October 30, 2018 in a federal prison in bruceton mills, west virginia nicknames. Whitey bulger, and hitmen john martorano and stephen the. It derives its name from the winter hill neighborhood of somerville, massachusetts, north of boston. James joseph whitey bulger was the boss of the largely irish mob in boston from the 1970s through the 1990s. Once at the top of the fbis most wanted list, james whitey bulgers crimes were well known. Kaufman also acted as a liaison between these loansharks and bookmakers, on the one hand, and bulger and flemmi, on the other. Kaufman collected extortion payments, also known as rent payments, from bookmakers and loansharks for bulger and flemmi. Mar 19, 2016 james whitey bulgers winter hill gang. His partnership with whitey bulger and the infamous winter hill gang led to twenty mob murders. Among his numerous crimes, bulger is wanted for 19 counts of murder, conspiracy to murder, narcotics distribution, and money laundering. Transcript for james whitey bulger of south bostons winter hill gang found guilty and tonight, the verdict is in for the mobster, the master mind and the murderer who threatened the city of. Bulger on trial the complete guide to bostons most notorious gangster.
Bulger returned to south boston and became involved with the winter hill gang. The winter hill gang is a structured confederation of boston, massachusettsarea organized crime figures, predominantly irishamerican. He was charged with a number of crimes ranging from federal racketeering to multiple murders. Under grant of immunity, william bulger testifies before the house committee on government reform on june 19, 2003.
For 30 years, james whitey bulger was a notorious south boston. Ask people from winter hill, somerville, about whitey bulger and the winter hill gang. Flemmi had recently become affiliated with another upandcoming gangster, a cunning and disciplined south boston hood named james. Not so fast, says local author bobby martini, author of citizen somerville. Decades before johnny depp stepped into the role for black mass, the reallife james joseph whitey bulger, jr. Agent fitzpatrick as a child had a tough beginning, but that didnt take him down. How i remember whitey as the elusive mobster who has captivated boston for decades finally lands in court, seven longtime whitey watchers share their favorite tales about bulger. Exfbi agents testimony draws outburst by bulger the.
Its members have included notorious boston gangsters buddy mclean, whitey bulger, howie winter, joe mcdonald, johnny martorano, patrick nee and stephen. The book is centered around the stories of bulger and his crew, the winter hill gang. New york post the leader of bostons winter hill gang. Whitey bulger was not part of the winter hill gang. For more than a decade, until his capture in june 2011. Every aspect of bulgers life is overthetop dramatic, from his beginnings as a young thug in south boston, to a stint at alcatraz for bank robbery, to his decadeslong reign of murder, extortion, racketeering and drug dealing as leader of bostons infamous winter hill gang, to his capture by the fbi after living an apparently ordinary. What winter hill thinks of whitey somerville, ma patch. Martorano, a member of the somervillebased winter hill gang, said he had killed eight people including a man he stabbed to death for bothering him while he was on a date by the time. Boston mobster whitey bulger described as a handson. It derives its name from the winter hill neighborhood of somerville, massachusetts north of boston.
Bulger reigned for years as the head of the fearsome winter hill gang before fleeing in. James whitey bulger, the mobster who terrorized south boston in the 1970s and 80s and ran the citys notorious winter hill gang, was found guilty on monday of gangland crimes, including murder. Howie winter was born howard thomas winter on saint patricks day 1929 and is known for his role as the second leader of the winter hill gang. Like many people, the capture on june 22nd of whitey bulger, the boss of the winter hill gang in boston, caught my attention. Howie winter, the 83yearold former powerful head of the winter hill gang and the predecessor of gangster james whitey bulger, was arrested thursday evening on charges of trying to. After days of sitting meekly at his federal racketeering trial, james whitey bulger erupted in anger thursday as an fbi supervisor he had once plied with cash bribes and cases of wine told. Details about winter hill gang 8x10 photo mafia organized crime mobster picture whitey bulger. James whitey bulger from winter hill gang leader to fugitive book. James joseph whitey bulger was the boss of the largely irish mob in boston from the 1970s through the. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a boston crime boss, heading the citys infamous winter hill gang, known for drugtrafficking, murderforhire and illegal gambling. Legends of winter hill, which had me cringing one minute and laughing the next, broadened my street education.
Boston sunday globe collaring the reader from the start, legends of winter hill pushes hard and fast, propelling largerthanlife characters across the page, never loosening its grip. Wearing a longsleeved green shirt, jeans and sneakers, bulger sat passively as a prosecutor described his younger, more sinister years as leader of the winter hill gang, including the time he. Carr also looks at the politicians and fbi agents who aided johnny and whitey, and at the flamboyant city of boston which martorano so ruthlessly ruled. Having lived in massachusetts, i had heard of james whitey bulger. Defense plans to appeal verdict, which found mob boss guilty of. In 1961 a gang war erupted between the citys two top irish gangs, the winter hill gang in somerville and a rival gang in charlestown. Here are six surprising facts about this boston gang leader. William bulger denies knowledge of the winter hill gang or.
Prosecutor brian kelly told jurors that bulger headed the violent winter hill gang that ran amok in boston for nearly three decades, killing 19 people. James whitey bulger, arrested after 16year manhunt by the fbi, stands trial for murder. The first response youre likely to get is a dismissive wave of the hand, accompanied by a shake of the head. Henbleep the fbi files on whitey bulger and the winter hill gang.
The arrival of irish immigrants into the united states was not welcomed. The bulger mystique a look at bostons famous brothers, william and whitey. The winter hill gang is a structured confederation of boston, massachusettsarea organized crime figures, who are predominantly of irish and italian descent. Its members have included notorious boston gangsters buddy mclean, whitey bulger, howie winter, joe mcdonald, johnny martorano.
If you didnt live in the northeast then you probably had never heard of him. Whitey bulger and companion appear in boston court the. James whitey bulger jailed for life for racketeering. Going all the way back to his troubled childhood and his participation in the gang wars. James whitey bulger, a product of bostons mean streets. Its members have included notorious boston gangsters buddy mclean, whitey bulger, howie winter, joe mcdonald, johnny martorano, patrick.
September 3, 1929 october 30, 2018 was an american organized crime boss and fbi informant who led the winter hill gang in the winter hill neighborhood of somerville, massachusetts, a city directly northwest of boston. Now a long line of murderers who worked with bulger and. Fitzpatrick was right, because as it turned out whitey bulger,and his cronies were committing all kinds of crime to including murder. After 35 days of testimony and 73 witnesses, the racketeering trial of james whitey bulger is coming to an end with closing arguments scheduled for monday. Wbur, bostons npr news station, created this interactive program guide around the trial of james whitey bulger and decades of organized crime, murder and government corruption in boston, ma. Knuckling under to james whitey bulger and the winter. See more ideas about crime, mafia gangster and mafia. James whitey bulger from winter hill gang leader to. Whitey bulger deserves no mercy for winter hill gang murders this article is more than 6 years old federal prosecutors say the 84yearold former gang leader, convicted of 11. James whitey bulger, the reputed former leader of the winter hill gang, is accused of a long list of crimes in a broad racketeering indictment, including participating in 19 killings. Hoods and henbleep the fbi files on whitey bulger and. Its members have included notorious boston gangsters howie winter, james buddy mclean, james j. Dana white had his own black mass experience with whitey.
Highlights from james whitey bulgers racketeering trial. Whitey bulgers crew, from the rifleman to the executioner. Mobster played by jack nicholson in the departed was handson killer. He served as an informant from the mid 1975 to the 1990s. From 19781994, kevin weeks served as a member of the winter hill gang, and a close friend, confidant, and henchman to whitey bulger. Back home in southie by the mid1960s, whitey rose through the ranks of the winter hill gang, the somervillebased irish mob that came to dominate the regions underworld. The 83yearold reputed mob boss is charged in a broad indictment that accuses him of a long list of many crimes, including participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and 80s as leader of. James whitey bulger from winter hill gang leader to fugitive is a biography of james whitey bulger a wanted fugitive and alleged leader of bostons irish mafia called the winter hill gang.
James whitey bulger of south bostons winter hill gang. Fbi surveillance photograph of the former winter hill gang hierarchy in the 1980s. This gdp clip was taken from old dirty bostons golden hour. Here he answers questions from congressman dan burton of indiana. James whitey bulger of south bostons winter hill gang found. James joseph whitey bulger jr was an american organized crime boss and fbi informant who led the winter hill gang in the. James whitey bulger of south bostons winter hill gang found guilty. Whitey always knew what buttons to push with me, and this time he was pushing the rat button. See more ideas about whitey bulger, organized crime, mafia gangster.
Bulger the former boss of the winter hill gang, bostons mostly irishamerican mob fled the city in 1994 after being tipped off by a former fbi agent that he was about to be indicted. Along with these deep narratives, rare audio, video and photographs. Starting a life of crime from an early age, bulger quickly became a primary player in bostons winter hill gang. Ufc president dana white tells the story about his run in with the infamous winter hill gang in boston led by james whitey bulger, which is now the subject of a new film titled black mass. Boston mobster whitey bulger writes letter from prison. Growing up with the winter hill gang paints bulger as an. How the fbi tracked down whitey bulger after 16 years. Discrimination against irish immigrants continued and. Penitentiary hazelton, bruceton mills, west virginia, american crime boss who, as head of the bostonarea winter hill gang, was a leading figure in organized crime from the late 1960s to the mid1990s. By the time of his arrest, notorious mobster james whitey bulger had a rap sheet that included nineteen counts of murder and a bevy of other charges that had landed him on the fbis ten most wanted list. In a story that has fascinated boston for decades, the accused head of the winter hill crime gang fled after a corrupt law enforcement agent tipped him off in 1994 that arrest was imminent. Connolly says he warned bulger that it wouldnt be a battle fought on the street because the powerful angiulo family would use its corrupt police. To some in his old neighborhood the winter hill gang boss was as a proud irish american, to others a killer and an informant.
But jurors found that federal prosecutors had proven their case against bulger in only 11 of the 19 murders he was accused of carrying out or ordering in his days as head of the winter hill gang. Confessed murderer ties bulger to 6 killings the boston. Federal prosecutors indicted bulger for nineteen murders based on the grand jury testimony from kevin weeks and. The twoway dennis lehane, whos from boston and whose novels are based there, says the mob boss life story was an everyday part of. Whitey bulger was an irishamerican crime boss and fbi informant. Howie carr talks bulger, winter hill gang at book signing. Martorano was the henchman of recently captured boston mobster james whitey bulger. Background on his crimes, status as an fbi informant, associates, life as a fugitive, and more. Fitzpatrick new that bulger as the leader of the winter hill gang was therefore not qualified to be an informant for the f.