The result of Flemmi’s testimony that he had been authorized to commit crimes by the FBI agent had the potential to do two compelling things: it would undermine the prosecutor’s case alleging a conspiracy among the gangsters because you cannot conspire with a government agent which Flemmi was alleging that he was; it also brought tremendous embarrassment to the FBI. As I’ve shown over the years the worst thing an FBI agent can do, even worse than being a spy for an enemy, is to embarrass the FBI. (See book: “Don’t Embarrass the Family.”)
The prosecutor believed he had to come up with testimony to counter Flemmi’s allegation. He had two choices: retired agent John Connolly or his supervisor retired agent John Morris. Both men had contact with Whitey and Flemmi.
During 1988 Morris had been the source for the Boston Globe. He was wrongfully providing information in an investigation dubbed the 75 State Street case. Having been taking money and other bennies from Whitey over the years he feared exposure. Perhaps Whity was recording the bribery. He came up with a plan. He would violate his FBI obligation to keep the identity of an informant secret and disclose to the Globe that Whitey was an informant. He hoped that by publicly disclosing Whitey was an informant Whitey would get whacked (murdered) by the Mafia. Then his taking money from Whitey would not be discovered. (He’d also admit taking money from another TEI.)
Connolly had over 10 TEIs. None aside from Whitey or Flemmi accused him of taking money from them. Connolly was never convicted of taking money from them. Both Whitey and Flemmi after their capture to arrange deals for themselves said that they paid him. It made no sense. Gangsters are notoriously cheap. They gave him information. They did not need to give him money to be protected.
Morris worked closely with the Globe. He considered one of the person’s who worked there and who would lead the charge against Whitey as a close friend. The prosecutor was very influenced by the Globe which had puff pieces on him. It was natural in determining who to use to rebut Flemmi that he would turn to Morris who was Connolly’s boss (even though the boss is the one that is usually targeted). Morris would testify to a life of venality while an FBI agent. He would never be punished and was rewarded with an FBI pension.
The FBI in order to shed the cloth of embarrassment would decide it had to sacrifice agent Connolly. Like in the military when a piece of equipment like a jeep is “accidentally” dumped into the brink and all the inventory officers of all the units on the ship clear their books by saying the equipment that had been missing for over the past year was on the jeep, the FBI hoped to load all its evil relationships onto Connolly.
He was to be a rogue agent in accordance with the longstanding FBI policy of labeling anyone caught doing an illegality as a rogue agent. This was the danger facing agents if they did “black bag” jobs (breaking into private homes and offices) and were caught. The usual punishment was a letter of reprimand. In Connolly’s case that would not satisfy the blood lust of the media. He was to be dragged and quartered.
Perhaps Connolly would not have suffered as much as he would, he is now going to die in prison, had there not been another factor involved. Anyone who has read anything about this matter knows that Connolly was being targeted mainly because of his connection to another person. During Connolly’s trial which I attended it became obvious that it was the other person who was on the mind of the prosecutors. I would go up to Connolly and suggest to him during a recess that it seemed to me the prosecutor wanted him to give information on that person. Connolly, to his credit, said he knew that. He said the person was a man of integrity so he had nothing to give. He also mentioned that if he could get a deal if he implicated others in the FBI.
In my book I quoted what he said: “How could I do that since there was nothing to give. I couldn’t lie about someone just to get myself off the hook. I’d have that hanging over my head for the rest of my life. I couldn’t live with myself if I did that.”
I guess that more than anything tells you what type of guy he was. He was not about to make up lies as the government witnesses were doing in order to save himself. We see where that idea you don’t lie on others got him.
Surely he had no idea then nor did anyone else that he was heading off to prison and he would never see the sunlight of freedom again. How could he back in 2002 know that in 2017 he would still be in prison. How is it possible that he could understand that in 2017 he would be told he was going to be in prison until at least 2030 or more likely 2039. John who was born on August 1, 1940, received that news just before his 77th birthday.
Connolly started serving prison time on September 17, 2002, being sentenced to ten years. He was indicted in Florida in 2005 for the murder of John Callahan and was convicted of that in November 2008,. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. That’s pretty much a death sentence for a 68-year-old guy. That is unless he could get some sort of parole.
I’ve often said he’d never be paroled because the forces that put him in want to keep him in. He had a hearing relative to his parole. The hearing officer recommended as a presumptive parole release date the day after Christmas in 2030. John will be 90 years old having done 28 years in the can. The Florida Commission on Offender Review did not agree with the investigator. It set his presumptive parole release date as June 26, 2039, just before his 99th birthday. If he made it that long he’d have done almost 37 years in prison.
Those are not firm dates. His next hearing is set for 7 years hence. He’ll be in his mid-eighties.
Really Janet? A speed boat? “Bachelor pad” paid for? Do you realize how stupid this sounds, and how utterly uniformed and ignorant it potrays you as being? You seem like a nice person, but you really need to stop posting this rubbish, unless of course you have an explanation for the (more than one) complete asset investigations that were done on John and his finances by the IRS. Do you just choose to ignore this? I guess ignorance IS bliss!
Janet, you outed me in one of your previous postings, for that I am thankful, as I am a very close supporter of John Connolly. In fact, I am a dear friend and close personal confidant of John. I am not blinded by what people say about him as I know the truth of his character. You apparently have been victimized by Jimmy, that is James “Whitey” Bulger. He has taken you for a ride. I am surprised that you cannot see his manipulating ways. Jimmy Bulger is angry; John Connolly has done nothing to cast aspersions on Bulger. Over the many years that John Connolly was Bulger’s handler, he always promoted Bulger as a great informant. Bulger never told John Connolly about any murder[s] he had committed and never told John Connolly about any murder[s] he intended to commit. This is a fact that you will never accept as it appears that you have been coopted in spreading Bulger’s messages. You are a victim of Bulger and he is laughing in his cell knowing that he has coopted a seemingly intelligent person. To repeat, you mentioned that John Connolly took money and gifts and other items during his association with Bulger, but, you forgot to mentioned that the IRS did a net worth on John Connolly and the audit found NO IRREGULARITIES regarding his expenditures. He was single at the time, making a very good salary, and his life style did not exceed his salary! Please review your analysis of his finances and you will come to the same conclusion that the IRS did, John Connolly lived within his means. As John Connolly always told me, thank God, I did everything with a “Mortgage.” You hear that he had expensive shirts [with cufflinks] suits from Joseph’s, all within his means. He was proud of how he looked! I even went to “Filenes Men’s Basement” from time to time and we purchased $500.00 suites for $60.00 bucks. So much for his flashing attire. I could go on and on, but, this probably would not change your warped description of John Connolly. John Morris was the only person that took money from Bulger, no one else! Bulger knows this all too well. I am surprised that he did not take the opportunity to attack Fred Wyshak for his corrupt ways. Remember, Wyshak knew that Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme precipitated in his many attempts to go after John Connolly to cement John Connolly’s conviction in his Boston RICO trial. As previously noted, John Connolly was charged with 14 predicate acts [felony acts] during is Boston RICO trial; however, he was convicted of only four of those acts. None of which involved violent acts. Not the murder of John Callahan, no one! Frank Salemme agreed to testify against John Connolly after he was debriefed by Fred Wyshak, John Durham and he rest of the prosecution team, when he was offered immunity for his involvement in eight murders. However, Salemme, attempted to tell the prosecution team about eight additional murders that were not included in his plea agreement. These eight murders were well known by Wyshak. NOW, Wyshak has taken the position to prosecute Frank Salemme for the murder of Stephen [Steven] DiSaro, who was uncovered from a shallow grave in the Providence, Rhode Island area. Fred Wyshak knew about these murders via-a-via a deposition of Stephen Flemmi. This deposition took place in 2003, one year after John Connolly was found guilty of his crimes in the Boston RICO trial. Flemmi’s deposition was very revealing. Flemmi claimed that he never was asked by John Connolly to kill anyone on his behalf. Flemmi claimed that he never told John Connolly that he was going to kill anyone. Flemmi admitted that he would not have told John Connolly about any murder that he committed as John Connolly would have arrested him. Flemmi also admitted that it was his belief that Bulger would have not told John Connolly about his intentions. So much for John Connolly knowing about any murders committed by Flemmi or Bulger. These two thugs knew what to do during their criminal activities; tell no one! It is apparent that Bulger is angry that he was outed by John Morris as an informant. Bulger denied his status as an informant because he wanted to save face. Bulger’s file is replete with accurate, documented information and there is no way he can escape the fact that everything he told John Connolly was documented. I only wish that Janet would realize that she was VICTIMIZED — RATHER Used by Bulger.
You all go on, and on, and on. Bottom line is, John Connolly was not an “honest man”. He may have started out that way, but once he got the taste of money he wanted more. He took great sums of cash. He took expensive gifts — bachelor pad paid for, speed boat, car, jewelry, vacations, etc. He sold information, some of which may have led to the murder of certain individuals. He was corrupt.
Flemmi gave the Mafia to the FBI. What makes anyone think Bulger had anything to do with that? Because Flemmi said so? Because Morris said so? Because Connolly said so? Flemmi admitted to becoming an informant years before he met Bulger. He had plenty of meetings with his FBI handlers that Bulger didn’t know about.
Morris ran to the Globe reporters and stated that Bulger was an informant in an attempt to have him murdered by the Mafia. If he could get rid of Bulger, he could get rid of a huge problem — Bulger had corrupted Morris and Connolly. Bulger knew too much about Morris — including his request to have Bulger kill his wife.
Morris’ plan was pretty good — certainly the Mafia, or members of the Winter Hill Gang would take Bulger out if they thought he was an informant. Problem was, none of them believed it!
All you are doing here is repeating the story that Flemmi, Martorano, Weeks, Morris, and other kooperating killers have told. No one knows Bulger’s story. Stop assuming what he knew or didn’t know. And, since you can’t possibly know Bulger’s mind based on the ‘get out of jail’ tales of the kooperating killers, stop assuming you know his thoughts and intents. You’ve all bought into Wyshak’s circus show. He is an exceptional ring master.
I do know . You officious twit . Try to set yourself up as an official biographer. The majority of these guys have forgotten more than you will ever know. Once again we get back to the know it all third rate constitutional scholar who heard it all , disbelieved it all , and did not hang the jury . And lectured Southie to boot . Get a life . I find it extremely difficult to believe Jimmy is still corresponding with you. You , Janet Uhlar , are a leech.
Janet, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You never met John Connolly. You’re as credible as Martorano who never met him.
Stop fabricating lies. Read the previous points. John’s finances were exhaustively examined, and never was it shown, by anyone, by any expert, that he lived outside his means.
STOP THE SLANDER.
You know, Janet, I think it is you who are being paid to slander people. Prove me wrong.
All his lifelong friends in Boston and 100 FBI agents who worked with him for decades all attest to his integrity.
And you . . . are . . . a mudslingeer.
You’re letting Judge Tauro off the hook. The sentence was “a little harsh”?
Ten years for these crimes: (Numbered 1-4)?
(1) Giving a case of wine with some cash in it to his boss. The only crime the Boston Jury said John Connolly committed during his 23 year career as an FBI agent. (One juror said he’d never have convicted him of anything if he thought he’d do a day a jail; that juror thought Connolly would get probation.)
Here’s the other acts he committed as a civilian: (2) writing a letter to a judge (false and libelous letters maybe civil torts, they’re not crimes); (3) telling someone he heard through the grapevine an indictment was coming down; (not a crime for a civilian to say he heard an indictment was coming down.) and lying to an FBI agent about whether or not he telephoned a lawyer’s office. (US citizens have a right to talk to any lawyer they want.) We both agree that charge was irrelevant and immaterial, anyway.
In sum: his acts as a private civilian were writing a letter, talking about an indictment and denying he telephoned a lawyer. His one crime as an FBI agent was giving his corrupt boss Morris wine with cash. ($1,000)
Probation or six months suspended was the right call.
P.S. you mention “Obstruction”; it sounds bad, Obstruction of Justice; but the obstruction was nothing more than writing a letter and mentioning an indictment. When they tell you John Connolly was convicted of Racketeering, understand that those 4 petty “crimes” listed above supposedly made him a “racketeer.” It’s analogous to accusing the Probation Officers of “Mail Fraud” because they sent out letters telling people they weren’t hired.
Don’t be fooled by the legalese.
2. What’s worse, in Florida all the testimony that was rejected by the Boston Jury (on the 9 serious charges John Connolly was acquitted of) was repeated verbatim before the Florida jury and Flemmi (who for 7-plus years had said Connolly was an honest cop, even under oath before Judge Wolfe and others in Boston) changed his tune in Miami.
3. What’s worse, in Florida, John was acquitted of first degree murder and conspiracy, but a second degree murder charge (Murder by Gun) was thrown in by Wyshak after trial and the jury convicted John on that. The problem was the Statute of Limitations had run. A Florida Appeals Court ruled 2-1 the SOL had run and reversed John’s conviction. Later, in 2015, a full panel of the Appeals Court (in a bizarre majority ruling) reversed the lower court and reinstated conviction. That decision was 6-4. If one judge changed his vote and the decision was 5-5, John would be free.
4. The Chief Justice of the Florida Appeals court sided with John and wrote the blistering dissent. Never before, in Florida history or anywhere else in America, he said, had a statute been so stretched to convict someone of “the act” of having a gun in his possession during a commission of a murder, who had been 1,500 miles way at the time the murder took place and who never had held or even seen the murder weapon. Remember, too, that John was acquitted of conspiracy, and other than allegedly gabbing with Flemmi and Bulger nothing else he did could constitute “aiding and abetting” the murder. Nothing! John took no “act” to further the murder.
So, I could go into more detail. In sum, the whole thing was a grotesque travesty.
John was convicted based upon on the lying words of serial killers and a corrupt supervisor whose stories changed over the years. The Boston Jury did not believe a single word of Martorano, and yet Wyshak dragged him Miami to lie again. Flemmi testified under oath that Connolly was an honest cop, and said Connolly never did or said anything ever intending anyone be killed (Read David Boeri, 2006), and then Wyshak dragged Flemmi to Miami to sing a different tune.
Why did the serial killers and corrupt supervisor Morris change their tunes and lie? Look at the lenient deals they got from Wyshak et al. Why wouldn’t they lie?
And finally, remember this too: Not only has John Connolly never been convicted of taking a dime, after exhaustive financial examinations of every aspect of his life, it’s proven John lived completely within his means. A good FBI salary, an income-generating duplex in Southie, a cottage down the Cape, a car supplied by the FBI, a 26 foot boat, mortgages, married around his retirement in 1990, when he got a top paying job at Edison, etc, etc.
An honest man who never took a dime! Falsely accused, falsely convicted. Never should have been tried in Miami. Should have got probation in Boston: for writing the letter and giving the case of wine to Morris. (It didn’t have $1,000 in it; Morris lied about that.) P.S. As I recall, two weeks before John’s trial in Boston, John Morris was still changing his story and withholding information from the prosecutors.
A TRAVESTY!
Unfortunately, my guess is the current crop of agents probably don’t give a moments thought to John; most probably have little or no clue about his plight. Those that do likely think of him as a corrupt agent, and have no idea that it could happen to them. It makes me sick to think about what was done to him. It also makes me furious, and embarassed to have been involved with the system and people that did this to him. While I’ll never give up hope for a miracle, sadly, it looks like the better bet is to hope for karma to visit some atrocities on those that have done this to him. Maybe it will bring a little bit of joy to his life. It certainly would mine.
Declan:
Amen!
Declan
This is a task for younger people to set up a 501 c3 non profit
that would focus on springing John Connolly.
In the mid 1970’s we set up a non profit to help consumers
in Maine expose corrupt lawyers and judges in Maine.
It all started with an ad in the local paper saying ” have you ever
been ripped off by a lawyer”
The phone number was at the bottom.
Within a month there was 60 members, granted 10 of them were FBI informants.
Within 2 months mail was arriving from as far away as Australia.
Within a year Time magazine was doing a interview with the President
Joan Brown.
Not to long after the State of Maine created the Board of Overseers
to focus on the problem.
I could see a non profit created around John Connolly
with a advisory board comprised of former FBI agents
Dr Frederick Whitehurst in North Carolina , Wesley Swearingen
in San Diego , Suzanne Doucette in LA , John Ryan in Ohio , Coleen Rowley
in Minneapolis and others.
The Innocence Project would have a seat on the board along with Harvard
Law professor Emeritus Lloyd Weinreb for starters.
Don’t forget to invite Media specialist Rory O’Connor at Globalvision.
Don’t expect any of these 3rd degree black belts in mouth to do
anything. They are here for the therapeutic millieu this site
provides.
I can expand the organizational model if someone files the 501 c3 paperwork
The organizational strategy come later in a more secure setting.
Biddeford-Saco Journal from Biddeford, Maine on April 22, 1977 · Page 2 – Newspapers.com
Newspapers.com › newspage
Apr 22, 1977 – Biddeford-Saco Journal (Biddeford, Maine), Friday, April 22, 1977, Page 2. … lawvers Law Inc President Joan Brown of Biddeford Pool says the proposed law would increase the number of non …
msyfreeh:
Dr. Freud has duly noted the expression : ” Don’t expect any of these third degree black belts in mouth to do anything . ”
It is amazing to contemplate just what you have in and out of your mouth . Ah , Sweet Unconscious , lie down and tell us your tales .
Dr. Freud is highly Ammooosed !
UGH
There is a divinity that doth hedge a king , and that doth hedge Billy Bulger . His basic integrity , notwithstanding his Irish ken for the highly leveraged political deal , was unassailable . He has always been the Golden Boy because he simply is the Golden Boy. His sunny luster is a halo that has always lent its lambent light to protect him . He doesn’t put it on . He simply has …It . He has that …It …factor , indefinable , yet omnipresent . It is a gift .
So , I do not buy the fantasy that there was a …vast criminal conspiracy .. to bring him down .Embarrass him , yes , but topple him , ever realized as unlikely by the wily Fed , Fred . Only those as silly as Hillary Clinton in her who wears the pantsuit excesses would wildly claim such .
Sure , there was Harold Brown and 75 State St . Nothing there to really hang a prosecutorial hat on , let alone retire Billy’s Crown . Wyshak had Flemmi in both hip pockets and coming out of his yin yang ! Did he really need John Connolly to fabricate ? I have repeatedly asserted John got a raw deal . But enough of the dreamy character nonsense . Dream less and confront the truth more . It is hiding in plain sight . Just like Jimmy .
John:
That’s what rankled Freddy the most – Blly was the Golden Boy. That’s what got to Lehr and O’Neill that he shunned them. Maybe you missed Wyshak saying after he convicted John Connolly in Florida when asked where Connolly made his mistake. He answered: “He got too close to South Boston and the Bulgers.” Whitey by my count only makes up one Bulger. Surely he was not talking about Jackie.
Connolly could have had a deal like all the others got but he had to bring in the big fish. That he couldn’t means he had to pay the price. Otherwise why the venon. You know the system. Ten years is a lot of time for a sixty-two year old guy. Ain’t that enough to satisfy a prosecutor. Connolly never murdered anyone. Never met Martorano. Why wasn’t Wyshak satisfied — he gave the answer – “the Bulgers.”
Matt:
Fred did not need John Connolly to bring in the ” big fish .” He had Flemmi who would have happily related tall tales of fat envelopes being exchanged between Billy and his brother over Mama Flemmi’s incandescent cannelloni ! Flemmi certainly knew Johnny M. ,and Flemmi is as prolific and diverse a liar as any Fed witness who ever took the stand . In his protean output of absolute falsehoods he could easily and credibly, to a gullible jury ,presented himself as a primary witness to all sorts of dastardly collaborations between the brothers . Mama Flemmi lived thirty or so feet away , across the yard , from Billy . The Wyshak animus took the form of embarrassing and trying to shame Billy by having Flemmi deliver his half cocked story of Jimmy murdering Deb Davis in the adjoining shed, or whatever, and then having to take that indispensable post homicidal snooze . Complete BS , but something Fred Wyshak could countenance .
As to John Connolly getting ” too close to the Bulgers ,” it seems Wyshak states an implicit assumption that he and many others recognized that in South Boston there were two very powerful characters who were Jimmy and Billy Bulger . It was a sensational feeling to imply they were in league with each other in sinister sibling shenanigans . It was a Fed blood sport . I would not lean so heavily on it as to suggest John Connolly was going to be Fred Wyshak’s barbed hook to catch the fabled … Big Fish .
You mean they were after Billy Bulger. John Connally would not give him up because he had nothing to give, because Billy did nothing wrong. Billy used to host the St Patricks day in South Boston. You might find the 1987 St Patricks day interesting via Google. The way Billy Bulger handles everything that comes his way that day, the Governor and his wife, the Vice President on the phone, Congressman Moakly and Kennedy, etc, etc. ,shows me a man fast on his feet, with a mind as sharp as anyones.
Hey, Norwood:
Billy was as Connolly said a man of integrity. None of the many criminals Wyshakdealt with, including FBI agent Morris, could give him anything against Billy. With no evidence he said Connolly went wrong because he associated with Billy. He was out to get him and he hoped Connolly would come in and lie so that he could.
Good to hear from you.
Glorious Leader is too busy saving his ass, to do anything for, or, against, anybody. He, the Trumpsovki, and, all other swamp vermin connected to him, are surfing in the toilet bowl, and, they’re getting closer, and, closer, to the hole. Wallahi! I hope they don’t take us all with them. Gotterdammerung.
Khalid:
Well said.
A vast criminal conspiracy existed that sought political revenge against Sen. Bulger. Connolly as you correctly noted was just their instrument to get to him. They figured that he would fold and make up a story to save his own skin. The prosecutors and both judges he faced were totally dishonest. Martha Stewart was convicted of lying to the FBI and got 90 days. For a similar trivial conviction Tauro gave Connolly ten years. A totally dishonest sentence. Tauro’s close friends were Cooley, Bellotti et al. His friends all had an agenda against Bulger. He should never have presided over Connolly’s case. He was not impartial. All of Connolly’s Constitutional Rights were violated by the prosecutors and judges he faced. Ideally Trump will appoint a Special Counsel to investigate how the most effective FBI agents against the Mafia in the history of Boston ( Rico and Connolly)were framed by corrupt judges , devious prosecutors and dumb cops.. Does the Mafia have that much influence in the Media, the government and the Democratic party? The swamp has to be drained. 2. Can Baker and the other retired FBI guys influence those still employed there to show Wray the new boss ,what a sham the Connolly case was? A new prosecutor should immediately put Connolly in the witness protection program to testify against all the serial killers Wyshak let out of jail and those who framed the Probation officials including the owners of the Globe who also should face the music.
NC:
Don’t agree on Tauro. I think he is absolutely on the level although I do agree the sentence was a little harsh. You must remember Connolly on the appeal of his conviction never complained about Tauro; also, he did not appeal his convictions for obstruction and making a false statement. Connolly’s appeal was that the government did not show sufficient facts for a RICO namely, not sufficient evidence of enterprise and of a “pattern of racketeering.” He also appealed the length of the sentence.
I would not hold my breath thinking Trump would care one bit about Connolly’s plight. He’s more interested in investigation why the Park Service underestimated his innauguration day crowd and I expect that will be his first special counsel appointment.
You do point to a curious happening I will write about which is the two FBI agents in Boston most responsible for the Mafia’s demise locally ended up being labeled corrupt. If they were then the Mafia would never have gone under. As for the Mafia’s influence, I suggest Trump has close connections with the NY and Russian Mafia so he is unlikely to investigate it.
2. The retired guys have to first accept that it was their FBI that left Connolly out to dry (so does Connolly) Wray won’t go out of his way for Connolly. Hard to go against the bureaucracy trying to run the Bureau. Connolly’s help won’t come from any prosecutors.
“I would not hold my breath thinking Trump would care one bit about Connolly’s plight. ” Put the hatred aside for a moment. Connolly is in prison on a state charge, what could the President do?
Go to the Governor of Florida for redress or clemency.
“The President . . . shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, …” The authority does not extend to offenses against a state. Settled law.