaper buddies do want the story to end with Whitey. What about all the statements that they made that the investigation was in its early stage and there would be more indictments of FBI officers. Nothing happened. Unfortunately, the Globe and Herald have relinquished their function as independent bodies looking for the truth but have settled on a story and continually wash each others hands so that no one deviates from the party line. Yes, the DOJ violated the law by leaking information to Murphy for the specific purpose of embarrassing Billy Bulger but since they are all involved in a common enterprise they are exempt from scrutiny. Thanks for setting out some of the problems in you usual lucid manner.
Billy Bulger is to the Boston Globe and Howie Carr what the White Whale was to Captain Ahab; the Globe writers and Carr have been psychologically maimed by Billy’s indifference to them over the years; they have a “quenchless feud” with a phantom of their deranged imaginations; they’ve long been envious and resentful of his intellectual and moral strengths; they’re obsessed with him; they have a mental affliction that has no cure; all you can do for those lost souls is pray for them.
Bill:
You forgot the federal prosecutors who also are afflicted with the same psychological state. There are more worthy causes to pray for than them.
I agree with you 100% on your take on the media, but I still think that he will testify. He truly has nothing to lose. The family name? Forget about it, it is too far gone. The trial is going to drag them all through the mud anyway, especially his brother. It is disgraceful how that guy’s reputation has been destroyed by these “writers.”
Pam:
I don’t know how Whitey thinks at times. If I were in his position I’d think by now he realizes that he’s never getting out of jail. His trial will just help those people who have been his enemies make more money off his existence. They’ll mock anything he says. So all Whitey has left for him is to cling to his cell in Plymouth knowing that as bad as that is it the best he’s going to have. I don’t even know if they let prisoners from ADX write letters.
But if he is the real stand up guy he’s got to do the following: Just before the trial fire his lawyers and go pro se. This will cause confusion and drag out the matter a little longer. Then he has to act as his own counsel but refuse to show up in court. He has to definitely instruct his lawyers they are not to cross-examine or do anything else on his behalf. Any participation by him in the trial he should recognize is futile. Let the gangsters witnesses come on with their lies since he can’t do anything about it. Let the government go through its case without him. He has to recognize that he’s doomed and condemned already, there’s nothing he can do about it, he can only minimize his family’s discomfort. That is all that is left for him to do. By testifying he enriches and plays into the hands of his enemies. His tale is written. He cannot change it.
Matt, have Wyshak and other federal prosecutors dutifully ordered their copies of these books? They have to make sure they act in lockstep with the Globe’s version of history. It’s a two-way street: the Globe feeds the prosecutors info and the prosecutors feed the Globe info. Both do each other’s bidding and justice gets buried in the process. The first versions of Black Mass ((c) 2000, 2001 and 2012) appeared right before Connolly’s 2002 trial. It seems that, once again, Globe writers are trying to influence judicial proceedings.
Whatever happened to that investigatin of the leak of Bill Bulger’s grand jury testimony by federal prosecutors? I thought both Congress and the DOJ were going to get to the bottom of that. That leak occured the week before Bill Bulger was to testify before Congress. Why hasn’t the Globe Spotlight Team zeroed in on that travesty? More coverups from our government! More coverups and malicious spin from the Boston Globe. We’ve come to expect it!
I remember how the Globe hammered the Veterans during the St. Pat’s Day Parade case. When the Veterans won a historic unanimous (9-0)verdict on that First Amendment Free Speech case at the US Supreme Court, no one from the Globe wrote a book about it. In fact, as I’ve mentioned, the Globe called for a “boycott” of the parade. Beyond that when an authoritative, acclaimed book was written about the Parade case, exposing the intellectual rot in the Massachusetts judiciary, the Globe did not even mention the book. Lawyers Weekly had full page stories and full page op-ed pieces on the book. Not one word from the Globe.
The Globe buries facts it doesn’t like, and slants everything else. For forty years Globe writers have maliciously smeared Bill Bulger and the people of South Boston. As you know better than most, it began with the forced busing issue in the 1970s. Everyone in South Boston who opposed force busing was painted as a racist. Now, of course, Whitey Bulger is painted as a racist and a leader in the opposition to forced busing. Previously the Globe painted him as a homosexual and a seducer of Catholic high school girls, who wandered into his bar. Theh Globe writers report that Whitey even said something negative about President Obama: that’s worse than a mortal sin, worse than a child taking a vanilla ice cream cone from Whitey.
The lesson from history is to take everything the Globe says and Globe writers say with a grain of salt. Remember the Globe is owned by the New York Times. The NYT has a statue of the nefarious Walter Duranty in its lobby: your readers may recall reading how Duranty visited Russia and the Ukraine in the early 1930s and denied widespread famine was occuring in the Ukraine when seven to ten million Ukrainians were starving to death under Stalin’s forced famine. Also remember the NYT praised the Pope during World War II for being “a voice in the wilderness” speaking out on behalf of the persecuted peoples in Europe and after World War II praised the Pope for saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. Then, forty years later the New York Times re-wrote history by accusing the Pope of doing nothing and “being silent” during World War II.
The Globe did the same thing with Connolly and the FBI: In books, “Underboss” by Oneil and Lehr, and in numerous articles Globe writers praised the FBI for putting the top Mafia guys in jail. Then a decade or two later .. . well, we know the rest of the story.
I bet a dollar to a dime Whitey does testify. At 84, what’s he got to lose? He might admit to some murders, but claim they were in self defense. Certainly the Mullins gang tried to kill him several times. He might make Weeks, Flemmi and Martorano out to be liars. Who do you believe? Martorano or Bulger? Flemmi or Bulger? The jury might get confused. Whitey might say he paid off Morris but not Connolly. He might testify for four days under direct examination, get his version of events out, then clam up on cross-examintion or say he’s too sick to continue. What penalty would he face? Contempt of court? A perjury charge? Will they waterboard him in the courtroom to confirm the Globe’s version of events? We’ll know in June! The Circus continues!
Bill:
I saw in the Herald in Howie Carr’s column. Did you read what I just said? Does it strike you that something is wrong? Since when has Howie Carr ever had a good word for anyone at the Globe. All of a sudden he’s giving a plug to a book by Globe writers. Of course, Howie has to do that because he too has made money of the Billy Bulger is evil myth even going to suggest that the FBI hired Whitey as an informant because it knew Billy who was in his fourth year in the Senate would become a power broker and be able to give the FBI agents jobs.
Howie tells us other scandalous things about the Bulgers which he took from the Lehr and O’Neil fiction for instance, Whitey used racial epithets and had FAther Drinan on his payroll. But most shocking, worse than the fact there was gambling going on at Rick’s Café Americain, is Billy and Whitey are not 100% Irish. Howie as usual exaggerates. He says their father’s mother was English. Horror of horror. It’s worth the price of the book just to read about that. Then there’s the absolutely unbelievable tale that Catherine Greig and Whitey communicated with each other through Whitey’s niece. Don’t let the prosecutors know about that they’ll come up with some obstruction of justice charge against her.
The little I see that Howie wrote about the new book is it would be better labeled not as a bombshell but as a bomb. It’s title should be “Whitey: Scandalous Stories and Rumors You May Not Have Heard.”
Of course the feds will buy it, they’ll want to read how clever they were.
As I mentioned in my post today the Globe has an agenda to smear Billy Bulger over and over again. It has to do this because its initial attack on him was wrong and it is attempting to hide its malfeasance in nonsense stories like Father Drinan not telling anyone he was part of Whitey’s gang. I’m glad I got involved in this because there is so little truth in what these others are putting out it show how the people can be fooled. Imagine having a major newspaper, four of its reporters, and another newspaper and its star reporter and a myriad of federal prosecutors all trying to prove Billy Bulger was corrupt and coming up with a letter from his 31 year old brother congratulating him for his election. I hope some people at some point understand how these people created a make believe monster and are continually trying to keep it up with their endless lies.