That sets the stage for determining whether Whitey was involved in three of the murders charged against him. These are the murders of the Mullen members which occurred between November 1974 and November 1975. Although Pat Nee may have been involved in them he probably did not have the ability to carry them out by himself. By that I mean he may not have had the nerve to be the one to pull a gun on a friend and murder him. We know he was capable of killing someone he did not like but murdering a friend is on a different scale.
Putting Whitey into the mix makes sense although you will note that in the murder of McGonagle and King he was not the one who did the shooting. Whitey too, like Nee, did not have the cojones to murder someone he was close with face to face unlike Martorano or Flemmi. Of all the murders attributed to him, even by the government’s evidence, he actually fired a gun at five people: Eddie Connors, Brian Halloran, Bucky Barrett, and John McIntyre. Michael Donohue was shot but was not a target. He probably did not murder McIntyre so the only one murdered with a handgun may have been Bucky Barrett but given Flemmi’s presence at that murder it may have been him who did the murder.
Whitey would have had the motive to kill the Mullens. Paulie McGonagle was a big threat to him. Tommy King was also as tough as Whitey and if he could eliminate him he would feel safer. He also knew that he had to murder King’s friend Buddy Leonard to be safe. I put these three murders onto Whitey as having a part of them. The jury rightfully convicted him of killing McGonagle and King. The jury was also right in finding that the prosecutor failed to prove Whitey murdered Francis “Buddy” Leonard. Who murdered him will never be known. The circumstances have never been revealed. Pat Nee might know but he has distanced himself from that murder as he has done from others because there is no statute of limitations on murder. All that protects him is the deal Kevin Weeks made with the prosecutors that he would not have to testify against him. Weeks would not know about the Leonard murder.
Although we do not know exactly how the Leonard murder went down it seems to me fairly certain that Whitey had a hand in it. Eliminating McGonagle, King and Leonard with the help and concurrence of Nee made it safe for Whitey in Southie again. Three capable men bit the dust.
Author English is although totally wrong in telling us that Whitey rose above the fray because of his connections to his brother Bill and FBI Agent John Connolly back in 1974 and 1975, he is right that it was through a connection that Whitey was able to pull off these murders. That connection was the guy he met with in 1974 and eventually who would become Whitey’s partner, if not his boss: Steve Flemmi.
Flemmi a long time FBI informant had run from a murder charge and another one involving setting off an explosive on a lawyer’s car. The FBI fixed the cases so that he could return to Boston to again provide information to it. When he came back in the spring of 1974 he went back to the guys from the Roxbury Gang the Martoranos. They introduced him to Winter Hill. There he and Whitey me and became close compadres having similar tastes in staying in shape, avoiding drugs and alcohol, women and money.
It is only through the influence of Flemmi that Bulger becomes a murderer. Flemmi in his twenties was routinely murdering people; Bulger does not do it until he is in his forties. With Flemmin in the background Whitey finally joins the murderers club. McGonagle may have been his first; if not his first then clearly his second at the age of forty-four. Hardly the resume of a hard boiled murderer.
Tommy Ballou
Black hair. Five-ten. Little beer belly. He was from Southie. We called him Tommy Blue. Southie guys hung in Charlestown. And vice versa.
Everybody was dead. Or in the can. Maxie was shot up. Tommy Blue was the king. I’m the last of the Mohegans. “I’ll kill that Gaga. Ba. Ba. Ba. Baa.” Tommy Blue got killed. Nothing to do with Whitey.
Tommy Blue was a good street fighter. When he was coming up. Tommy Blue idolized Eddy. Instead of being a southpaw. Eddy turned him into a righty. Did pretty good as a boxer.
Jimmy Faherty. And Tommy Richardson. Them two was longshoremen. Both in the Brinks crew. They’re working on a ship. Only one week! They couldn’t be tried. Feds went up the gangway. They screwed off the other side.
The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. Tommy Blue brought them food. And information. Five months later. Pinched in Dorchester. Cops raided their apartment. Didn’t find any Brinks money.
When Joe O’Keefe started squealing. Heat come on Joe McGinnis. That’s when Walter Bennett panicked. Walter broke open the office wall. Tommy Blue’s passing marked money. At a Baltimore carnival. He gets pinched. The money gets pinched. They brought him back. Tommy Blue posts bail. And sees an electrician. In Garrett Byrne’s office. The Suffolk County District Attorney. Thought the electrician was giving Brinks information.
The electrician was working in Garrett Byrne’s house! Tommy Blue brings him to Southie. Outside the Fargo Building. Kills the guy. And shits the bed. Tommy Blue runs to Charlestown. “Jesus Christ, I killed the bum. You got to cover up for me.”
Eddy covered up for him. He went to Dorchester. Threatened the sister. Not to say her brother. And Tommy Blue left together. That hushed it up.
The three Flynn brothers. Eddy. Tommy Blue. And me. Did a safe score. First you do your sweating. You take your clothes off. Wipe the sweat off your body. The other two guys come in. They do some sweating. The other two guys. They do some sweating. You have one guy. Keeping the peek. Standing along side of you. Another guy at the window. Making sure the paddywagon don’t come.
We’re ripping. And tearing. There’s a beef stew. “Charlie. Charlie.” Bingo. You have your way out. Through the other room. Through a back door. Through a wall. Up the roof. Over the roof.
It was a good score. I’m not telling you how much. All you’re interested in is money (rising voice). Every time you ask. I’m telling the readers, “No money (nasty voice)! GO TO WORK. You f…ing asshole (sarcastic sneer). NO MONEY.”
We put the tools away. Tommy Blue come up with a score. With two other guys. Took the Flynns’ equipment. From the garage. Sledgehammer. Drills. All that shit. They had to screw. And blew the equipment.
Tommy Blue didn’t ask for the tools. He knew where the key was hidden. The Flynns was bullshit. Eddy saved the day. Tommy Blue was ducking. Ducking. Ducking. He didn’t want to be around. When the Flynns seen him. They was killing him.
Nobody screwed the Flynns. See you anywhere. In a car. At a red light. Pull you from the car. Stick the pistol in your mouth. Up your ass. And empty it out. Didn’t care who was watching. Made sure you was dead. If they got you. You was DEAD. Eddy said, “Listen. The kid’s alright. We’ll get you more equipment.”
Sometimes the Flynns split up. One went on a holdup. With two New York guys. He got shot in the head. They kept his end of the money. The two brothers said, “Something stinks here.” There was a fall out. The Flynns disappeared.
Seven years later. Eddy saved Tommy Blue again. Not killing him outside the Waldorf. When Tommy Blue wouldn’t help set up Buddy. We made a meet in the Waldorf. Across from South Station. Bingo. Eddy said, “I’m not going in there with you guys.”
Eddy went by himself. When coming out. “I don’t believe this.” Bang. We get in the car. “What happened?” “I saved that prick. From being killed. And now he’s with Buddy. Tommy says, ‘I ain’t taking sides. I’m staying neutral. I like Buddy (sighing voice).’” He was still working for Eddy. Getting his longshoremen’s union check. Double-crossed Eddy. By not doing it.
Eddy said, “Put Tommy in the book.” So some other day. Hitting him in the head. Tommy Blue kept getting his check. Eddy needed him. For shoring up cargo. In the grain ships.
Tommy Blue worked like three madmen. A cuckoo for the work. “RRR.” “Come on. Get this lumber over here. HURRY UP. Put it up there. Move (tough growl). Come on you carpenters. MOVE.” Bing. Bing. Bing. He was a nut. On the work.
We should have hid. Waited for him to come out. He’d walk across the street. To get the subway. Walk to the corner. To get a taxi. We could clip him. Eddy says, “No. No. If that’s the way he wants to be (soft voice).”
Eddy liked Tommy Blue. Teaching him to box as a kid. And him working so hard. Tommy Blue switched horses. No shooting for Buddy. He just said, “Buddy’s okay. I don’t want to hear anymore bullshit.” Tommy Blue drank with Buddy. That’s why Eddy wanted his help. But he wouldn’t set up Buddy.
Buddy had lifetime friends. That type of guy. And make-believe friends. Wanting to be like him. “Hi Buddy. How you doing? You look good.”
Tommy Blue lived for his booze. He was a wild man. Drinking in Charlestown. In Somerville. Down the Cape. A bully drunkard. He’d get barred. A year later. He wouldn’t be barred. Place he liked to hide. Yarmouth Nova Scotia.
The Blue Nosed boat. Pick it up in Portland. It went over to Yarmouth. Tommy Blue took that every summer. Go to Nova Scotia. Get roaring ass drunk.
Louie Litif owned Rick’s Tavern. Tommy Blue told Louie about Nova Scotia. That the land was cheap. He bought land up there. Buried a bartender up there. Who knew he killed somebody. In the barroom cellar. Whitey killed Louie. For being an FBI informant. Canada won’t let the FBI search. Won’t let them find the bartender’s body.
Tommy Blue liked the Chinese torture. Tying the guy’s bent legs. To his neck. Hog-tying him. The legs get tired. He chokes himself to death. Tommy Blue hog-tied Harold. The first one a fat Jew.
Jews get controlled by women. Wife controls the house. That’s how they make money. Not by selling the wife’s pussy. The wife pushes them. Do lots of jobs. And finish everything.
The majority of Jews. Madly in love with their wives. They’ll die before giving up big money. Only way getting a Jew’s money. Right off the bat. Shoot the wife. Now she’s crying. And moaning. You’re not a Jew. Try to get your money. Shoot your wife in the belly. You’d say, “Shoot her again. I ain’t opening the safe (chuckles).”
This Jew ran crap games. Mostly with the longshoremen. The Ship’s Galley Diner. He ran crap games behind it. Sitting on a milk case.
At the army base. Every Friday. And every Tuesday. It was payday. He was doing everything. Holding the money. Rolling the dice. Backing the dice. Bingo. The first guy giving seven to one. On the double numbers. Doing it for years. He made a fortune.
At twelve noon. The game would start. Unless we robbed the payroll. Putting the pillow case. Or the paper bag. Over our heads. “Oh, no! You’re back again (laughs).”
Tommy Blue made a good score. The Chinese torture killed the Jew. He went in the car trunk. He gave the money up. The safe was open.
Tommy Blue went to Walpole. For carrying a pistol at Buddy’s funeral. The cops shook everybody down. Pinched two guys with guns. When going in the can. He’s an altar boy. A goody-good guy. They parole him. That’s his gaff.
Tommy Blue. And Whitey come out. At the same time. Whitey’s swabbing the courthouse. TOMMY BLUE was the king. “I’ll get that Gaga. I’ll blow his tongue off. Ba. Ba. Ba. Baa.”
Finishing my second Dedham bit. Tommy Blue thought I’m at Grampian Way. He was ALL OVER Grampian Way.
When robbing the ring in Jamaica. I took the big bubble out. Gave the ring to my mom. The ring was solid platinum. Diamond on each side. My getaway money. Albany jeweler paid three grand. I visited my sister. She lived in Albany. Bang. I’m in Maine. And Canada.
The Mullens was hustling by themselves. They’re hanging in Leo Swartz’s bar. Around the corner from South Station. Leo had guys booking. That was his thing. All by himself.
Paulie McGonagle. Tommy King. Pat Nee. And them wild guys. Liked hanging in there. When they get drunk. Dig initials in the bar. They’re just being regular kids.
Tommy Blue was pretty tough. Probably could beat Tommy King. But Eddy could beat everybody. He was the number one fighter. Buddy number two. Bernie number two. And a half. Bobby Fidder number three. The Mullens number four (laughs).
Leo Swartz told Tommy Blue, “Straighten them kids out. I don’t want them in my bar anymore.” Tommy Blue gave them the word. Paulie was a tough kid. He said, “F… you.”
Tommy Blue. And another guy. Waited outside Paulie’s house. Killed Paulie’s brother by mistake. Tommy Blue had a couple murders. And he had walk-arounds. Guys who drank with him. Looked up to him. He was going in. And out. In. And out. The Mullens wanted him DEAD.
They found him in Charlestown. Little barroom near the Alibi. Tommy Blue liked drinking in there. He used a shortcut. Went between the buildings. Into the alley. They blew him apart.
Tommy Blue killed the electrician. And Paulie’s kid brother. Two wrong guys. Tommy Blue’s the BIG MAN. There was no competition. Same with Whitey. Tommy Blue gets killed. Whitey becomes the BIG MAN. Because there’s no competition. There’s nobody around.
The Mullens
The Mullen’s corner. “O.” And East Second Street. During World War I. A soldier named Mullen won a medal. They put a sign up. That gang started there. They was the oldest Mullens. It went down the line. These kids was the fifth Mullens.
Eddie Murray was a tough kid. Mullen with no police record. I said, “You don’t want to end up down the waterfront. Play your cards right. I’ll give you so much a week. I’ll get you on the Brinks trucks. And you give me the information. Not the one you’re handling. But the other trucks.” I duked him fifties. Twenties. Hundreds. He got pinched stealing cars.
Tommy King come from the South End. He moved over here. Hanging with Eddie Murray. And that crowd. Tommy was a street fighter. He wanted to be Whitey. The bossman. Whitey outslicked him.
Paulie McGonagle looked like a punch-drunk fighter. Split lip. Broken nose. But fair skin. Not bad looking. I knew his father. I knew most their fathers. From hanging on the corner. Sharing a bottle of wine. Behind the aquarium. By Farragut Road.
Paulie McGonagle. And Tommy King. They was both the same. Hoodlums. Strictly hoodlums. You show them what to do. And they DO IT.
Paulie McGonagle. And Buddy Roach. They’re in Deer Island together. Doing time for a house score. They ran the commissioner’s house. And picked barbituates up. By the thousand. A guy would come. If they made fifteen hundred. Give the guy a grand. He’d leave more bottles of pills.
Buddy’s brother could have saved them. He was the Boston police commissioner. But he wouldn’t save them. They did a year.
The Mullens was longshoremen. Bobby Kidd. And Warren Kidd. Hired the Mullens (laughs). They had no choice. The Mullens punched the shit out of them.
Ray Kidd was the father. He had the wood union. Made his sons stevedores. Picked the scallies up. They was nothing. Take their cigarettes. Slap their face. Anybody could. The ship terminal entrance. You see monstrous stacks of lumber. That was the pickup spot.
They’re longshoremen. Four. Five years. All of a sudden. They listened to Billy O’Sullivan. He got them hopped up. They’re being big-time gangsters. Billy gave them. And Whitey the plan. They went for it. They’re saying, “Yay! Billy. You’re the kingpin!”
Billy had the brains. And the balls. To double-cross everybody. Which he did. The Mullens killed him. Billy took a cab home. Walked to his front steps. Two of them come running out. Billy ran the other way. Middle of the street. Banged him out.
They’re hanging in the Essex Hotel. Across the street from South Station. Almost beside the Waldorf cafeteria. They had Southie broads. Everything in there. Leo Swartz’s bar was around the corner. It was a big barroom. He had guys booking.
The Mullens liked Babilou’s. I saved their bacon. When the waitress went away. They ran out the back door. Half of them got pinched. “I’ll take care of it Babilou.” “Thanks a lot Gug.” The cops let them go. Bingo. They’d barrel out the door. Run up the side street. And down Essex Street. To the Essex Hotel.
Paulie McGonagle. Tommy King. Pat Nee. And them wild guys. They all had knives. Go in Leo Swartz’s bar. Get drunk. Acting like kids. Dig initials in the bar.
Leo talked to Tommy Blue. “Straighten them kids out. I don’t want them in my bar anymore.” Tommy Blue gave them the word. Paulie McGonagle said, “F… you.” Paulie was a tough kid too.
Tommy Blue went with another guy. I can’t remember his name. They killed Paulie’s brother. Paulie was shacking up. The brother had Paulie’s car. Blew the kid’s brains out.
The Mullens wanted Tommy Blue DEAD. They found him in Charlestown. A little tavern he liked. Between the buildings. A shortcut. To the forty steps. They waited for him. And blew him apart.
The other guy ran to Florida. The Mullens knew girls in the airport. They could get free tickets. They went to Florida. Killed the guy. Now they’re big shots.
Jimmy Walsh put a kid. Booking in the Pub Tavern. The Mullens killed him for nothing. They waited outside his house. To borrow money. He refused. They shot him.
One Mullen died from AIDS. After they cut up money. Jimmy Manville hit the barbotte game. Whitey yelled, “What are you doing?” Whitey didn’t like the guinea games. Manville didn’t like Whitey yelling at him. Being told how to spend his money. Manville did stickups with other guys. Went in the can. And died.
Paulie McGonagle had a Charlestown girlfriend. He gave her a beating. She had five bad brothers. Tough street fighters. The brothers killed Paulie. That was the rumor.
But Paulie collected money. Disappeared for two days. Showed up with the money. It was six grand short. Paulie got killed. By his BEST FRIEND. Because Whitey couldn’t control him.
We heard Whitey was hiding Paulie. We thought one thing. In a ski lodge. Howie Winter. And his crowd. Kept dynamite in Vermont. They had a few hideouts. If somebody goes on the run. They can hide him in Vermont. And ski lodges in New Hampshire. We thought Paulie was hiding up there.
Tommy King slapped Whitey’s face. They’re in the Transit. Three in the afternoon. Sitting in a booth. Tommy King stood up. “You ain’t the boss.” “WHACK.” Everybody seen it. Whitey didn’t move an inch. He just kept sitting there.
Tommy King took his friend for a ride. To the Columbia Point projects. Tommy said, “Wait here. I’ll be right down.” He got a gun. And killed his friend. For being with an old girlfriend. Somebody he gave up a year ago!
Tommy left him in the car. Ran to the subway. And went to Whitey. They put Tommy in Vermont. One of Howie’s ski lodges.
His friend come in the Beachcomber. Tommy was hanging in there. Being a big shot. “Hi. How you doing? You look good.” “We’ve been together for a year now. Bup. Bup. Baa.” “Can you do me a favor?” “Sure. Anything for you Tommy.” “Come on. Drive me to my house.” Bing. Bang. Boom.
Tommy’s lifetime friend. A regular guy. Shined shoes. Sold newspapers. Did everything together. But no thief.
Whitey arranged killing Tommy. He convinced Howie Winter. Tommy was a threat. Pretended they’re whacking Suitcase Fidler. In the Carson Beach parking lot. Four of them got thirty-eights. Tommy’s pistol had blanks. Shot him in the head.
The Mullens corner was TOUGH. After Skinbags beat my brother up. He was stationed between “P” Street. And Farragut Road. Walked that area. Ben Leah. Barney McGrail. Timmy Anvale. Big-time drunkards. Picked up a sewer cover. Threw Skinbags down in there. Dropped the sewer cover back on.
Skinbags fired his gun off. That’s how he got help. Before getting the help. Billy Kirby said, “Let me in there. I’ll piss all over him.” He pisses on him. Skinbags fires his gun. People helped him climb out.
Billy Kirby got pinched later. He was probably stiff drunk. Skinbags walked in the cellblock. “Here’s Kirby (gleeful voice)!” Bing. Bang. Boom. Crash. Beat him with the club. What a job he done on him!
Billy Kirby’s sister made a gang of money. She had him photographed. Just a single broad. An old Irish broad. Like a maiden. Knew her stuff though. She went up the courthouse. They tried to backdoor her. She went to the mayor’s house. Went to the governor’s house.
Ten kids in that family. She was about fifty. Kirby was twenty-two. Twenty-three. He was the baby. They gave her a big settlement.
Kirby fought in World War II. He forged his age too. Fought the Korean War. Retired from the navy. Moved to Australia. And got married.
I’m down the Mullens corner. Talking with the younger guys. “Ha ha. Ha ha.” Somebody’s yelling from across the street. “Gaga.” “Gaga (soft voice).” “Gaga. It’s me. Billy.” “Jesus Christ, how you been?” “This is my wife. How you doing?”
We went to the Farragut House. Bought them meals. And drinks. They flew to Australia. Kirby sent me a postcard. Saying he made it back okay. Kirby’s cousin is Flynn. Mayor Raymond Flynn.
Eddy Murphy. Bobby Murphy. And them. They’re lifetime “O.” And East Second Street guys. They’re Johnny-come-latelies. Somebody before them. Somebody before them. And somebody before them.
Coming from that corner. You was your own man. “He’s a boxer.” “What do I care? He’s a boxer. He gives me any trouble. I’ll nail him.” “BANG (punches palm hard).” That’s how they grew up.
If you bothered them. They’d fight you. If they lost. They lost. Fight you one on one. But it all depends. If Eddie Murphy. Bobby Murphy. And Wally Murphy was there. They’d jump on top of you. Jump on top of ME. They’re BROTHERS.
Whitey knew them. Like Eddie Murphy. “Hi, Whitey.” “Hi. How are you (macho voice)?” All the Mullens knew. Whitey was a piece of shit.
Dear Matt, I want to applaud you. I believe you’re the strongest (no fear) anti-FBI corruption voice on the internet. But your understanding of some things seems too simplistic. For example, your description of the Mullens. I’ll post the “Mullens” chapter. Also, although you didn’t comment on Kevin Weeks’ falsehood that Whitey killed Paulie McGonagle’s kid brother, I’ll post the “Tommy Ballou” chapter. I think your readers would appreciate knowing the truth.
Dear Matt, I know you’re very busy, but you should have read “‘Gaga’: The Real Whitey Bulger/ Irish Mob Story.” Gaga, surviving McLaughlin gang member, knows what happened in Southie. For instance, Whitey killing Donald Killeen: “Whitey knew he was gone. He made a deal with the kids. ‘I’ll kill Donald. And you’ll be with me.’ Whitey goes out to Framingham. Donald leaves the house. Whitey machine-guns him. The kids side in with Whitey. They don’t want to be with him. They want to be BOSS OF HIM. Whitey outslicks them.”
Here’s a 5-star review that states: “Gaga obviously knows his subject.”
5.0 out of 5 starsWould have liked more on Whitey’s gay mentor from the Pen Tavern
By Dion O’Banion on June 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very interesting take, in spite of sloppiness and repetition Gaga obviously knows his subject. Would have liked more on Whitey’s gay mentor from the Pen Tavern, Hank Geraghty (it’s not Garrity!). He was one of Whitey’s two visitors at Leavenworth, along with Willie McDonough of the Globe. Hank I think introduced Whitey to many things, including Sal Mineo at Blinstrub’s. Good addition to the library, if you can call Kindle a library
Matt
Did Bucky Barrett serve time at MCI Concord in 1962
or 1965?
In other news
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-shooting-gun-store-owner-says-they-called-fbi-about-omar-mateen/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17&yptr=yahoo
CBS NEWS June 16, 2016, 5:16 PM
Gun store owner: We called FBI before Orlando shooting
JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — The co-owner of a Florida gun store says his employees contacted law enforcement before the Orlando shooting after gunman Omar Mateen attempted to purchase body armor and ammunition.
Robbie Abell, co-owner of Lotus Gunworks, said Thursday his workers had a gut feeling about Mateen when he came to the store four or five weeks ago.
Mateen asked for level 3 body armor, according to Abell, but was told the store didn’t carry it. He then made a phone call and spoke in Arabic before asking for bulk ammunition, but employees did not sell it to him.
Abell told reporters “we contacted FBI direct” after Mateen left the store but he did not elaborate on how investigators responded. He believed his employees did what they should have done, Abell said.
Law enforcement officials have told CBS News at this point, they have
First time I’ve ever heard you refer to Flemmi as Whitey’s boss.
That’s a 180.
Rather:
I never said Whitey was Flemmi’s boss. That is a media creation. They were partners but in the school of murder Flemmi was clearly heads and shoulders over Whitey. Weeks pointed out how Whitey would never have said something negative to Flemmi because Flemmi was a real psychopath who would shoot him in a minute. No doubt they were partners; no doubt Whitey did not boss Flemmi around; could Flemmi have bossed Whitey around depends on the circumstances.
Matt,
Correct,….you have never said Whitey was Flemmi’s boss.
I didn’t either. It could be implied, though, but….
Maybe he was the evil, diabolical genius behind everything.
Maybe he thought more long-term than Whitey and took the hit up front and bided his time while Whitey was stretching his socks and stocking up on paper towels sitting on 800k…..and is now spending his millions legally.
Rather:
Flemmi was the quiet one, Whitey was the talker. When Jimmy the Sniff Katz testified he told how it was Flemmi who put the arm on him to pay tribute and how everyone feared Flemmi. Whitey liked the idea he was number one and still believes he was this major criminal. Flemmi was always interested in Flemmi and preferred to stay in the background making his deals. Whitey never became other than an underling in Winter Hill until Flemmi came back on the scene and they found a commonality in each other – they worked out, stayed sober, wanted money and women. Flemmi invested wisely in lots of real estate some which he still has; Whitey had trouble investing in the liquor store which Flemmi also had a piece of. Whitey was upset that Flemmi was hanging around with Salemme after the latter got out of the can and told Flemmi he didn’t like it but Flemmi didn’t stop. There’s lots to point at to show Flemmi was the bigger guy in the relationship. Flemmi was the informant who went from Rico, to Condon, to Connolly. He had is cases fixed by the FBI in state court.
The reason it is difficult to believe Flemmi was the number one guy is because the media made Whitey into number one. The movies are about Whitey. There are no books by other than Howie Carr on Flemmi and even there he only put out an federal interview inserting some of his own thoughts. Flemmi was the one with the state cop informant Richard Schneiderhan not Whitey. Whitey never really got into murdering people until Flemmi came on the scene. In normal circumstances considering his history and method of doing things an person reading about both men without being tainted by the publicity would probably make Flemmi the senior partner.
Matt
Definitely agree with you that Flemmi flys way under the radar regarding the media circus. Probably also due to Whitey Bulger brother is Billy that there is a more “sensational” aspect. It sounds like Flemmi was/is the seasoned professional with YEARS under his belt in the Boston/New England organized crime scene and may have mentored Whitey Bulger. not just directly but indirectly Flemmi schooled Whitey on the do’s and do not’s to succeed as a criminal in Boston.
Matt
Interesting note that Whitey wouldnt think of saying anything negative or disrespectful to Flemmi because Flemmi would shoot him without hesitation. Sounds like Flemmi was much more dangerous as an individual than Whitey. when it comes to Bulger it sounds like he was methodical and very cautious about who he would murder and why. Whereas Flemmi falls under the umbrella of Barboza, Vincent “the Bear” Flemmi, and John Martorano. Total hair trigger psychopaths
Matt,
What do you think of Montanari and another agent showing up at Jon’s brother’s girlfriend’s mothers house within minutes of the shooting of Donahue and Halloran, and the sealing of the record.
Maybe Whitey really did have six agents ready to hop in the hotbox with grease guns at his behest………..
Rather:
Jon’s told that story years ago. There is a long history connected with it. A suit was filed in federal court over it and it was not successful. It is a strange tale but before your post I never heard that Montinari, who by the way is as straight an FBI as there is, was the FBI agent that showed up at his brother’s house. Montinari was one of the agents who was working hard on the investigation of the Wheeler murder. There would be no reason for him to be involved in a cover-up or anything like that.
Matt,
Apologies if I misused Montanari’s name.
I think I read somewhere that he was Halloran’s handler, who told him to stay down the Cape that day at the safehouse, but Halloran regrettably came up to the waterfront anyway.
Rather:
No apologies necessary for if they were I’d be apologizing every day. You are correct that Montanari was Halloran’s handler along with a guy named Brunnick. Fitzpatrick was the ASAC in the office at the time. He sometimes has talked in a way to make it look like he was a handler. Montanari did go to him to ask him to keep the Halloran file in his office. Montanari testified (Brunnick was dead by 2002) that they were in their office in Boston when they got a call from Halloran who told them he was in a barroom in Boston – they were quite pissed since he was supposed to be on the Cape – he had also told them that he told his lawyer he was cooperating with the FBI which also upset them. Brunnick called him back at the bar shortly before he was killed and read him the riot act that they were going to walk away from him if he continued not to follow their instructions. It is a little unclear whether they left it like that or went down to see him in my mind. It was shortly after that he was gunned down.