(My blog site was not operating properly yesterday so I delayed this post until today.)
Whitey Bulger was not supposed to go to trial. He was probably never supposed to be captured. A secret hope existed in the bowels of the prosecution arm of the Department of Justice, especially the FBI, that he’d slide into old age and pass on.
The history of the era would be clamped shut. The popular mindset of beliefs would be cemented forever: that there was only one bad apple in the FBI; that the totality of all that was venal and corrupt, even the spread of illegal drugs, was mainly the responsibility of one man, Whitey; and that he was aided by his brother in carrying on his activities.
If only Whitey had slipped away quietly those “truths” would never have been questioned. A big red stamp would be put on his obituary: FACTS DETERMINED: CASE CLOSED. Voices of dissent would have been effectively quashed. No audience would care.
You are thinking, if that’s the case, why did they capture him? Why not leave well enough alone? Why kick the sleeping monster?
Here’s what happened.
A person named Jim posted a comment on my blog. He wrote: “I always found it interesting how closely he was captured after Bin Laden, specifically after Pakistan said this regarding Whitey after accusing Pakistan of protecting bin laden.” He referred me to an article in The Atlantic written on May 2, 2011. In it a reporter wrote that he had just talked Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. The ambassador was responding to the criticism of Pakistan for its inability to capture Bin Laden.
He said, “If Whitey Bulger can live undetected by American police for so long, why can’t Osama Bin Laden live undetected by Pakistani authorities?”
You can be sure if he said this to a reporter he was only repeating what he said to the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others in the State Department. He and other leaders of the world were telling the US to wash its own dirty dishes before complaining about others. The flight of Whitey Bulger had become a topic that foreign leaders were now using to shut their ears to American complaints and to toss back in Uncle Sam’s face.
You just know what happened after that. The State Department went to the president’s people and complained that the inaction in finding Whitey was hurting the US. It was no longer a domestic problem that could be covered up, it had become an international scandal that the guy on the Top Ten Criminal list next to Bin Laden had been wandering around free for 16 years and no one in the vaunted FBI, the oft called best investigative agency in the world, could find him.
So the word went out, we don’t care how embarrassed the FBI may be if they capture Whitey, its inaction is harming the United States. The president put pressure on AG Holder who did the same to the FBI. Then the full court press began and the man who had grown up in St. Monica’s parish in South Boston was found in Santa Monica, California living with the woman who he took with him on his 16 years flight, Catherine Greig, who is now incarcerated for 8 years, as I noted a much higher sentence than has been meted out to Mafia leaders in recent years, because she stuck by her man.
On May 1, 2011, 133 days before the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden was caught and killed. 53 days later on June 23, 2011, Whitey, who had been on the lam for 16 and a half years was captured.
It should have been apparent to all of us that this was occurring. I believed that during the first decade the FBI didn’t want him taken because of all the things he knew. I know all those guys who wrote their books thought the same thing or they wouldn’t have put them out. I believed he was captured because most of the agents who had worked with him had retired. That was a dumb. I should realize, as I wrote in my book Don’t Embarrass The Family, agents don’t matter, it is the FBI’s reputation that counts. Jim’s curiosity about this coincidence brought all this to light.
Whitey’s capture opened a hornets’ nest. Everything that was done in the past was reopened. Things looks a lot differently now that Whitey is on the scene to tell his side of the story. A fresh look back at the one-sided unquestioned politically correct propaganda shows things are not quite what they appeared at the time.
J.W. Carney’s (he’s not a “go along get along” type lawyer – he’s the kind you need when you’re in a real battle) determination to defend Whitey, as he should be defended under our Constitution, has opened a door that we were told was sealed forever. His November 2, 2012, motion for discovery asks that the many secrets that lie behind that door be revealed. He wants to know what exactly was known to the DOJ attorney’s and the FBI about Whitey’s deal with O’Sullivan and much more like why aren’t people that the DOJ attorneys know were involved in murders not being prosecuted. We may finally find the whole truth about this sordid era which will certainly contradict the idea of one rogue agent, one bad guy and one bad politician that we’ve been spoon fed for years by the feds and the media.
I would like to know how this story is relevant to Dr.Danboise?
I hate this corruption and I’m beginning to hate this country….can’t wait to leave it. Just venting.
Jen:
Don’t leave, stay and do something about it. We need as many people as we can find who are put off by what seems to be a lot of corruption to stick around and see what they can do to stop it and make us a better society. Feel free to vent. Nice to hear from you and thanks for writing.
what are the odds that whitey ever takes the stand? it is hard to believe that it took pakistan to bring whitey to justice so to speak. how this all came about is going to make for some trial.
Doug:
Right now it’s 99 to 1 Whitey will take the stand. He’s got nothing to lose and he wants to tell his side of the story. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.
I do remember that Pakistani officials comment in regards to Whitey’s run. Thinking about it, it is just amazing that it took becoming an international scandal before the ‘powers that be’ simply said, ‘Enough, bring Whitey home now’. And so it was. Until then, Whitey really had a lot of ‘protection’. Certainly beyond the FBI. I hope he lives long enough to tell his story. But what are the odds of that?
Thanks for writing LB. I’m not sure Whitey will live long enough especially since he’s been at the hospital twice since his capture. Carney says he’s in good health. I hope he makes it to trial because he has another side of this story that has never been told. I’m surprised how much that has come out that seemed to have passed unnoticed in the past. The FBI and DOJ would shed no tears if he didn’t make it now that Carney is putting up a fight. It all remains to be seen how it works out. Meanwhile there is a lot to ponder about our government and its dealings with murderers that has been swept under the rug. 2
One can only pray that all secrets to include all aliases used by James Bulger will be exposed…It is very difficult for my family to believe that John Iuele was not one of those aliases names.
For example, John Iuele told me that he was affiliated with Winthrop Properties. John Iuele’s description is the exact match to one James J Bulger. I know from personal experience that a person meeting the physical description of former FBI agent John Connolly presented himself as a patient to the dental practice of Dr. Reginald Daboise; which was located, at that time, in the financial district of Boston, MA. Former FBI Agent Connolly used the name of John Iuele from Winthrop Properties as the person who referred him to Dr. Danboise. A person working at that time at Dr. Danboise’s office recognized Mr. Connolly to be former FBI Agent Connolly. Her husband worked at Boston Edison. It is my understanding that former FBI Agent Connolly worked at Boston Edison after he retired from the FBI.
This connection would make a reasonable person wonder how former FBI Agent Connolly knew John Iuele? And in what capacity? My family prays that this is one of the secrets that will now be exposed in the discovery process leading up to the upcoming trial in March, 2013.
Jean: That’s an interesting story you tell about the FBI agent Connolly being a patient of Dr. Daboise. Connolly did work at Boston Edison. I see you have contacted the U.S. government agencies in the past and also made an attempt to learn some information from Whitey Bulger’s lawyer. I don’t know about the latter but it seems your former attempts have been unsuccessful. You are probably going to have to wait until the trial of Bulger and see if any of the attorneys bring that issue up. Thanks for writing.
This past week Dr. Reginald Danboise, it has been alleged, murdered his wife and then committed suicide. I was looking for his obituary and came across this web page with his name in it. Really strange and just thought I would mention it.
Gail:
Did not include web page.
When I said “this webpage” I meant “this” or the “Bulger” Blog you are now reading. If you google Reginald Danboise and Mary Danboise, you will find many articles about the recent murder – suicide. It made national news. Just thought it was strange that Dr. Danboise’s name was noted in this blog.
Gail:
Appreciate the clarification. Thanks.
Now you’re on to something. We all know Whitey’s a horrible murderous sociopath. What we don’t know is how far up the chain of the FBI did they know it. DOJ would like us to believe the buck stopped with Connolly and Morris.
But the House Government Reform Committee uncovered documents linking their predecessor agent Rico and his deadly deals with killer informants (Barboza, Vincent “The Bear” Flemmi) leading up to J. Edgar Hoover.
Question is how will Carney get to the bottom of any of this is Stearns’ courtroom when the evidence could implicate the judge’s friends.
I think it is clear it was well known all the way to the top. Agent Fitzpatrick in his book alleges they all knew at headquarters and that’s why he could not do anything about it. His book is more fiction than fact so take that with a grain of salt but there are other indications and reports showing it was well known in the FBI what kind of person he was. Every SAC and ASAC in the FBI who came to Boston knew Whitey was one of their partners. You’re right about the House Committee. J.Edgar was handing out awards and promotions to agents who he had to know were framing people. I’ve heard it said that the biggest organized crime group in America is the FBI only we’re not supposed to know it.
If anyone can get to the bottom of it Carney can do it. He’s not afraid to be unpopular with the judges. A lot of lawyers are. Go to any bench and bar get together and watch the lawyers crowd around the judges trying to please them. Carney really believes he has an obligation to his client. As a former prosecutor I must admit lawyers like him made my life a lot harder.
I think Stearns should recuse himself. His legal career has been as a prosecutor and judge. He’s friends with the FBI Director whose agency is on trial and as you know the FBI would do anything to avoid being embarrassed. He also was a prosecutor when the actions of prosecutors he worked with will be questioned, even his boss, William Weld.
I’d think we’d want a clean case to come out of this. Too many things are coming up that may leave us wondering whether Whitey did get a fair trial including the rush to trial, the continuing fight over discovery, the passes to other murderers, and the need to protect those on the inside. You’re right about what Whitey is, but we should be able to learn about all that happened that empowered him. Thanks for writing and commenting.
Haqqani referenced Bulger – Ambassador Haqquani taught at Boston University – B.U. employs the “pen pushers” to the drug pushers.
I didn’t know he taught at BU. That probably accounts for his knowledge of Whitey and the entry in Wikipedia that he is a Red Sox fan. Maybe he fell under the spell of Howard Zinn who by the way was a bombardier during WWII in the European Theater flying B-17s, the same job as one of my uncles who was killed in a B-17 during WWII. Thanks for the information and for writing.