New England Organized Crime, LCN and the Irish

[Junior]

Report: Ex-FBI agent says mobster could clear him
Boston Globe, June 18, 2012

BOSTON—Imprisoned former Boston FBI Agent John Connolly claims mobster James "Whitey" Bulger has told authorities Connolly did not tip him off to a 1995 indictment and had nothing to do with a Florida murder, according to a published report.

In an interview with the news website The Daily Beast and Newsweek magazine, Connolly says "my lawyers have information" that Bulger, since he was arrested last June, has told FBI agents that Connolly was not involved in the killing of businessman John Callahan in Florida and that Connolly did not warn Bulger about his indictment.

Bulger, the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang, fled Boston in late 1994 after learning of the impending indictment. He remained one of the country's most wanted fugitives until last June, when he and longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig were apprehended in Santa Monica, Calif.

Connolly's appellate lawyer in Florida, Manuel Alvarez, told The Asociated Press in a telephone interview Monday that he has no knowledge of what Bulger has said to authorities.

Miami attorney James McDonald, who is representing Connolly on a post-conviction motion, told the AP he heard several months ago from someone "outside the government," who he recalls was a news reporter, that Bulger "has made comments favorable to John," indicating that "John was framed." He declined to name the person.

Bulger, now 82, is awaiting trial for his alleged role in 19 murders. Greig was sentenced to eight years in prison last week for helping Bulger while he was on the run.

Connolly served nearly 10 years in prison after being convicted in 2002 of racketeering and obstruction of justice. He is now serving a 40-year sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder for allegedly helping Bulger's gang kill Callahan.

Bulger's Boston attorney, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston and the FBI all declined comment Monday.

Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Connolly in Callahan's killing, said in a telephone interview Monday he was unaware of what statements Bulger may have made, but expressed skepticism about Connolly's claims.

"Self-serving statements regarding Mr. Connolly, who's already been convicted by two juries, seems expected," he said.

"I don't know what statements Mr. Bulger is or is not giving, but Mr. Bulger himself is facing several murder charges, so I would think his credibility would certainly be a stretch, under any circumstances."

[Junior]

1 year after mobster's capture, little has changed
CBS News, June 21, 2012

(AP) QUINCY, Mass. - It's been a year since mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was captured after more than 16 years on the run. But not much has changed for the families of some of his alleged victims.

Relatives of some of the people Bulger is accused of killing say they have little faith that Bulger will ever stand trial. They cite his age — 82 — the yearlong delay his lawyer is seeking, and Bulger's former position as a top-echelon FBI informant.

Steve Davis, whose sister Debra was allegedly strangled by Bulger in 1981, said he felt some relief when Bulger was finally apprehended on June 22, 2011, but now wonders if he'll ever really get justice.

"I don't think in my heart that we're ever going to close this case. I don't think he's going to last that long or live through it," said Davis, who was a few days shy of his 25th birthday when his 26-year-old sister disappeared.

Prosecutors say Bulger strangled Debra Davis, a longtime girlfriend of his cohort, Stevie "The Rifleman" Flemmi, because she was planning to leave him, and Flemmi and Bulger worried she knew too much.

Davis said he was happy when Bulger was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., but that feeling was quickly replaced by frustration as Bulger's lawyer repeatedly sought delays in the start of his trial.

Although the trial is now scheduled to begin Nov. 5, Bulger's lawyer has asked a judge to delay it by a year so he can have more time to review more than 300,000 pages of documents, 31 videos and more than 1,000 cassette tapes of audio recordings turned over by prosecutors. Bulger, the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang, is accused of participating in 19 murders. Prosecutors are opposed to delaying the trial.

"I've attended every hearing, but we're not getting satisfaction," Davis said. "This guy was evil to the bone for what he did. How do you let it go?"

Patricia Donahue, whose husband, Michael, died in a hail of bullets after Bulger allegedly opened fire on someone else in 1982, said she's been disappointed that no new information about Bulger's relationship with the FBI has been revealed publicly in the year since his capture.

Bulger provided information to the FBI on the rival New England Mob, beginning in the mid-1970s. His former FBI handler, ex-agent John J. Connolly Jr., was convicted in 2002 of protecting Bulger and Flemmi from prosecution and tipping them off just before they were indicted in early 1995. Bulger fled Boston and remained a fugitive, on the FBI's Most Wanted list, until he and his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were caught last year in Santa Monica, where they had been living in a rent-controlled apartment during much of the time they were fugitives. Greig was sentenced last week to eight years in prison for helping Bulger while he was on the run.

"It is good that they caught him, but in the time they've had him, nothing's really changed," Donahue said. "We were hoping that he would tell all."

Davis said he has been drawing some comfort by working on plans to build a memorial near the spot where his sister's body was found in 2000. Debra Davis' body, along with that of another alleged Bulger victim, Thomas King, were found in makeshift graves along the Neponset River in 2000. Steve Davis said he hopes to build a small memorial park, with benches engraved with the names of the victims.

"My sister and I were best friends growing up," he said.

"I feel like I could come down here and sit, and in my head, talk to her, tell her I'm sorry about how things turned out."

[Junior]

Lawyer for ex-Boston mobster Whitey Bulger says he had immunity
Associated Press, Fox News, June 25, 2012

BOSTON – The attorney for James "Whitey" Bulger said Monday that the former Boston mob boss and one-time FBI informant shouldn't be prosecuted in 19 murders because the government promised him immunity for past or future crimes.

Attorney J.W. Carney said he'd soon file a motion to dismiss the charges because "a representative of the federal government" gave Bulger the blanket immunity during the 1970s.

Carney wouldn't say who allegedly gave Bulger immunity or explain how it was possible to grant immunity for future crimes, saying it would all be in his motion.

The sensational allegation came on a busy day for Bulger's defense, which was granted a four-month delay in Bulger's trial Monday. And earlier in the day, Carney filed a motion to have the trial judge in the case recused, saying he expected to call him as a witness during his motion to dismiss.

Carney said U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns was a top prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office when Bulger was allegedly committing crimes with impunity during the 1980s. But Carney noted the office never charged Bulger, and he argued Stearns would now do whatever he could to shield former colleagues who knew of the alleged immunity deal.

"Since Judge Stearns was part of the governmental prosecuting agency which did nothing to stop the defendant from committing the criminal acts when they occurred, no reasonable person would believe he can now be impartial," Carney wrote in a motion for recusal.

Christina DiIorio-Sterling, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said the office didn't have any comment on Carney's motion or allegations. "The government will respond as appropriate through the court," she said.

Steve Davis, whose sister Debra was allegedly strangled by Bulger in 1981, was stunned by Carney's allegations of an immunity deal.

"A license to kill, according to Mr. Carney. It gets you boiling. ... I don't even know how to put the thoughts together," he said. "There had to be some agreement for all the crime he was committing, but I don't think he had (a) license to kill or murder."

Bulger, who allegedly ran the notorious Winter Hill gang, was a top-echelon FBI informant who fled Boston in 1995 after being tipped by John Connolly Jr., his longtime FBI handler, who recently completed a 10-year prison sentence on racketeering charges. Bulger was captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in June after 16 years on the run

Carney had argued the case is so complex, he needed until November 2013 to prepare his defense, including reviewing 320,000 pages of evidence turned over by prosecutors. The evidence was such a mess when it was given to him it was like a "shuffled deck of cards," Carney argued.

But prosecutors say Carney hasn't accepted their help and preferred to "wallow in confusion and to complain." They also said Carney's problems were his client's own fault, because he remained a fugitive for so long.

On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler granted Carney's motion to delay the start of Bulger's trial from this November until March 4, 2013, calling it a compromise.

"Clearly, the (evidence) remains a problem in this case, because of its volume," she told Carney. "Clearly, you have a right to review it."

Prosecutors said they'd call 30 to 50 witnesses at Bulger's trial, which they estimated could last up to three months.

Tom Donahue, whose father was allegedly killed by Bulger when Bulger was targeting another man, said his biggest concern about the delay granted Monday is that Bulger won't live long enough to face justice.

"He's an old man. I'm worried about him surviving. Time is not on our side," he said. "But it's only four months."

[Junior]

Prosecutor snubs Mass. mobster's 'immunity' claim
By Denise Lavoie, Boston Globe, June 26, 2012

BOSTON—The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts expressed skepticism Tuesday about mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's claim that the government allowed him to commit crimes because he was an FBI informant.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said Bulger's former co-hort, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who was also an FBI informant, used a similar defense, which was rejected by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Being an informant in a criminal case does not in and of itself immunize you from crimes," Ortiz told reporters during a break at a civil rights symposium.

Ortiz said the appeals court "held that being an informant, in and of itself, and certain representations by law enforcement agents does not provide sufficient or adequate immunity."

Bulger, the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang, is accused of participating in 19 murders beginning in the 1970s, while he was a top-echelon informant for the FBI. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after he was warned by his former FBI handler that he was about to be indicted.

Now 82, Bulger was apprehended last year in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Former Boston FBI Agent John Connolly Jr. was convicted of racketeering in 2002 for tipping off a Bulger associate about the upcoming indictment and protecting Bulger from prosecution.

Bulger's lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., said Monday that Bulger should not be prosecuted because he was promised immunity by a "representative of the federal government" for past or future crimes. He said Bulger's indictment "directly violated the immunity agreement that the defendant had bargained for, had relied upon, and had been promised."

Carney would not say who made such a promise to Bulger, but said the agreement was made in the 1970s, when Bulger was recruited by the FBI to become an informant on the rival New England Mafia.

Carney's claims were made in a defense motion asking that U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns recuse himself from presiding at Bulger's trial, saying he expects to call Stearns as a witness on a request to dismiss the charges against Bulger. Stearns was a top prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office in the 1980s.

[Junior]

Imprisoned NE mobster granted relocation delay
Boston Globe, June 27, 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A federal judge has agreed to recommend that officials let an admitted New England mobster answer state charges in Rhode Island before he's relocated to federal prison on an unrelated case.

Online court records show the request from Alfred "Chippy" Scivola (skee-VOH'-lah) Jr. was granted Wednesday.

The 71-year-old Scivola sought a 60-day delay before he's relocated to federal prison so he can resolve an unrelated criminal case in Rhode Island state court. He is already imprisoned at a private prison.

Scivola was sentenced this month to three years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in the shakedown of Rhode Island strip clubs.

State prosecutors allege Scivola participated in an illegal gambling ring. A spokeswoman for the Rhode Island attorney general's office says Scivola has not been arraigned.

[Junior]

Whitey Bulger lawyers, prosecutors spar over gag order
By Matt Stout, Boston Herald, Saturday, July 7, 2012

Prosecutors intent on keeping their case against James “Whitey” Bulger under lock and key yesterday scoffed at suggestions that they’re trying to protect corrupt lawmen and officials with a gag order, telling a judge that the defense attorneys’ desire to bandy about evidence for the sake of a sounding board is “ludicrous.”

Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler told attorneys at the Boston federal courthouse she’ll weigh whether to lift the protective order, saying all medical records and autopsy reports will remain under seal at least until trial.

Her remarks followed 40 minutes of back-and-forth rebuttal between prosecutors and Bulger’s defense team, which argues that the 2011 order keeps them from discussing the case with outside counsel and strategists who could aid in the reputed mobster’s defense, all while prosecutors release scores of tantalizing details of Bulger’s life on the run.

“It absolutely chills our decision-making process,” said attorney Hank Brennan, who told Bowler he’d agree to prosecutors notifying Bulger’s team beforehand of what evidence they want kept under seal.

But in a series of sharp retorts, prosecutor Brian Kelly said it isn’t feasible to sort through thousands of pages of documents — including some he said are sealed by other gag orders — and ferret out what can be made public. He also said it was “ridiculous” for lawyers to accuse prosecutors of “trying to cover up government misconduct” during Bulger’s time as an FBI informant.

“He wants to walk around with 300,000 pages (of evidence) and discuss it with the public at large. It’s ludicrous,” Kelly said of Brennan.

Bowler shot back, “That’s ludicrous what you said,” adding defense attorneys aren’t asking for all evidence to be made public.

The Boston Globe is also seeking to strike the order, arguing through attorney Jonathan M. Albano that sealing some information violates the First Amendment.

Bulger is scheduled to go on trial March 4 for the murders of 19 men and women.