The more I see it the more probable it seems is that the 2000 book Black Mass manufactured a scenario based on made up and confused ideas of the authors as to what happened and laid the base for all that followed. After it came Ralph Ranalli’s 2001 book Deadly Alliance which loosely followed Black Mass but included in it the testimony in front of Judge Wolf and episodes involving other top echelon’s informants. Then came Howie Carr’s 2006 which took from both of those and threw in incidents with Billy Bulger, the man he’s made a ton of money off by slandering.
None of these authors who set the tone and established what were to become the accepted facts about Whitey’s life grew up with gangsters, worked daily with cops or involved themselves in the investigation of criminal activities. They were all newspaper reporters, voyeurs, looking in under the partially drawn shades believing their obstructed view was the true story.
Black Mass was written with the help of two FBI agents. The Christian family’s two greatest commandments set out by Jesus are things you should do: love God and love you neighbor as yourself. The FBI family’s two greatest commandments set out by J. Edger Hoover are things you shouldn’t do: embarrass the FBI and disclose the identity of an informant.
The two FBI agents who cooperated with the authors of Black Mass violated the latter commandment. They revealed to the Globe that Whitey was an FBI informant. One, the more sinister, did so hoping he could get Whitey killed; the other did so “after all the years of frustration and betrayal” by the FBI and believing Whitey was “a liability who’d never given the FBI any information of substance.”
Black Mass is written from a perspective of two agents with a warped limited view of Whitey. It is filled with stories that these agents gave the authors which mostly came from the verbose Connolly who regaled and bewildered them and other fellow agents with stories of his connections, Whitey’s prowess, and himself. Ironically, to believe a good portion of Black Mass you must believe the much reviled John Connolly. Some facts in Black Mass are right but the explanation of how they came about is wrong.
If the base of the building is not solid, then the building will be weak. The stories following Black Mass had all the defects of that story. Once these defects were shown not to be right, everyone doubled down on them. No one wanted to take a second look and say “what’s wrong with this picture.”
I attribute some of it to not knowing the gangster mind. If you don’t grow up with these people you don’t have a clue what is going on. It’s a different world than what these authors are used to. They attribute straight forward motives to these gangsters for their doings. They don’t understand these people do things just for the hell of it. That what most would consider depraved, these guys consider fun. That they’re never on the level unless you are really close to them and when you are it’s probably only half the time. They tell how they conned this one or that one but everything revolves around them making a score.
The authors did not to catch on to the FBI world with the limits and license its agents have. J. Edgar Hoover set up an organization that demanded loyalty and fidelity to all things FBI. You don’t talk out of school about what is happening in the Family. So even having two agents as sources, both agents knew they were doing wrong so they gave only half a cake, not the whole story. They still were imbued with the spirit of loyalty to the Bureau even though they were violating one of its most sacred commandments.
I’m thinking of this now because the most obvious flashing sign in the whole Whitey saga is that he was never an informant other than being carried as one on the books of the FBI. The authors tell of how awful it was that the FBI had Whitey as an informant and in the same breath tell of how little information he had been providing. They can’t understand how the FBI could have kept him as an informant in this case.
They never step back to realize that maybe he wasn’t an informant. Maybe most of the information Connolly attributed to him came from Flemmi, or even others. Perhaps Connolly carried him on the books as such to make himself look good; or perhaps to cover his meets with Flemmi; or because as all the gangsters say he was being paid; or even because he believed that since he got some information from Whitey in routine conversations he was an informant. Why did everyone not catch on that if no information is coming from a person as they suggest he is not an informant no matter what it says on the FBI books?
The authors also make the fundamental mistake of suggesting Flemmi somehow was not an informant when Whitey became an informant; or that Whitey became Connolly’s informant first and he brought along Flemmi. It’s backwards. Getting it backwards is a major mistake. We know because Flemmi was always the informant. He was the one with the information the FBI needed. The authors say as much but don’t seem to understand how this all fits together.
There is another Whitey story. It is much more complex in one way but simpler in another than we have been led to believe. I’m trying to ferret it out in my reexamination which I have been away from. I intend to return to it on Monday.
I do agree with you that we don’t know, what we don’t know about, as Paul Harvey was known to say, “the rest of the story”. What is the likelihood that when Attorney Carney files his evidence with the court that it will be sealed? Clearly, if Attorney Carney has what he claims to have, some very powerful folks who are not dead may be named? What are the court’s rules in such a high profile case with so much public interest?
Jean:
Good question. Carney is in a box. He can’t file his information under seal because even if he does the prosecutor will have a chance to look at it. Worse, from his point of view, he’d have to have an open hearing on it. The only one left to testify about what was said between Whitey and O’Sullivan on the immunity issue is Whitey. To do that he will have to give the prosecutors a shot at him on the stand. I doubt it. He’ll probably want to save his story for trial if he is going to testify. Even then, Judge Stearns will tell the jury that there is no way he can have immunity for murders to be committed in the future. Carney will have to hope the jurors refuse to follow Stearns instructions. In other words, Whitey’s one hope now hinges on a run away jury. Even if he gets it he still has to face murder charges in Florida and Oklahoma where the jurors are not going to take too kindly to a Yankee gangster.
Good morning,
When did you leave the Norfolk County D.A.’s office? I would like to re-emphasize that there is more than an ounce of redemption if Bulger were to give up Edward MacKenzie regarding MacKenzie’s sexual assault cases that disappeared. This would truly be an Honorable thing for Bulger to do and he can do it, with corroboration from Kevin O’Neil and others. One mught say that MacKenzie is on par with the likes of Idi Amin in his treatment of women – it’s criminal when America has sent so much humanitarian aid for abused women abroad to places like Africa ruled by war lords while simultaneously, and not merely overlooking, but supporting the self described ‘street soldier’ Ed MacKenzie in his brutal assaults against young girls. we’ve had our own Idi Amin war lords abusing women here in Boston while we patronizingly send humanitarian aid to Africa and point out all that is heinous about the Taliban…..and nobody here in Boston wants to address that MacKenzie brutalized young girls to include that he made movies of young innocent girls being sexually victimized with his dogs????
Jan:
I was about to say good morning back but we’ve slipped into the afternoon. I was with the Norfolk DA from 1975 until 1997. When I got there we had no special programs but Bill Delahunt was very active as the time went by in establishing the first such programs in the Commonwealth in the area of victim witness advocates, Sheila Martin was the first person in the Commonwealth specifically assigned to that program. He then was the first to up a Sexual Abuse Program which would bring about a Domestic Violence Program. During my years these programs were headed by young women trial lawyers who were very intent on protecting the rights of women. Two of them have gone on to distinguished careers as jurists. They were very aggressive and had pretty much of a carte blanche to go after anyone involved in any violation against women. I held a position where I would hear frequent complaints from the judges about them pushing too hard on cases. I’d have to suggest to the judges that was their job. I agree fully with you, as you surmised from my prior comments, that people like MacKenzie who abuse women belong in jail.
Your reference to “the boys” brought back memories of the days where the women lawyers in the office would be at odds with “the boys” as they pushed the ball forward. Now, in the legal business, we have a strong cadre of women who are intent on protecting women from brutes like MacKenzie which is good. I’ve offered in the past that the biggest change in America during the last third of the 20th Century was the push by women for equal rights with men in all professions. That has been an enormous revolution which brought about massive changes in our society. I hope people like MacKenzie will no longer exist in our society now that the power is shared more equally.
The Norfolk county d.a.’s office and victim witness program corruptively finagled letting organize crime associate Buddy Fallon’s son of the hook when he abused a young women back in 1994. Norfolk County really didn’t do Fallon any favors in the long run as Fallon would have been better of taking a closer look at his own destructive behavior sooner than later and has consequently found himself in at least a couple more serious situations with women subsequent to 1994. Fallon’s cousin, Ms. Perkins, works with the victim/witness program in Norfolk county also. It seems the authorities routinely have working relationships and do favors for organized crime associates and their family members that often involves corruption, false arrests, lack of arrests when warranted, etc., etc. all the same issues surrounding the Bulger saga.
Jan:
I’ll have to see if I can check into what you say. I never heard of the situation. I’m not sure who Perkins is at this point but I’ll be able to refresh my recollection. I’d be surprised if a victim/witness person would have any impact into the decision of an ADA whether to charge or not. I don’t know Buddy Fallon or his son. Do you know why Buddy is organized crime and his son’s first name. Can you tell us more about the cases?
I think your suggestion in reference to Norfolk County that there were “working relationships and do favors for organized crime associates an their family members that involve corruption, false arrests, lace of arrests when warranted” is wrong. I’d like to hear more about what you allege happened between that office and organized criminals. You may recollect Whitey continually complained about our office.
I already explained who the Fallon’s are in previous posts. The case involved the state police who never read the female victim her rights because it took them a while to realize they’d be arresting her as a means of giving the defendant a trump card. Do the state police take a mug shot when they arrest somebody? An ADA can influence the victim/witness person to back off on doing their job appropriately due to the finagling with and connections that Fallon had. In a different case, Edward MacKenzie was charged with sexual assault in Quincy which is Norfolk County and as far as I know, consistent with most charges against MacKenzie, nothing ever proceeded on those charges either against MacKenzie.
Jan:
You accused the Norfolk DA’s office of “corruptively finagled letting organize crime associate Buddy Fallon’s son of the hook” and other things. I asked you for more information about Fallon — who is he, why is he an organized crime type. I’ve looked for your explanation and can’t find it. I wanted to know what the Norfolk DA’s office did that was corrupt. ou reply about some state police activity. What has that got to do with the DA’s office? You suggest Ms Perkins a victim/witness advocate improperly intervened in Fallon’s case by influencing and ADA and then you reply about an ADA influencing a victim/witness person. You then bring up a case against Edward MacKenzie in Quincy without telling when, how or what happened. I’d suggest if you have some specifics let us know.