Notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey†Bulger was sentenced today to two life sentences in prison plus five years by a federal judge who cited the lives Bulger wrecked as he rampaged for decades through the city’s underworld under the protection of corrupt FBI agents.
Bulger, 84, was convicted earlier this year of charges that he participated in 11 murders, drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. Bulger fled Boston shortly before his 1995 racketeering indictment. One of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted — along with Osama bin Laden — he eluded a worldwide manhunt until he was captured in June 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif.
Bulger was able to operate with impunity for years as a prized informant for the FBI who had a cozy relationship with corrupt agents.
Casper also ordered Bulger to pay $19.5 million in restitution to his victims’ families. And she ordered him to forfeit $25.2 million to the government. The awards appeared to be largely symbolic because law enforcement has not uncovered anywhere near that amount of money stashed away by Bulger.
Boston Globe