Organized Crime: The Whitey Bulger Case

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As we look at criminal cases that are prolific, and make us wonder I became enamored with the Whitey Bulger case. This was a criminal case that go my attention because of the fact James Joseph Bulger Jr. evaded law enforcement for so many years. But the reason behind that would grasp my attention even further. Organized crime has always been an interest to me because of the secrecy and the loyalty behind the Cosa Nostra. I specifically picked Whitey Bulger for the simple fact he wasn't the typical mobster we see in film. Also the fact the Federal Bureau of Investigation was compromised due to the fact their agents were bought and were a large part in why Whitey Bulger was able to evade law enforcement for so long.
During the seventies Whitey …show more content…

This would prove to be Connolly’s turning point because he ended up being the informant who aided Whitey Bulger with cases that were being brought forth to bring Bulger down. Having an inside man left Bulger to be untouchable. Connolly met Bulger after a failed attempt by another agent to lure in Bulger to become an FBI informant. In 2009, John Connolly was sentced to 40 years in prison for his involvement in the 1981 murder of World Jai Alai executive Roger Wheeler in Oklahoma. Bulger was persuaded to have Wheeler killed because of skimming of money off the World Jai Alai profits and wanted to keep the thefts secret and possibly take over the business. This was not the first time that Connolly was linked with the Bulger gang. In 2002, he was sentenced to ten years for federal racketeering charges for protecting Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi, who happened to be his long term informants, while they remained free to continue their long criminal rampage which included homicides in different …show more content…

Whitey Bulger since then has been sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. He was also ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution to his victims and to forfeit another 25.2 million to the government. This case marked the end of a tumultuous saga that stretched over the span of fifty years and a multitude of homicides. Bulgers lawyers are quoted as saying that they will be “appealing the verdict” on the grounds that he did not get a fair trial because he was prevented from presenting his claim that a deceased former federal prosecutor gave him immunity for his crimes decades ago. The defense spent a lot of time trying to refute the FBI’s admittances that Bulger was an informant from 1975 to 1990. Bulgers lawyers mentioned that John J. Connolly fabricated Bulgers informant file to cover up the fact he was taking bribed from Bulger and leaking information to

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