Kevin Cullen has an interesting column in the Boston Globe about Eddie MacKenzie from South Boston who wrote a book telling how he was associated with Whitey Bulger and managed to get it published. It was called. “Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob.”
The book is written by MacKenzie and Phyllis Karas. The latter has found a nice gig for herself co-writing books about Whitey as other authors have done. Another of her books is the one with Kevin Weeks called: “Brutal, Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger’s Irish Mob.” She has an upcoming book about Whitey again with Kevin Weeks called: “Hunted Down: The FBI’s Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger” about which Weeks has little knowledge.
But that hasn’t deterred Karas because Cullen tells us if Whitey is to be believed he met MacKenzie only once and otherwise had nothing to do with him. Which, as I’ve noted before, since both are gangsters you can’t believe either one.
Those who know the slightest bit about the 16 years flight of Whitey know that the FBI’s pursuit of Whitey could be summed up in a few sentences. It would go something like: “FBI agents went to warm areas in the winter and Europe in the summer whenever anyone claimed to have seen him. He was living in Santa Monica,California, during most of this time. When the FBI offered two million dollars for his capture a former actress from Iceland dimed him out.”
There will be little learned from their upcoming book that isn’t already out there. But as Cullen can tell you, the name “Whitey” in a title still can bring in a few bucks. Add to it the words, “Irish Mob,” which didn’t exists during Whitey’s time and you get a few more.
Speaking of fiction, Phyllis is listed as writing the much acclaimed novel: Spellbound (Enchanted Hearts) . It seems to fit into the other books she has written. Here’s a description of it: “Suddenly, magically-thanks to her mother’s new friend, a witch-Emily scores the winning soccer goal and a date with soccer star Brian Walsh. And while Emily’s parents are busy heaping attention on Simon, Emily’s troubled brother, the witch and her handsome warlock son are lavishing Emily with support of supernatural proportions” You won’t want to miss that sleeper.
Cullen does a pretty good job pointing to the many misdeeds of MacKenzie. They actually pale in comparison to what a person, Jan, who used to comment on this blog wrote about. She alleged he was a serial abuser of young girls sort of like a minor league Jeffrey Epstein Alan Dershowitz’s buddy who the local media seems not to have discovered.
Cullen talks a little of MacKenzie’s abuse of young girls in his column but not to the extent that Jan did. She wrote: “MacKenzie has been a darling of the media for years, the local media of which selectively overlooked his history of vicious sexual assaults as did the local law enforcement to include the FBI. Sacrificing the most innocent members in our communities in the name of using a serial sexual assailant as an informant.”
Cullen points out MacKenzie is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Dennis Saylor in the Boston federal court this Friday. He rightly notes that the prosecutors who wrote the 15-page sentencing memorandum must have had to take a shower after doing so because “in those 15 pages are some of the grimiest acts of any criminal in the eastern district of Massachusetts.”
The federal probation office has recommended MacKenzie who pleaded guilty last October to a federal racketeering charge be sentenced to between 8 and 10 years; the prosecutors point to MacKenzie’s long criminal history for which he has mostly avoided any punishment. They have recommended 12 years. Both seem low considering his criminal history and especially when you consider Catherine Greig who committed no crime other than being Whitey’s companion on his 16 year run from the law received 8 years in the same court.
Cullen expects 56-year-old MacKenzie will do enough time that when he comes out he’ll be figuring out how to con Social Security. Let’s hope Cullen’s right. But until this happens, I’m holding my breath. Guys like MacKenzie have a way of conning judges.
12 years is pretty harsh for a friend of the DOJ. Look for this one to be reduced when nobody’s looking. Unless maybe it’s harsh because Eddie embarrassed the DOJ.
Cullen’s article was obviously a puff piece promoting his friends at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, but Cullen (and Hafer) glossed over the most obvious issue….
**How could MacKenzie commit the two decades of heinous crimes listed in the US Attorney’s sentencing memo without running afoul of law enforcement?**
He was not exactly low profile or hard to locate. MacKenzie was a regular celebrity for the local media, despite his known lack of credibility. He had a substantial and serious criminal record by 1990. He was known to be an extremely violent drug dealer, pedophile, con man, burglar, etc., etc.
The answer is simple, MacKenzie was an informant for the DOJ. He had all the appropriate qualifications. In his book excerpt below, he claims he met in a hotel room with AUSA John Pappalardo and FBI Agents Gamel and Sigusa. This was in 1991, when Pappalardo was the First Assistant US Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division. Pappalardo was not a line prosecutor. Soon after, in 1992, he became the U.S. Attorney. Coincidentally, or maybe not, FBI Agent John Gamel’s primary assignment from 1989 to 1996 was to investigate Whitey. http://m.wickedlocal.com/article/20120127/News/301279842
While Mackenzie claims that he only cooperated with DOJ against some Columbians drug dealers in 1991, rumors have long circulated that MacKenzie was the DOJ’s CRI behind Operation Beans. BEANS was the 1990 drug sweep in Southie that netted 50 street level coke dealers and was expected to get Whitey. Whitey himself claimed that he paid an FBI Agent for the identity of the Beans CRI and that’s how he knew it was MacKenzie. Lastly, Whitey claimed that MacKenzie was never used by the DOJ to take down Pablo Escobar’s distributors in California. That was an entire fiction to cover MacKenzie’s local career as an informant for Gamel and Wyshak.
A few facts seem reliable. In 1991, Mackenzie was a violent FBI informant handled by Gamel. Gamel’s primary focus was Whitey. AUSA’s Pappalardo and Wyshak were also primarily targeting Bulger from 1990 – 1996, and arguably still today. MacKenzie went on to lead a long and charmed criminal career….the hallmark of a DOJ informant.
In the end, AUSA Zach Hafer’s sentencing memo has the appearance of harshly piling on MacKenzie. Cullen’s column add’s to the appearance that the DOJ is legitimately throwing the book at MacKenzie. Cullen notes that DOJ asked for more jail time than the probation memo requested. But Judge Saylor has personal ties to Hafer, Judge Wolfe and Wyshak. Wyshak is noticeably absent front the prosecution of his former informant, MacKenzie. This sentencing is scheduled on a slow media Friday. If I was Wyshak, all of this is exactly how I would bag a case while giving the appearance of coming down hard on MacKenzie. It’s a page out of Wyshak’s prosecution of Congressman Tierney’s wife.
We will see what happens, but this entire thing smells awful.
Don,
I agree that many of the true criminals got away, but “The feds” have been punished. Unfortunately, someone decided that John Connolly would personally pay for everything thing that was wrong with the TEI program by spending more time in prison than serial killers. Disgraceful.
Whitey must have been the biggest criminal in history. His girlfriend gets eight years. Bin Laden’s wife is caught and isn’t even arrested. Gotti, Capone, Anguillo, Winter and Salemmi don’t have their wives charged. How many Nazi wives get charged? Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s wife charged? Whitey must have been worse than ISIS and Al Quaeda, The press. DOJ and Federal Judges in Boston are total frauds. What a distorted view of history has been presented.
There are lots of people who got away….. many FEDS, Martorano, Nee, etc.
Well said, Henry and Eyre.
Henry-
Jimmy…even a broken, lying clock is right twice a day. Also think he didn’t want to know every dealer working for him and probably went out of his way to make sure they didn’t know him, apartment Hummel incident notwithstanding
Eddie Mac…Wannabe, sure…opportunistic, over-achieving Wannabe, definitely (building rep off whitey, book, church, insurance scams, etc. etc) You have to admit he is dedicated.
As for Jan’s past utterances, their veracity is unknown and uncorroborated as far as I know. By happenstance, I came in contact with Eddie Mac during my job, on a regular basis for a few months about 8 years ago, when he was serving in his capacity of church official. In professional dealings he was on top of things, and available when needed. In informal meetings with the guys he was funny and likable. I had known who he was and had already read his book. I took it on face value that he had reformed and gotten religious. I guess I was wrong.
Please don’t credit Cullen. The US Attorneys office wrote that one for him again. As usual they use Cullen to influence the federal judges. Not defending Eddie here…I agree Eddie is a creep. If Cullen had any journalistic spine he’d be chasing down the Dershowitz – Epstein story. But that would not serve him as well in his suburban cocktail circles as his phony Southie street guy schtick. Taking on Dershowitz would requires courage. Cullen has none and he is lazy.
Well said !
I think I’ll trust Jimmy on this “as told to” tale. Shelve the book under W for “Wannabe.”