Patty & MS tell me that ABC News will show us our modern day FBI in action.
It’s a Russian gangster who had been involved in a murder or two who has been protected by the FBI for many years. Another FBI Top Echelon Informant; another matter the FBI will have “to investigate.”
“Tune in tonight to “World News With Diane Sawyer” at 6:30 p.m. ET and “Nightline” 12:35 a.m. ET for ABC News’ full investigation into The Murder, The Mobster and the FBI.”
OOps. Looks like, according to reports, that Mr. O’Callaghan may have passed…but are his records on the matter part of the discovery and included in information shared to C&B? Did he ever testify in any proceeding or hearing? If he was the number two man at the FBI and he tipped off someone at BECO (the call went to Connolly’s line), there would have to be some discovery on that wouldn’t there be? And who were the other senior executives and high level justice department officials in that meeting that the Courant mentioned?
How Come all we ever heard was that John Connolly was the tipster tipping off flemmi and Bulger….How come no one (except for the Hartford Courant) has ever heard of “Dennis O’Callaghan”? Is he on the witness list? Should he be?
http://articles.courant.com/2002-05-17/news/0205171086_1_Connolly-flemmi-fbi-agent
Alex:
The records never showed what the Hartford Courant wrote. The records fairly viewed show little contact between Connolly and Dennis O’Callaghan on his private phone at the FBI headquarters at the time. O’Callaghan testified on Connolly’s behalf but got pretty badly beat up on cross-examination to the delight of the news media. I thought he did a fairly good job the first day but when the AUSA had time to get ready for more extensive cross-examination on him overnight he looked bad because it was obvious he was going to bat for Connolly. He’d only been in Boston two years from 1988 to 1990, the year Connolly retired. He at least had the courage to come in and try to tell it like it was, unlike so many other agents.
O’Callaghan died a couple of years after Connolly’s trial so he won’t be on anyone’s witness list.
Thanks – it appears our communica crossed in the air at/about same time.
Alex:
There were three FBI guys at the meeting with the US Attorney Stern; the other two were never under suspicion. They then told a fourth FBI guy who also was not suspect. But the whole idea Connolly was tipped off holds no water especially since Weeks tells of Connolly coming to him to pass on the information in a suspect manner. The gangsters were tipped off but it was most likely from Flemmi’s buddy Richard Schneirhan who had a connection in the US Attorney’s office feeding information on when the indictment was coming down. The tip off was that the indictment was coming down on the 10th; that’s why Flemmi was still around and Whitey coming back into town when the complaint warrants issued. Had Connolly been involved through O’Callaghan he would have known about the complaint warrants and the guys would not have been around.
Connolly never tipped off Bulger or Flemmi to the indictments. Wyshak fabricated it because it was a necessary element to his RICO case against Connolly. The alleged 1994 tip off linked Connolly’s service as an agent (1989) to his actions following the 1994 indictments. This gave Wyshak a continuing RICO conspiracy without the 5 year statute of limitations running out from 1989 to 1999. Wyshak fabricated the same type of “linking” testimony in his case against the Teamsters.
The fascinating thing about Connolly’s phone records is how easy it is for the Feds to find a leak if they really want to. The Boston USAO leaks like a sieve yet they have never once been able to catch one of their own leaking. Coincidentally, a complaint was filed against Wyshak by DOL Special Agents during the aforementioned Teamster’s case because they had evidence Wyshak was leaking. Secret Grand Jury testimony was being leaked to Shelley Murphy and Jack Sullivan at the Herald. Wyshak responded by seating a Worcester Federal Grand Jury to investigate his accusers at DOL. Don’t mess with Freddy! (This is all public record.)The public record also shows that Shelley stepped out of her role as a journalist and began providing information to the feds to direct them towards certain individuals. Doesn’t that make her an informant?
Patty:
I’m sure Shelley may be giving them information but she’s not a Top Echelon Informant since I don’t think she has murdered anyone. Of course the Weeks freezer meeting with Connolly made no sense and the facts proved it because Salemme testified he went to his house on the 5th and Flemmi told him his source said the indictment was coming down on the 10th. That’s why Flemmi got grabbed. If there were going to be a tip off then Connolly would have known of the complaint warrants on the 5th and if he did and wanted to warn off Whitey or Stevie he could have done that. Stevie would not have been grabbed and whitey would not have been returning to Boston.