Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down
Page 27
Condon had opened: Dennis Condon being the first agent to open Whitey Bulger as informant confirmed in Black Mass (pages 30–31) and The Brothers Bulger (pages 84–85).
CHAPTER 11
Bulger, though, resisted: Connolly’s initial recruitment of Bulger as informant detailed in Black Mass (pages 3–16).
“We knew what these guys were”: From U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, complaint filed by the Estate of John L. McIntyre, March 8, 2001, paragraph 367 of the complaint.
None of this was happening under the radar: Internal FBI memo from ASAC Weldon L. Kennedy to Boston SAC Lawrence Sarhatt, August 6, 1980.
Part Two: Blowback
CHAPTER 13
An unethical, if not illegal, breach of policy: Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, December 5 and 6, 2002, page 294 forward: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107hhrg10784604.html/CHRG-107hhrg10784604.htm.
Allegations detailed here covered also in “The Official Bulger Files: Some Tall Tales” in the Boston Globe by Dick Lehr and the Globe staff, July 21, 1998: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/1998/07/2l/the_official_bulger_fbi_files_some_tall_tales/.
Strike Force attorney Dave Twomey: U.S. Court of Appeals, Cases & Opinions: http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/806/1136/45629.
“No one disputes the proposition that destroying organized crime”: From “FBI Informant System Called a Failure” by Ralph Ranalli and the Globe staff, Boston Globe, November 21, 2003: http://www.truthinjustice.org/corrupt-FBI.htm
The MSP and DEA became more and more frustrated: Internal FBI memo from Boston ASAC Weldon L. Kennedy to Boston SAC Lawrence Sarhatt, August 6, 1980.
“The FBI,” Stephen Flemmi would admit years later: From Boston Globe article by Michaell Zuckoff and the Globe staff, July 23, 1998. The same article went on to add,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Crossen successfully won a court’s permission to wiretap Bulger. But Bulger was never caught making incriminating statements or seen in any compromising positions; soon, the probe would end. Badly. On March 11, 1985, Bulger and his friend Kevin Weeks drove Bulger’s bugged car into a garage on Old Colony Avenue in South Boston. DEA agent Steven Boeri was monitoring the bug—which had only been in place a few days—when Boeri realized that Bulger and Weeks had found the listening device.
Exchange between Jeremiah O’Sullivan and Chris Shays: Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, December 5 and 6, 2002, page 294 forward. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107hhrgl0784604/html/CHRG-107hhrgl0784604.htm.
“You got me”: From Jeremiah O’Sullivan in the Third Report by the Committee on Government Reform entitled “Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants” (pages 5–6): http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5997413/Everything-Secret-Degenerates-The-FBI’s-Use-of-Murderers-as-Informants.
CHAPTER 14
Background on John Callahan and Roger Wheeler confirmed in both The Brothers Bulger (pages 208–14) and Black Mass (pages 139–54).
In May 1981: Murder of Wheeler by Matorano confirmed in Black Mass (page 145) from Matorano’s own admissions in a 1998 plea agreement in which he admitted to killing ten people for Bulger, including Roger Wheeler (“Ex-Mobster Reportedly Strikes Deal, by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe, September 9, 1999: http://www.boston.com/news/packages/whitey/globe_stories/1999/0909_ex_mobster_reportedly_strikes_deal.htm).
CHAPTER 15
By early 1982, more and more circumstantial evidence: Black Mass, page 152.
CHAPTER 16
Otherwise O’Sullivan feared the weight of the entire case: O’Sullivan admitted to this in his testimony before the House Committee on Government Reform on December 5 and 6, 2002.
He’d already gone to bat for Bulger and Flemmi: O’Sullivan admitted to this as well in same testimony referenced immediately above.
“Fitzy said to me, ‘You know people always say’”: From the sworn testimony of William Weld at the Wolf hearings on May 26 and 27, 1998.
What was not known was that the drug cartel: Allegations against the Miami Police Department and ultimate dispensation of the Miami River Murders supported by a series of articles appearing in the Miami Herald on December 27, 28, and 29, 1985. Quoting from the article that appeared on December 28:
Three Miami police officers were charged Friday with the murders of three drug dealers in a botched cocaine rip-off, leaving the embattled police department reeling under the latest allegations of official corruption. A fourth officer and a fifth man, who resigned from the department earlier this year, were charged Friday with racketeering and cocaine trafficking. The triple murder, according to court documents, was just one instance in a shocking pattern of casual drug deals.
Author reported these crimes as early as 1979 and 1980 to FBI headquarters and SAC Miami: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=MH|&p_product=MH&p_theme=realcities2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_site=miami&s_trackval=MH&s_search_type=key-word&s_dispstring=Miami%20river%20Cops%20AND%20date(1985)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1985&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Miami%20river%20Cops)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D &xcal_useweights=no.
References to Jimmy Flynn found in The Brothers Bulger (pages 220–23).
I knew full well that Halloran was killed: Judge Wolf’s findings in his Memorandum and Order decision, page 84 would read in part: “Morris caused Connolly to tell Flemmi and Bulger that Brian Halloran was providing the FBI information that implicated them to the murder of Roger Wheeler. Halloran was murdered soon after.…”
Mike Huff and his associate detectives: Passages highlighting Detective Huff and the Jai Alai murders also covered in Black Mass (pages 152–54) as well as the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Associated Press.
Part Three: Beyond Bulger
CHAPTER 17
“I’m Bob Fitzpatrick … you are under arrest”: Arrest of Jerry Angiulo on September 29, 1983, confirmed in his Boston Globe obituary (September 4, 2009). His arrest by me confirmed in FBI personnel files and case reports. All of this was testified to on numerous occasions in federal court.
Greenleaf, I began to suspect: Allegations against McWeeney and other FBI officials supported by Judge Wolf’s Memorandum and Order, September 15, 1999:
The Halloran murder presented a dilemma for the FBI. It precipitated a May 25, 1982, meeting at FBI Headquarters to grapple with Bulger and Flemmi’s dual status as valuable FBI informants and also suspects in the investigations of the Wheeler and Halloran murders. Ex. 54; Fitzpatrick Apr. 16, 1998 Tr. at 94–102, Apr. 17, 1998 Tr. at 179. Representatives of the FBI offices in Boston, Oklahoma City, and Miami met with FBI Headquarters officials, including Sean McWeeney, Chief of the Organized Crime section, and Jeff Jamar, the Informant Coordinator.
http://www.thelaborers.net/court_cases/United_States_v_Salemme_Decision.htm.
Author testified to these facts in federal court and depositions on numerous occasions.
CHAPTER 18
“I’m his brother. He sought to call me”: Billy Bulger quote from Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, 2002. Also referenced in The Brothers Bulger (page 16).
During this period, agents of the Organized Crime squad: As reported by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe, October 21, 2008: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/10/by_shelley_murp_2.html.
The Hartford Courant, October 22, 2008, adds:
In addition to sharing meals, Gianturco said that he exchanged gifts with Bulger and Flemmi at Christmas. They gave him an attaché case and an Oriental figurine; Gianturco said they must have noticed that his wife collected the statuettes during one of their dinners. He wasn’t asked what he gave in return.
http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/hc-mobtriall022.artoct22,0,3665731.story.
“I accepted it because she handed it to me”: Buckley’s testimony quoted in same Boston Globe article referenced above under
Page 154.
Under a grant of immunity years later: “The Martyrdom of John Connolly,” by David Boeri, Boston Magazine, September 2008: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_martyrdom_of_john_connolly/page2.
CHAPTER 19
“There were U.S. Drug”: “Here’s to Honest Cops who Made a Difference,” by Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe, July 3, 2011: http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-03/news/29733649_l_state-cops-fbi-agent-john-connolly.
“FBI in Denial as Bulger Breaks Drug Pact in Southie” by Mitchell Zuckoff and Globe Staff in the Boston Globe, July 23, 1998: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/1998/07/23/fbi_in_denial_as_bulger_breaks_drug_pact_in_southie/?page=l.
Under the auspices of Joe Murray: Joe Murray’s criminal status covered at length in both The Brothers Bulger (pages 244–47) and Black Mass in which the authors refer to him as “the gangster who trafficked in drugs and stolen guns for the IRA and sometimes did business with Bulger” (page 240).
Numerous sources support this account including The Brothers Bulger (page 264).
Stephen Flemmi pleaded guilty to John McIntyre’s murder on October 14, 2003: http://www.ipsn.org/characters/bulger/doj_flemmi_press_release.htm.
And then came the night: Flemmi’s statements about the specifics of McIntyre’s murder are contained in the transcripts from the 2006 McIntyre trial and quoted in part in The Brothers Bulger (pages 265–66). The entire exchange can be found at: http://www.thebrothersbulger.com/John%20McIntyre.htm.
When I appeared: References to author’s interview on 60 Minutes supported by transcript and tape of segment.
CHAPTER 20
As I told the Boston Herald: Referenced article from the Boston Herald appeared in April 11, 2001 edition.
“I wish to remind”: Referenced Department of Justice memo and FBI memo is in author’s possession and was submitted as evidence in the course of numerous federal court cases in which author has testified. (See Appendix 4.)
I filed my own memo: Entire memo reporting Greenleaf for alleged leaking can be found in the Appendix.
Author’s suspicions were further borne out in the following excerpt from Judge’s Wolf’s 1999 decision: “In about April 1984, Stutman met with Greenleaf and explained that the DEA planned to conduct a major investigation, including electronic surveillance, of Bulger and Flemmi in which it wanted the FBI to participate because it was expected that the investigation would develop information concerning crimes that were within the jurisdiction of the FBI rather than the DEA. Stutman Apr. 14, 1998 Tr. at 10–18, 22, 82; Greenleaf Jan. 8, 1998 Tr. at 37–38, 66–69, 195–96. Stutman provided Greenleaf with detailed information about the investigation to date, including a description of the information that he felt should be of active interest to the FBI. Greenleaf Jan. 8, 1998 Tr. at 125, 195; Stutman Apr. 14, 1998 Tr. at 12. Stutman would have given Greenleaf any additional information that he requested. Stutman Apr. 14, 1998 Tr. at 90. Greenleaf did not, however, ask for more details or immediately respond to Stutman’s request.” http://www.thelaborers.net/court_cases/United_States_v_Salemme_Decision.htm.
including an admission that he knew Bulger and Flemmi were murderers: From Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, December 5 and 6, 2002, page 294 forward: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107hhrgl0784604/html/CHRG-107hhrgl0784604.htm.
“just didn’t register”: From Greenleaf’s testimony in the 2006 McIntyre trial, as also reported by columnist Peter Gelzinis in the Boston Herald on June 23, 2006. The quote is also referenced in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s affirming Judge Lindsay’s decision in the McIntyre trial (page 33 of 44-page decision).
“At any time”: Author has quoted deposition in his possession. (See Appendix 6.)
CHAPTER 21
Allegations against Sean McWeeney supported by Judge Wolf in his 1998 decision as follows:
In 1984, Sean McWeeney, the Chief of the Organized Crime Section at FBI Headquarters, told Connolly that the DEA was leading an investigation targeting Bulger and Flemmi. Connolly shared this information with his sources. § II.17.
http://www.thelaborers.net/court_cases/United_States_v_Salemme_Decision.htm.
Also supported in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s affirming Judge Lindsay’s decision in the McIntyre trial (page 11 of 44-page decision).
“Aren’t these our guys?”: As confirmed in Black Mass (page 186).
This was further articulated by Michael Zuckoff writing in the Boston Globe on July 23, 1998 (“FBI in Denial as Bulger Breaks Drug Pact in Southie”):
In April, former Boston FBI agent Rod Kennedy testified that in 1984, a high-ranking Washington FBI official was told of DEA plans to bug Bulger and Flemmi. Troubled that another federal agency was targeting FBI informants, he called the Boston FBI office for an explanation. As it happened, Kennedy testified, the only person in the squad room was Connolly, who by answering the phone received advance knowledge of DEA bugging plans.
http://www.boston.com/news/localMassachusetts/articles/1998/07/23/fbi_in_denial_as_bulger_breaks_drug_pact_in_southie/?page=6.
In an internal FBI: Quotes from internal FBI Performance Appraisal Report in author’s possession and can be found in Appendix 3.
CHAPTER 22
These charges and the determination that they were ultimately baseless are on record and file, along with a complaint author filed with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board to regain his status accordingly.
“As described”: Entire quote:
As described earlier, in this period the Attorney General’s Guidelines, which had been incorporated in the FBI’s Manual, required that the SAC himself make certain decisions, including, after consultation with the United States Attorney, whether to authorize extraordinary criminal activity involving a “serious risk of violence,” and reviewing all such criminal activity at least every 90 days.” Ex. 274 (Under Seal), Manual § 137 F. (2) and (3) (1-12-81). Greenleaf’s approach, however, had the practical effect of delegating these responsibilities, among others, to an informant’s handler and his supervisor.
http://www.thelaborers.net/court_cases/United_States_v_Salemme_Decision.htm.
Part Four: After Boston
CHAPTER 23
“On 8/5/80 Colonel O’Donovan”: Internal FBI memo from ASAC Weldon L. Kennedy to Boston SAC Lawrence Sarhatt, August 6, 1980. Contained in Appendix 2.
Castucci, he believed, had been ready to give up Bulger and Flemmi: As supported by the Boston Globe’s reporting on June 12, 2009, by Shelley Murphy and the Globe staff:
After years of legal maneuverings by Justice Department lawyers and a three-day nonjury trial, a federal judge ordered the government to pay $6.25 million to the widow and children of Richard J. Castucci, a Revere nightclub owner whose slaying was orchestrated by two of the FBI’s most prized informants, James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi. Last year, a judge found that the FBI was to blame in the 1976 killing.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/12/judge_awards_625_million_to_family_in_l976_mob_killing/.
The tapes, as I detailed earlier: Allegations against Miami Police Department and ultimate prosecution of the Miami River Murders supported by a series of articles appearing in the Miami Herald on December 27, 28, and 29, 1985. (See quote pages 305–306.)
Weldon Kennedy … wrote a memo: Internal FBI memo from Boston ASAC Weldon L. Kennedy to Boston SAC Lawrence Sarhatt, August 6, 1980. Contained in Appendix.
a report from Attorney Rogers: Report of Attorney Rogers from the Office of Professional Responsibility and response of William Webster were entered as evidence in legal complaints I filed against the FBI, including at the Supreme Court, for releasing records they had agreed to expunge.
“An indispensable informant”: From “Cases Disappear as FBI Looks Away,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe, July 22, 1998: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/1998/07/22/cases_disappear_
as_fbi_looks_away/.
CHAPTER 24
“a killer and crime boss”: “Whitey Bulger’s Life on the Run,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe, January 4, 1998.
“… something called St. Botolph Realty Trust…”: As also covered in Black Mass, pages 353–55.
75 State Street: An investigation into corruption charges against Billy Bulger was testified to by author in U.S. District Court and depositions, and summarized in a Boston Phoenix article by Seth Gitell:
Bulger’s law partner at the time, Thomas Finnerty, became involved in a real-estate deal with developer Harold Brown. Brown was putting together a project to construct a first-rate office building at 75 State Street. Then, as now, such projects didn’t happen without the backing of political muscle. The pair allegedly made an agreement in which Brown would pay Finnerty $1.8 million through a combination of cash and equity in the building in exchange for Finnerty’s assistance to move the project forward. Brown paid Finnerty $500,000 but made no more payments after that. Finnerty brought suit in Suffolk Superior Court, claiming that Brown had reneged on a legal agreement. Brown responded with complaints that Finnerty and Bulger were trying to extort him.
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/02585299.htm.
“Billy got a free pass”: Quote from Alan Dershowitz in Boston Magazine, May 15, 2006: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/oh_brothers/.
shortly after the Bureau: Author’s account confirmed in Black Mass (pages 236–37).
Spotlight Series: The series in the Boston Globe ran in four parts between September 20 and 23, 1988.
Globe article from September 20, 1988: The article said in part:
In the bitter aftermath, many who were planning the DEA’s 1984 probe of Bulger were convinced they should not even tell the FBI, circumventing the policy that the FBI be notified of targeted figures. Despite the nearly universal feeling that no agent had or would intentionally warn Bulger about electronic surveillance, the fear of a leak persisted. But to avoid a feud, William F. Weld, then the US attorney in Massachusetts, and Robert M. Stutman, then the DEA special agent in charge, went to see James Greenleaf, then FBI special agent in charge of the Boston office. The FBI, according to federal sources, was offered a role in the Bulger investigation if it wanted one. Several days later, Greenleaf declined.