Bulger Plans to Take the Stand

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/08/07/bulger_plans_to_take_the_stand/?page=full

Bulger plans to take the stand

He would detail an immunity deal

(AP)

By Milton J. Valencia

Globe Staff / August 7, 2012

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James “Whitey” Bulger, once America’s most wanted criminal, will for the first time address the charges against him, taking the stand in his own defense in hope of convincing a jury that federal officials once granted him immunity for his many crimes, his lawyer said Monday.

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J.W. Carney Jr. announced that plan during a hearing in US District Court in Boston. He said Bulger wants to provide a firsthand account of his relationship with the FBI and the deal he had for working secretly as a government informant.

“He is going to tell the truth, if the judge permits him to,” Carney later told reporters outside the federal courthouse.

Bulger’s testimony could further shed light on one of the darkest eras of the FBI, as the gangster would probably describe the crimes he committed, what the FBI knew of them, and whether he received promises for his cooperation, providing a firsthand, real-life account of the type of underworld events that have become the fodder of books and movies.

Carney said that Bulger, a fugitive for more than 16 years until his arrest in June 2011, wants to tell his story directly to jurors at his trial, scheduled for March, rather than bring it before US District Court Judge Richard Stearns, who is presiding over the case.

Bulger’s lead attorney has questioned whether Stearns, who was head of the criminal division in the US attorney’s office in Boston during part of the time Bulger allegedly committed his crimes, would be able to look at the immunity claim impartially.

“Our client believes that he will get fairer consideration on the issue of immunity from a jury than he will from the person who was the head of the criminal bureau of the United States attorney’s office,” Carney said, adding, “I expect that he will get a fair jury and trust that they will see the truth.”

Bulger, a notorious gangster in Boston, had been secretly working as an FBI informant while allegedly carrying out his crimes. He fled shortly before a federal indictment of him came down in January 1995, after being tipped off by his corrupt FBI handler, John Connolly, who is now in prison for his role in a murder linked to Bulger.

Later, hearings in US District Court in Boston exposed Bulger’s inappropriate relationship with the FBI, and he was eventually charged with participating in 19 murders. He was discovered and arrested in Santa Monica, Calif. in a rent-controlled apartment he had been sharing with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, since 1996.

Family members of some of Bulger’s alleged victims said outside the courthouse Monday that Carney is getting desperate in his representation of the notorious gangster, and they questioned how Bulger could believe he had a “license to kill.”

But they also said they look forward to his testimony.

“I want to hear what he has to say,” said Patricia Donahue, whose husband, Michael, was an innocent bystander allegedly gunned down by Bulger in 1982 while giving a friend a ride home.

Whether Bulger will be able to raise an immunity defense before jurors remains an open question, according to legal analysts. The courts have established, in the case of Bulger’s longtime cohort, Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, that a defendant cannot claim immunity offered by a rogue FBI agent.

US District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf made that ruling, which was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, when Flemmi said he and Bulger were granted immunity for passing along information incriminating the Mafia.

But Carney has said that Bulger’s deal was different: The 82-year-old gangster asserts the immunity was granted not by the FBI, but from within the US Department of Justice, which has the authority to make immunity agreements.

Carney would not identify the law enforcement official he said granted Bulger’s immunity, saying he will do that at trial. But he has indicated in court records that he plans to call as witnesses some of the former law enforcement officials who held leadership positions in the US attorney’s office, such as Stearns and William F. Weld, former governor, who was also a US attorney during a part of the time Bulger allegedly committed his crimes.

Carney also said he would introduce evidence that would impeach the credibility of past statements by former and deceased law enforcement officials, such as former US attorney Jeremiah O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan was the US attorney who decided against indicting Bulger and Flemmi in a historic horse race-fixing scheme, though about 20 other gangsters, including associates in their Winter Hill gang, were charged and received lengthy prison sentences.

A.J. Manieri, a Providence-based criminal defense lawyer who has followed the Bulger case and others in organized crime, said the assertion of immunity seems to be a question of law that Stearns might have to decide before it reaches jurors. Prosecutors will probably argue that Bulger had no deal of immunity for crimes such as murder, and jurors should not be exposed to the assertion. Manieri said that the judge could exclude testimony that would not be relevant to the charges.

But he also said that Carney will want to show that the agreement came not from a rogue FBI agent, but from within the leadership of the Department of Justice. He said Carney could be successful just in having Stearns take up the legal issue because it would settle the question of law. “It’s going to be a bloodbath in there,” he said.

Milton J. Valencia can be reached at

© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company

/ mazda83 wrote:
future headline in the globe "whitey bulger found dead in cell" the gangster octogenarian died of natural causes.
a trial is what a lot of retired feds don't want...
8/7/2012 5:04 AM EDT
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/ Fuzzienutz wrote:
If you are an attorney and your client is guilty, you should not put him on the stand in his defense. If your client is innocent, you should NEVER put him on the stand. Mr. Carney, I've watched you for years and you have some amazingly stupid moves to your credit, but if you put a man suspected of 80+ murders on the stand to defend his actions ("The feds gave me permission"), I think you should be dis-barred
8/7/2012 5:34 AM EDT
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/ adagio52 wrote:
Bulger to the witness stand may not happen. This could be just a trial balloon - literally - on the part of Carney. Bulger may want a plea deal to keep his mouth shut. Also, I'd like to know how Carney would call Judge Stearns as a witness, when Stearns is presiding over the trial. I'm sure we'll see Billy during the trial too, possibly as a witness.
8/7/2012 6:36 AM EDT
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/ ricksok1 wrote:
Prosecutor to Whitey:" So how's the clamming under the Neponset River Bridge?"
8/7/2012 6:44 AM EDT
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/ mwne1975 wrote:
Yeah, good luck with that...
8/7/2012 6:59 AM EDT
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/ CasinoMAn wrote:
wonder if it will it be televised.
8/7/2012 7:01 AM EDT
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/ Renewable216 wrote:
We know the movie actor Matt Damon and his role in the Southie movie the Departed. Who was the Jason Bourne character written about?
Whitey Bulger is he the Jason Bourne character ? Bulger was first in federal custody at Atlanta Penitentiary (1956–59) for armed robbery and hijacking. In prison he was involved in the MK-ULTRA program, the goal of which was to research mind-control drugs for the Central Intelligence Agency, headed by CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb.
Highly trained assassin and bank robber Jason Bourne ( "Whitey" Bulger) is on the hunt for the FBI agents who stole his memory and true identity. With a new generation of skilled FBI operatives tracking his every move, Bourne AKA "Whitey" Bulger is in a nonstop race around the globe as he finally learns the truth behind his mysterious past.
Ultimately his girl friend ends up actually being his handler and turns him in at the end .
8/7/2012 7:17 AM EDT
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/ wiseoldfart wrote:
Whitey did a great job of exposing the corruption and incompetence within the Marxachusetts injustice system. He continues to expose its incompetence at the expense of taxpayers.
8/7/2012 7:19 AM EDT
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/ 1259 wrote:
Sad realy that this mans demise was similar to Osama with a burial at sea. With or without him still breathing.
but alas we have a dung show!
8/7/2012 7:41 AM EDT
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/ mickeydurkin wrote:
Just prosecute him on weapons charges. Even if he got just five years, chances are he will expire during that period of time. The more he is charged with, the longer and more expensive the trial. Keep it simple.
8/7/2012 7:46 AM EDT
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/ olliegator wrote:
WHO CARES!!!!!!!
8/7/2012 7:50 AM EDT
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/ Quasimodo wrote:
This trial will be a circus. And Bulger will be the ringmaster.
8/7/2012 8:07 AM EDT
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/ SandyRowBelfast wrote:
No one cares about Whitey anymore. Stop putting his face on the site. Get on with your lives. And stop with the pop ups already.
8/7/2012 8:50 AM EDT
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/ anneconlon wrote:
Oh this is going to be fun!!
8/7/2012 8:52 AM EDT
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/ Draac wrote:
The lead poster is correct. There is no way the FBI will let this guy implement any more FBI agents in this trial. He will be found hung or a plastic bag tied around his neck. He will not be let to take the stand and spill the beans on the Boston FBI....JMO.
8/7/2012 9:05 AM EDT
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/ Chomp wrote:
March (when the trial is to begin), is a long way away. Something will "happen" to him in his cell before then. If it does go to trial, and he does spill the beans...it is going to be DAMN interesting.
8/7/2012 9:15 AM EDT
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/ camcat wrote:
I'll set the scene: They'll be a porn magazine opened on the bunk to a particularly salacious picture. Mr. Bulger will be found expired, hanging from the bars, his sheet serving as a ligature. Despite his advanced age, it will be officially ruled a death by misadventure -- just another victim of auto-erotic asphyxia.
That's how you murder inmates.
8/7/2012 9:20 AM EDT
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/ ahlefhjk wrote:
I think the taxpayers have a right to hear how their money is being spent and that includes the corruption, ineptness and failure of government officials to do their jobs.
8/7/2012 9:27 AM EDT
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/ ryan241 wrote:
Get this trial done already. This piece of scum has had his 15 mins.
Time to slink back to obscurity and disgrace.
8/7/2012 9:37 AM EDT
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/ ryan241 wrote:
Unreal. What is it about the folks who comment on Boston.com.
A ridiculously high percentage are convinced cops are crooks, DA's are corrupt, and the legal system is one big circus.
No wonder we have organizations dedicated to 'uncovering' the 'truth' behind 9/11 or who really shot Kennedy. You people sound like you could be charter members.
8/7/2012 9:41 AM EDT
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/ nobbielab wrote:
The man should get the death penalty.
8/7/2012 9:45 AM EDT
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/ sprint wrote:
Is this going to be televised?????????? If not, how does one get a ticket to watch?
All propel in the Boston area should ahev the opportunity to see his trial. We have lived it for years now
8/7/2012 9:56 AM EDT
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/ RonBorges wrote:
Does White have a "If the Glove Doesn't Fit, you must acquit" moment up his sleeve.
This is must-see TV... Let's hope NECN gives it full coverage.
8/7/2012 10:04 AM EDT
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/ jem5 wrote:
Stop wasting internet space with the "whitey" bulger issue. He's taken up enough time in my brain and in money from the state. No - he did not have a license to kill and he should just please guilty and be done with it. His health will do him in if someone in the jail doesn't.
8/7/2012 10:07 AM EDT
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/ jalevs wrote:
Those of us who are older know that this man had someone protecting him. He did not do the things he did for years without someone turning a blind eye. He will take the stand and will sing like a bird. I can't wait and I bet there are some high up people really squirming now.