Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story Of The Capture & Killing Of America's Most Wanted Crime Boss

The New York Post offers an excerpt from a new book on the capture and death of the notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger.

The leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang and No. 1 on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Whitey Bulger was indicted for 19 counts of murder, racketeering, narcotics distribution and extortion. But it was his 16-year flight from justice on the eve of his arrest that made him a legend. In this exclusive excerpt from the new book “Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture & Killing of America’s Most Wanted Crime Boss,” authors Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge reveal how the notorious Bulger finally got caught . . . 

On the night of May 1, 2011, people around the world heard the news about the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Then-President Barack Obama made the announcement, interrupting a nationally televised baseball game between the Mets and the Phillies:

“Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” he declared.

In Santa Monica, at Barney’s Beanery on the Third Street Promenade, bar patrons broke into cheer; “USA, USA,” they shouted. At the popular Santa Monica pub Britannia, one grizzled barfly hoisted his mug in the air. “The bastard’s dead. I’ll drink to that!”

Inside apartment 303 at the Princess Eugenia Apartments, James “Whitey” Bulger sat in his living room with his girlfriend Catherine Greig, watching the announcement with a mixture of pride and dread. The patriotic side of Bulger was elated to learn that members of SEAL Team 6 had sent the terror mastermind back to his maker with a bullet above his left eye. But bin Laden’s death also meant that Bulger, 81, was now number one on the FBI’s list of most-wanted criminals. He knew the pressure to find him would intensify. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://nypost.com/2020/05/23/how-the-fbi-tracked-down-whitey-bulger-after-16-years/ 

 

You can also read my Crime Beat column Q&A with Dick Lehr, the co-author of Whitey: The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss via the below link: 

www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/06/crime-beat-column-q-with-dick-lehr-co_17.html 

Convicted Boston Mobster Whitey Bulger Says That Johnny Depp's 'Black Mass' Movie Is Pure Fiction

Carlos Greer at the New York Post reports on convicted murderer and mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's reaction to the film Black Mass.

Never- before-seen photos reveal that the real-life James “Whitey” Bulger was not a fan of Johnny Depp’s critically acclaimed 2015 Bulger biopic, “Black Mass,” depicting his crime story.

A guy described as “one step removed from the prisoner who was Bulger’s protector in jail” has offered up the pictures to LA-based memorabilia dealer Moments in Time, which will sell the 22 photos with convicted mobster and murderer Bulger’s inscriptions for $24,00 0. A couple of the photos are of Depp as Bulger in the film.

“Johnnie [sic] Depp on set with his girlfriend playing me on an anti Whitey movie put together by 2 reporters from the Boston Globe,” Bulger wrote. “Many years ago, shot up the building with a 12 ga pump shot gun . . . This movie is pure fiction!” he wrote and signed with his prison number 1428A.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://pagesix.com/2016/01/31/whitey-bulger-says-johnny-depp-biopic-is-pure-fiction/

You can read my interview with Dick Lehr, the co-author of Black Mass and Whitey via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/06/crime-beat-column-q-with-dick-lehr-co_17.html

Johnny Depp To Portray Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger In Film Version Of "Black Mass"

Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline.com reports that actor Johnny Depp will portray convicted murderer and mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in upcoming film, Black Mass.

Johnny Depp has made his deal to star in Black Mass, the drama Scott Cooper will direct about the Boston crime kingpin-turned-fugitive Whitey Bulger, for Cross Creek Pictures and Exclusive Media. Now, they are in early  talks with Tom Hardy to play John Connolly, the FBI agent and childhood pal of Bulger, who is in prison for tipping Bulger that he was about to be indicted.

That led Bulger to go from ruthless Boston crime kingpin to the top of the FBI's most wanted list.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/berlin-johnny-depp-seals-deal-to-play-whitey-bulger-in-black-mass-tom-hardy-in-talks-to-play-fbi-pal-john-connolly/

You can also read my interview with Dick Lehr, one of the authors of Black Mass and Whitey via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/06/crime-beat-column-q-with-dick-lehr-co_17.html

Whitey Bulger Is One Of The Most Violent And Despicable Criminals In Boston History: Prosecutor Asks For Live Sentence - Plus Five

Laurel J. Sweet has been covering the James "Whitey" Bulger trial for the Boston Herald.

Federal prosecutors will advocate convicted serial killer James “Whitey” Bulger spend the rest of his life behind bars — plus a ceremonial five years after that for good measure — when the sentencing portion of his blockbuster trial gets underway Wednesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper has set aside two days for the event, largely because of the huge number of victims’ family members hoping for the chance to address the court about their decades of pain and suffering.

Bulger, the 84-year-old onetime leader of the Winter Hill Gang of South Boston and Somerville, was convicted in August of 11 of 19 mob murder charges dating back to the early 1970s.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly’s six-page sentencing memorandum filed with Casper today called Bulger “one of the most violent and despicable criminals in Boston history” — one he said “richly deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail.”

Bulger still faces state death-penalty prosecutions for murder in Miami, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla.Kelly noted, “There are no mitigating factors, and defendant Bulger has no redeeming qualities, which would justify any sentence below the one called for by the U.S.”

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video news clip via the below link:

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/11/feds_want_despicable_whitey_bulger_to_get_life_plus_5

You can also read my Q&A with Dick Lehr, one of the authors of Whitey: The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/06/crime-beat-column-q-with-dick-lehr-co_17.html