The case is going slowly. Very little excitement today. That should come tomorrow if Martorano comes in as is rumored.
It’s plodding through time where the prosecution is using two Massachusetts state police officers who achieved high rank and are experts in organized crime activities to lay a solid foundation for their case. Pretty ironic the federal prosecutors have to rely on the state police; it tells us a lot about who we can trust to do the job.
Lt. Bobby Long finished up this morning playing the videos that link Whitey and Stevie Flemmi together, an important part of the government’s case. Colonel Thomas Foley put Whitey and Stevie Flemmi in the leadership of the Winter Hill gang which “had a reputation for violence” and noted that was how it was able to charge rent get tribute from the bookies.
Then Wyshak went through the tedious process of showing pictures of all the weapons that had been seized from the little recreation room that sat at the rear of the home of Stevie Flemmi’s mother which had a common walkway with the home of Billy Bulger. I stopped counting how many guns were seized but they were at least 50 from several locations where they had been moved by Flemmi’s son after he learned Weeks had gone state’s evidence.
After the pictures were in Wyshak then brough in about a dozen of the actual weapons: machine guns and Smith and Wesson’s .38 caliber etc. He then had Colonel Foley tell of some that had the serial numbers erased. Both the possession of machine guns and having weapons with eradicated serial numbers are federal crimes with which Whitey is charged.
Hank Brennan on cross-examination has shown that no weapons were found in Jim Bulger’s house and Foley had problems with the FBI interfering with some investigations. He’s still has him under cross-examination.
These two high-ranking state police have done great damage to whatever hope Whitey had. They have shown he was involved as a leader of a violent gang involved in extortion and murder, hung around with Mafia types and had more weapons than several Marine fire teams.
I’m amazed at the extent to which the testimony and exhibits have focused on William’s house and not the House of Death. Very impressive avoidance by the troopers and Kelly.
Foley’s testimony that he wasn’t very concerned about murders committed by Nee and Winters is not credible to anyone who has been in law enforcement. You naturally hate to let any homicides go. Even the lowliest victim instills some obligation in you to seek justice or fail trying. Foley testified his priority was to stop Bulger and Flemmi because of the corruption and he had limited resources. But Bulger had been gone for years by then and was a ghost. Flemmi was locked up and already played and lost his immunity card. Why ignore at least 5 murders by Nee and at least 6 others by Winter (committed with Martorano)?
Foley’s testimony that Winter and Nee were harmless because they were in jail isn’t credible either. Pat Nee was released within 6 months of Martorano making his deal in October 1999! Nee was released in April 2000 despite receiving a 37 year sentence in 1992! Winter was released in July 2002. Both of these guys meet the FBI’s definition of serial killers and mass murderers. It’s just not credible that Foley had other priorities and would let these guys out of jail when he had a cooperating witness like Martorano in hand.
Wyshak and Foley’s story that the statute of limitations had run on RICO doesn’t cut it either. There is no statute of limitations on murder.
Something else was motivating Foley and Wyshak to give Nee and Winter a pass on homicides. Despite Wyshak’s protestation that “Nee has nothing to do with this case at all!”, Pat Nee is actually all over this case. The big question is why is Wyshak protecting Pat Nee?
Maybe we will find out, but Wyshak is very determined to hide it.
Patty:
it’s simple as I see it. John Martorano will not testify against Nee or Howie Winter so there’s no case we are supposed to believe. Wyshak is right on the RICO statute; everyone agrees there is no limitations on murder so it is a state issue. The murders occurred in Suffolk County. Foley said he gave the information to the Boston police to follow up on and they never did anything. He said he told the Suffolk DA about it and he never did anything. So the real question is why isn’t the Suffolk DA interested in investigating and prosecuting these murders.
His first step should be to have Martorano into the grand jury. He should then bring Weeks into the grand jury. If they lie then you have them for perjury; if they refuse to testify for contempt. I think Foley had a lot on his plate plus he was under pressure to please Martorano even though there was no formal agreement that he should do that.
Write to Conley the DA of Suffolk and ask him why he doesn’t care that these murderers are running around. To answer your question why Wyshak is protecting Nee it is because he needs Martorano and is making sure no one pressure Martorano or Weeks. He has to keep Johnny happy.
OK I lost sight of the fact Martorano has an explicit agreement with Wyshak that he won’t testify against Nee and Winter.
It makes good sense that Martorano would want to protect Winter, they go way back. Winter and Martorano are two of the 6 members of Winter Hill on the gov’s trial diagram put into evidence today. They killed a lot of people together for the Mafia. I can understand Martirano’s desires, but not Wyshak’s capitulation to it.
But I don’t see the reason Martorano would negotiate to protect Nee. Nee is not even on the government’s Winter Hill diagram. He is a Southie Irish guy who didn’t have much to do with Martorano. Martorano just doesn’t seem to have his own good reason to except Nee.
Nor is there a good reason for Wyshak to except Nee from Martorano’s deal. In fact there is a very compelling reason Wyshak would want Martorano to finger Nee, not protect him.
In 1999, Wyshak wanted Bulger more than anything in the entire world. Nee was the very ideal witness against Bulger. Nee was in deep with Bulger for almost twenty years from the 1972 Chandler meeting until he went away for the Valhalla in about 1989. Nee knew all the ins and outs of Southie and he was in on all of Bulger’s crimes. Martorano, on the other hand, was a fugitive living in Florida for 16 years while Bulger was partnered with Nee. Nee even had a longer span with Bulger than Weeks. Nee was exactly what Wyshak was looking for.
Going back to Wyshak’s mind in 1999, he had Martorano and Nee in jail, and Martorano wanted to cooperate. Wyshak’s obvious path to Bulger is the tried and true path of federal racketeering prosecutions. He simply rolls up the organization to get to the top. That is to say he gets Martorano to jam up Nee and Nee flips on Bulger. Wyshak knows Nee is all softened up from two jail sentences in the past decade. He knows with Nee’s conviction record, the next sentence for any crime would probably be a life sentence.
Of course we now know Wyshak didn’t take the logical route, instead he agreed to let Martorano protect Nee along with Winter. Why pass up getting both Martorano and Nee, and virtually guaranteeing he gets Bulger? Martorano’s negotiating position wasn’t that strong that Wyshak felt he had to put all his eggs Martorano’s basket . I don’t believe he did.
Furthermote, Martorano’s protection of Nee is completely useless unless Weeks is also on board to protect Nee.
I dont think the terms of Weeks’s deal with Wyshak explicitly excepts Nee. (Correct me if I’m wrong) Instead of protecting Nee via a deal, Wyshak allows Weeks to perjure himself to cut Nee out of the waterfront shooting (and the McIntyre, Barrett and Wheeler hits).
Surely it’s not a coincidence that Weeks commits sanctioned perjury for the benefit of the same guy Wyshak allows Martorano to protect?
On Tuesday, Wyshak exclaimed in court that “Nee has nothing to to with this case at all!” On Wednesday, Kelly spoke for an hour about crimes Nee committed with Bulger, but never once uttered Nee’s name. On Wednesday and Thursday Troopers Long and Foley testified in response to Wyshak’s questions and he admitted dozens of exhibits, charts, diagrams, photos and videos. The Troopers identified all the gangsters pictured in the exhibits. Still no mention of Pat Nee. It wasn’t until Brennan pried it out of Foley on cross exam that we finally heard Pat Nee mentioned.
There’s something about Pat Nee that makes him very special for Wyshak. I’m with Carney, there’s a coverup here.
I agree. Pat Née was a heavy hitter in South Boston during the heyday of WB. He can provide first hand testimony to many of the key crimes charged in this trial. Why he isn’t either a defendant or a witness with a deal baffles me.
I would guess that Pat Née is the new FBI snitch ala Whitey except it is so obvious that it can’t be true.
Moreover, Nee could have given information to Wyshak on murders during the Southie gang “war” between the Mullens and Killeens. It’s just really hard to believe that Wyshak and Foley ignored so many homicides they could have gotten from Nee and at the same time guaranteed a conviction against Bulger.
Patty:
The Nee deal makes no sense. I can’t figure it out. Why isn’t Nee a prosecution witness? Is it because he makes Weeks look like a liar? Nee could tell us the truth, unlike in his book, about what went on with Whitey and the killings – he’s there for the murder of Bucky Barrett, for John McGonigle, maybe Halloran/Donohue, and perhaps even Deborah Hussey – maybe he tells a different story – did he set up Tommy King, Paulie McGonable, the Killeens. He’s in the middle of this and the government ignores him. Maybe the answer is as simple as this Irish guy’s story contradicts the Mafia story being told by Martorano and Flemmi to such an extent it undermines the government’s case. So rather than trying to reach for the truth the government only wants a certain story told. So when the defense calls him, he takes the 5th and his contradictory story never comes out. This means the government is knowingly using witnesses who tell the story it likes, the defense will be unable to put in the story the government does not like. In other words, the evidence that give lie to the government’s witnesses is not to go go to the jury even though defense knows about it. A clever prosecutor trick to withhold exculpatory evidence from a jury while still complying with the mandated disclosure of that evidence. Carney’s got to take Nee’s evidence and hammer Flemmi and Weeks with it. He has to get it in through them if he can, even if it means having the questions stricken.
JHG:
I think Nee has too much evidence that contradicts the main case the feds want to offer. The way to keep it out is to keep him off their witness list and have him take the 5th when called by Carney. I also have to figure Nee is, as you say, a top level informant.
Patty:
As I’ve mentioned Nee tells a story that Wyshak doesn’t like and it contradicts his star witnesses so he doesn’t want to use him and he’s of no use to defense becasue he takes the 5th so his story is untold and he continues as a top echelon informant.
Someone should write to the Norfolk D.A. and ask him to re-open Martorano’s murder of Tony Veranis, whose beaten body was found in the Blue Hills in Milton; from the autopsy it seems Tony was shot, then taken to Blue Hills and his body viciously beaten by Martorano—if Tony survived the gunshot (Remember Congresswoman Giffords of Arizona survived a head-wound gunshot at close range) then his killing—by beating and abandonment in the woods—actually occurred in Milton, in Norfolk County. I understand Martorano’s Immunity Deal was with the FEDS, Suffolk County and Middlesex County. Norfolk County did not sign on to an immunity deal with Martorano. He should be immediately arrested, prosecuted, and stay in jail until that murder case trial is over and all appeals have run. Put all the serial killers back in prison for life!
Bill:
The Norfolk DA has an open and shut case on the Veranis murder and he should prosecute him. He was not part of any agreement not to do it. But he knows that if he tried the courts would block him. Martorano would argue the immunity he got from the Suffolk DA covered it and just like he can’t be prosecuted in one county for a murder if he’s already acquitted in another, the courts would find his Suffolk immunity forecloses the Norfolk DA from acting.
The DA in Suffolk should be asked why he is not prosecuting Nee and Howie Winter. No one ever gave them immunity.
Yes, Pam Beasley raises a good point. Why are they focusing on the Flemmi arsenal, instead of the one found in Whitey’s own apartment in Santa Monica? Is there some “bomb” potentially coming from Kelly and Wyshak, attempting to link the guns to Billy? Tough to tell where this is leading…..the Holy Grail of evidence, in my opinion, will be when they pull out Whitey’s own version of himself and his story handwritten in his own old-fashioned, parochial-school penmanship. That’s what I’m waiting for. Will we ever get to read them, Matt? What do you think ? Thanks, and keep up the great coverage?
Rather:
They want to connect the Flemmi arsenal to Whitey at the time he was in charge of the Winter Hill gang in 1978 or 1979.It’s almost impossible to show a connection between the California guns and the Winter Hill days.
I don’t think they are after Billy but I know they’d love to pin something on him.
I agree with your Holy Grail suggestion – I’m told he had two manuscripts in his grammar school scrawl – that’s what I’d really love to see. Carney must have them that means a copy can always leak out sometime. Maybe I’ll make them up and write them in my old-fashioned, public-school penmanship. If I do I’ll send you a copy.
I know it must be linked to James Bulger somehow, but what does the presence of guns at Flemmi’s mother’s house have to do with Whitey? Is it implied that Billy Bulger was in possession of the guns? I don’t understand the relevance. My next door neighbor might well have an arsenal, and I think I could easily disprove a possessory link to me — certainly to my brother! Please elaborate on the significance of this evidence, if you have a moment. Thank you, I am finding this trial coverage very interesting! Great job.
Pam:
It’s connected to Whitey through Weeks and Flemmi who will say it is his stash. It’s connected to Whitey because he was arrested in California with a similar stash. I don’t think Billy is implicated in it yet, but that remains to be seen since Wyshak would love to muddy up his name.
The significance is that these weapons such as the machine guns are illegal to own without registering them and some of the guns had the serial numbers erased which is also illegal. There are pending indictments against Whitey charging him with these gun violations. I don’t see how he’s going to beat this since the government has already tied Stevie and him together as partners.