[84] Before his 1987 death by drug overdose, McGonagle reportedly held Bulger responsible for the murders of his brothers, twins Donald and Paul McGonagle, who were killed in the fighting which occurred during the Mullen-Killeen gang war. After his 2011 arrest, federal prosecutors tried Bulger for nineteen murders based on grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks and other former criminal associates. Jimmy drove straight to his mentor Billy O'Sullivan's house on Savin Hill Avenue and told O'Sullivan 'I shot the wrong one. The killing, Nowalk said, took all of seven minutes. [102] Bulger was indicted in Florida for the murder of Callahan and in Oklahoma for the murder of Roger Wheeler, and could have received the death penalty in those states. But it wouldn't have lasted long, since Jimmy had no intention of letting Louie run wild.[50]. [17] On November 14, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. I could see that a lot of the reports were not just against the Italians. Three men were charged Thursday in connection with the 2018 death of notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, federal prosecutors announced. According to an excerpt of a book on Bulger published by Boston magazine, Bulger only made one friend during his post-sentencing detention,[97] Clement "Chip" Janis, a young convict who was trusted to run art classes for other convicts. Published Oct. 29, 2021. The first confirmed sighting of Bulger before his capture was in London in 2002. She has been living quietly in South Boston with her twin sister Margaret McCusker. Whitey Bulger Death Bulger passed away on 30th October 2018 in the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton in West Virginia. Bulger was widely thought to have obtained his share of the jackpot illegitimately.[58]. Bulger was in a wheelchair and had been beaten to death by multiple inmates armed with a sock-wrapped padlock and a shiv. November 8, 2018. "James 'Whitey' Bulger is captured but not in a bookstore". Jimmy shot him right between the eyes. [38][39][40], In 1959, Bulger was briefly transferred to maximum security at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in California. [128] According to Cyr, "He used to say that there were four people he would turn up on a street corner for: Douglas, me, Billy, or his mother. Casper told Bulger that such a sentence was necessary given his "unfathomable" crimes, some of which inflicted "agonizing" suffering on his victims. Nearly four years after James "Whitey" Bulger's killing, 55-year-old Fotios "Freddy" Geas, 48-year-old Paul "Pauly" DeCologero, and 36-year-old Sean McKinnon were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that a mere 12 hours after Bulger arrived at USP Hazelton, he was found dead in his cell. Eventually, however, the massive profits of drugs proved irresistible. The information they supplied to the FBI in subsequent years was responsible for the imprisonment of several of Bulger's associates whom Bulger viewed as threats; however, the main victim of their relationship with the federal government was the Patriarca family, which was based in Boston's North End and in Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island. ", "Fourth Superseding Indictment in Case Number 94-10287-MLW, United States v. Francis P. Salemme, et al", "Third Superseding Indictment in Case Number 99-10371-RGS, United States v. James J. Bulger, et al", "Search for Whitey Bulger turns to Canada". Two people on video footage shot in Taormina, Sicily, formerly thought to be Bulger and Greig walking in the streets of the city center, were later identified as a tourist couple from Germany. It was Donald. In a sit-down at Chandler's nightclub in Boston's South End, the Mullens were represented by Nee and King, and the Killeens by Bulger. The convicted mobster and murderer died in prison in 2018. He was beaten to death by the inmates when he was in his wheelchair, soon after he arrived there. It is still unknown why Cosmo Dinardo and his accomplice Sean Kratz ended the lives of four men over marijuana deals, but there are some theories that can help explain why Dinardo devised his evil plan. [105] Bulger was also in poor health, as he was unable to walk and had a damaged hip, often falling out of bed. "[35]:57, Litif had been stealing money from his partners in the bookmaking operation and using the money to traffic cocaine, and had not only refused to pay Bulger a cut of his drug profits but committed two murders without Bulger's permission. He was tried on thirty-two counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion and weapons charges, including complicity in nineteen murders. It was during the war that Bulger set out to commit what Weeks describes as Bulger's first murder, of Mullen member Paul McGonagle. His counseling was soon terminated, and he was transferred to the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida. The FBI, by this time considered compromised, was not informed. Although by this time he was aware of Bulger's FBI deal, he was determined to remain faithful to the neighborhood code of silence. The cause of his death was later indicated as Blunt force trauma. Although Bulger adamantly denied it, the FBI revealed that he had served as an informant for several years starting in 1975. In April 1994, a joint task force of the DEA, the Boston Police, and the Massachusetts State Police launched a probe of Bulger's illegal gambling operations. [86] Greig's younger brother David, a close associate of Bulger, was found shot dead on Cape Cod in an apparent suicide. Remember, you can't rat on a rat. Even after he retired, Connolly still had friends in the FBI, and he and Jimmy kept meeting to let each other know what was going on. [43]:135138. "[118] The Bulger family sought US$200,000 in damages. Those guys have been giving up everyone for thirty years. They stepped into the power vacuum and took over the leadership of the Winter Hill Gang, transferring its headquarters to the Lancaster Street Garage in Boston's West End, near the Boston Garden. "[35]:247 In a 2011 interview, Flemmi recalled, "Me and Whitey gave [the Feds] shit, and they gave us gold."[36]. [20] Bulger, who was in a wheelchair, was beaten to death by inmates on October 30, 2018, within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. With Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson. [28][29][30] Their first child, James Joseph Bulger Jr., was born in 1929. I think he liked the legitimacy a political cause gave him," Whitey pal Patrick Nee recalled. But I don't think they'll ever catch him. Three men have been indicted on multiple felony charges in the 2018 prison beating death of James "Whitey" Bulger, who lived a double life as one of Boston's most notorious mobsters and as a . Money didn't matter, his power didn't matter. "Don't worry about it", Bulger responded. [35]:167, It would not be until the 1999 cooperation of Weeks that Bulger, by then a fugitive, was conclusively linked to the drug trade by investigators. Rumors had abounded long before then, since it was unheard of for a criminal of Bulger's stature to go for years without even an arrest. "[129] At six years of age, Douglas died from Reye syndrome after having a severe allergic reaction to an aspirin injection. And now he wanted to kill a friend of Jimmy. [64] In pursuit of Bulger, a known book lover, the FBI visited bookstores in the area, questioned employees and distributed wanted posters. During the most violent period of The Troubles, sympathy for Irish nationalism and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was very common in South Boston, as were efforts to raise money and smuggle weapons for the IRA's campaign against the British presence in Northern Ireland. The cop who gave him the permit told him, 'I'm glad my last name is not Corsetti.' The death of the infamous mob boss is being treated as murder. He was beaten so mercilessly that he couldn't be recognized. After reporting the story for several days, Corsetti was approached by a man who said, "I'm Jim Bulger and if you continue to write shit about me, I'm going to blow your fucking head off. [122] In April 2003, the committee voted "to grant William Bulger immunity to obtain information concerning Whitey's whereabouts and the FBI's misuse of informants. In the next few months, three low-level Winter Hill Gang members were executed, mostly believed to be in retribution for the kidnapping. He had always said you had to be ready to take off on short notice. In the summer of 1983, tensions between the Winter Hill Gang and the Patriarca family escalated to an all-time high. If there was some investigation going on and his supervisor said, 'Let me take a look at that,' what was Connolly going to do? Bulger was in a. He smoked. They also reported themselves unable to agree about the murder of Debra Davis, though Bulger had already been found liable for her death in a civil suit. The former organized crime boss was killed after being transferred to Hazelton Federal Prison in West Virginia, according to NBC News. On September 13, 1984, Bulger, Weeks and Nee supervised the loading of Valhalla. [85] The body of Paul McGonagle, of whom Greig's sister Margaret was a widow, lay hidden and buried for 25 years on Tenean Beach in Dorchester. During the mid-1980s, Bulger began to summon drug dealers from in and around Boston to his headquarters. This bloody mob war shined a large spotlight on Morris and triggered an internal investigation within the FBI. [35]:xvixvii In 1997, shortly after The Boston Globe disclosed that Bulger and Flemmi had been informants, Weeks met with Connolly, who showed him a photocopy of Bulger's FBI informant file. He would have gotten lung cancer. Inmates knew mob "snitch" James "Whitey" Bulger was coming to the West Virginia prison where he was murdered, a Florida court was told Monday. [95], Greig served much of her eight-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca in Minnesota,[96] but was also detained at various points in Rhode Island ahead of proceedings in the criminal contempt case. [74] In Oklahoma, where Bulger is alleged to have ordered the killing of businessman Roger Wheeler Sr., in 1981, Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said, "It is our intention to bring Bulger to justice and to be held accountable for the murder of Mr. And investigators narrowed in on suspects immediately after his shocking slaying in a . The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. Bulger then used black spray paint to scrawl "Bus Teddy" on the sidewalk outside of the national historic site.[46][47]. Carr has been among the most aggressive critics of the Bulger brothers, Whitey and Billy, for their careers in the Boston area; among his works is the book The Brothers Bulger, detailing the Bulger brothers' 25-year period of controlling Boston politics and the Boston underworld. However, the verdict was overturned on appeal due to the late filing of the claims. Are you going to take it up the ass for these guys? "The next day, Corsetti reported the meeting to the Boston police. 2:42 Within hours of his arrival at a federal prison in West Virginia, gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was beaten to death by inmates Tuesday in an attack that marks the final, brutal chapter. The disappearance of four young men took the media by storm, and it soon became a national headline. From the start of his involvement with the FBI, Bulger "insisted that he would never give up the IRA". By definition, his was a secretive life. Bulger who ruled Boston's criminal underground for more than 20 years and stayed on the run for another 16 before his capture was reportedly beaten to death within hours of his transfer from a Florida prison to the high-security penitentiary in West Virginia on Tuesday. The subject that interests so many, the life and the activities of my brother James is painful and difficult for me. Yet at that moment, in that restaurant in New York, I sensed that he had moved to a new place in his mind. In a long political career, William rose to become President of the Massachusetts Senate. In December 1994, he was informed by Connolly that sealed indictments had come from the Department of Justice and that the FBI was set to make arrests during the Christmas season. [48], In 1995, Bulger and Flemmi were indicted on racketeering charges along with two Boston mafiosi, Frank Salemme and Bobby DeLuca. [72][73] Bulger had been featured on the television show America's Most Wanted sixteen times, first in 1995, and finally on October 2, 2010. [127] Bulger and Cyr began living together in 1966, when Cyr was 21 and a waitress at a North Quincy caf. [17] As part of the racketeering charges, the jury convicted Bulger of the murders of 11 victimsPaul McGonagle, Edward Connors, Thomas King, Richard Castucci, Roger Wheeler, Brian Halloran, Michael Donahue, John Callahan, Arthur "Bucky" Barrett, John McIntyre, and Deborah Hussey. ", "Black Mass: 9 Movie and TV Characters Inspired by Whitey Bulger", "Comic-Con: 'The Blacklist' Inspired by Whitey Bulger's Capture", "The Blacklist: Showrunner John Eisendrath Talks about the Show's Inspiration, Getting Inside the Mind of a Criminal, Casting James Spader, and More", Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano: Whitey Bulger's Enforcer and the Most Feared Gangster in the Underworld, Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down, "Top 10 Most Wanted Criminals in the World 2018", Court Ruling Denying Compensation to Victims Families, Bulger's FBI Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Alert, "James 'Whitey' Bulger capture means on FBI's Most Wanted List, two down, eight to go", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whitey_Bulger&oldid=1142774879, Two life sentences plus five years, forfeiture of $25.2, Bulger is mentioned considerably in the book, The character of Frank Costello (played by, "Notorious mob boss Whitey Bulger found dead in prison" from, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 08:47. ", "Hearing this afternoon for fugitive mobster snared by FBI", "James 'Whitey' Bulger captured after 16 years on the run", "Mobster's run almost textbook case of evasion", "FBI used 'ruse' to lure mobster to his capture", "Tip That Led To Bulger Arrest Came From Iceland", "Death-penalty states waiting for bite of Bulger", "Bulger offers new details to authorities", "James "Whitey" Bulger Pleads Not Guilty to 48 Charges in Boston Court", "Bulger's former associate Kevin Weeks speaks out", "The long, unlikely journey of Cathy Greig", "A Gangster's Gal Was Loyal to the End of Life on the Run", "Pal: Catherine Greig had 'a thing' for boys on 'darker side's", "Whitey Bulger's Wily Girlfriend Catherine Greig", "Brockton lawyer Kevin Reddington hired to defend Catherine Greig", "Feds detail role of Catherine Greig, kin in life on run", "Catherine Greig attorney says she'll go to trial Quincy, MA", "Girlfriend gets 8 years for hiding 'Whitey' Bulger", 'Whitey' Bulger's Girlfriend Faces More Time for Her Silence, Judge sentences 'unapologetic' Catherine Greig to 21 months, 'Whitey' Bulger's girlfriend refuses to testify, "Jury in James 'Whitey' Bulger trial begins deliberations", "Bulger, guilty in 11 murders, will appeal", "Judge to 'Whitey' Bulger: Depravity of your crimes is unfathomable", "Okla., Fla. prosecutors: Bulger death penalty trial decisions after Boston sentencing", "James 'Whitey' Bulger moved to Oklahoma prison", "James 'Whitey' Bulger dead, had been moved to W. Va", "Whitey Bulger's Fatal Prison Beating: 'He Was Unrecognizable', "Notorious mob boss Whitey Bulger found dead in prison", "Mob Boss James 'Whitey' Bulger Beaten to Death With 'Lock-in-a-Sock', "Meet the mob hitman suspected of killing Whitey Bulger", Prison drops visits after Whitey Bulger slaying, "Whitey Bulger's eyes reportedly almost gouged out in deadly attack", "Notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger has been reportedly killed in prison", "Springfield hitman eyed in Whitey Bulger's slaying", "This mafia hitman, Fotios 'Freddy' Geas, hated 'rats'. I have not aided James Bulger in any way while he has been a fugitive. Whitey Bulger, the notorious and colorful Boston mobster whose life was captured on the big screen, has died in a federal prison and - according to TMZ - the death was gruesome and brutal.. Bulger's life had many women - and not just Lindsay Cyr, whose affair with Bulger produced a son, Douglas Glenn Cyr, in 1967. Bulger and Flemmi were left out of the indictments. Even after 1983, when Morris was transferred to head up the Boston FBI's anti-drug task force, he remained an accomplice to Connolly and Bulger. [67], After sixteen years at large and twelve years on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica, California, on June 22, 2011. In order to explain Bulger and Flemmi's status as informants, Connolly said, "The Mafia was going against Jimmy and Stevie, so Jimmy and Stevie went against them. But, Connolly told me, he had to put Jimmy's name on the files to keep his file active. There is simply no other explanation for the transfer of someone in his condition and inmate status to be placed in the general population of one of the country's most violent federal penitentiaries. I shot Donald.' BOSTON . The Florida Commission on Offender Review voted 2-1 in favor of releasing John . Most of South Boston's cocaine and marijuana trafficking was under the control of a crew led by mobster John Shea. Bulger was sentenced to a juvenile reformatory for these offenses. During the return voyage, the Irish Navy stopped Marita Ann and seized the hidden arsenal, arresting IRA members Martin Ferris, Mike Browne, and John Crawley. Bulger had also set up safe deposit boxes containing cash, jewelry and passports in locations across North America and Europe, including Florida, Oklahoma, Montreal, Dublin, London, Birmingham and Venice. [citation needed] The seizure marked the complete end of any major attempt by the IRA to smuggle guns out of the United States, which ended three years earlier with the arrest of the primary IRA's gunrunner George Harrison by the FBI. Nowalk said that on the day of the . "[122] William said that the only contact with his brother during the fugitive years was a short telephone call in January 1995, shortly after his brother was indicted. However, Bulger instead executed McGonagle's law-abiding brother Donald in a case of mistaken identity. He would not be arrested again for forty-six years.[41]. [31], Weeks stated that, although several plans were considered, all were abandoned because there was too much risk of injuring Carr's wife and children. Later that same night, Jimmy killed Buddy Leonard and left him in Tommy's car on Pilsudski Way in the Old Colony projects to confuse the authorities. ET): Sean McKinnon was one of three men indicted on Thursday in Whitey Bulger's death. Donahue was survived by his wife and three sons. [49], In February 1979, federal prosecutors indicted numerous members of the Winter Hill Gang, including boss Howie Winter, for fixing horse races. After listening to the pitch, Bulger is said to have responded, "Alright, if they want to play checkers, we'll play chess. I got the feeling that he was resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't coming back. [43]:54 Morris not only proved himself unable to rein in Connolly's protection of Bulger, but even began assisting him. The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly . [114] According to ABC News, Bulger's medical status had been lowered on October 8, 2018, shortly before he was transferred. [43]:5 Three years later, Bulger partnered with Flemmi, an Italian-American mobster who had been an FBI informant since 1965. [1][13][14][15] Bulger and Greig were then extradited to Boston and taken to court under heavy guard. [51]:221223 Soon after, on May 11, 1982, Bulger, Flemmi, and Weeks were tipped off that Halloran had returned to South Boston. When Bulger arrived at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson there were other famous inmates there, including Brian David Mitchell, Steven Dale Green and Montoya Snchez.[97]. [8][9][10], Bulger was arraigned in federal court on July 6, 2011. The operation had been compromised by IRA member Sean O'Callaghan, who was an informant for the Irish National Police. And he meant it. I can't believe he's so chatty right now. People familiar with Coin-O-Matic knew exactly who the employee was, but the code of silence was still very strong in South Boston. He wanted another opportunity to "finish the job," but Bulger advised him to forget about Howie Carr. BOSTON (AP) A funeral Mass was held in Boston Thursday for notorious gangster James ''Whitey'' Bulger, who was killed last week hours after he arrived at a troubled . The four men shared a prize of around US$14million. Captured in 2011, he was later found guilty of federal racketeering . [45], "As a criminal, he made a point of only preying upon criminals And when things couldn't be worked out to his satisfaction with these people, after all the other options had been explored, he wouldn't hesitate to use violence. "[122] He added: "while I worried about my brother, I now recognize that I didn't fully grasp the dimensions of his life. Bulger and Greig then went on the run together. [31] He spent time in the military prison for several assaults and was later arrested by Air Force police in 1950 for going absent without leave. For example, one murder was of Whitey's partner's exgirlfriend. McIntyre implicated Bulger in the botched smuggling to FBI agent Roderick Kennedy, but Kennedy "insisted that [Bulger's handler] Connolly overheard him talking about someone on the Valhalla cooperating". The reporter who seemed to do the most research and put real effort into getting the true story without having been there was Shelley Murphy, who had been at the Herald for ten years when she went to work for the Globe in 1993. Geas and DeCologero are accused of striking Bulger, 89, in the head several times in October 2018, causing his death, the district attorney's office said. The 89-year-old Bulger was jailed in 2013 for the murder of 11 different . [80] Many anticipated, and some feared,[who?] After arriving at the scene, Weeks staked out the Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant, where Halloran was dining. Bulger was allegedly bludgeoned to death in. And he was. "[35]:53, At the time, Weeks was about to get married and, shortly before the wedding, informed Bulger that he was having difficulty finding a seat for Litif at the reception. "[35]:58 Litif responded that, as Bulger was his friend, he had nothing to worry about. [5][6][7] Beginning in 1997, press reports exposed various instances of criminal misconduct by federal, state, and local officials with ties to Bulger, causing embarrassment to several government agencies, especially to He then drove to Boston and dropped off Stanley in a parking lot. The Killeens were led by three brothersDonnie, Kenny and Eddiealong with Billy O'Sullivan and Jack Curran. [74], Authorities received a tip from a woman in Iceland that Bulger was living in an apartment near a beach in Santa Monica. According to Janis, Bulger was attacked by a fellow convict nicknamed "Retro", whose knife pierced Bulger's neck and skull, and sent him to the prison infirmary for a month. No question about it. It would be another six months before it became clearer. Bulger was captured in California in 2011 after a 16-year manhunt. I would see, over and over again, that some of these people had been arrested for crimes that were mentioned in these reports. During the discovery phase, Salemme and DeLuca were listening to a tape from a roving bug, which is normally authorized when the FBI has no advance knowledge of where criminal activity will take place. "He probably won't show. "[35]:9091, In 1979, Winter was arrested, along with many members of his inner circle, on charges of fixing horse races. Part of me does [still love him]. A notorious mob boss serving a life sentence for his part in 11 slayings, Bulger, 89, was ailing and confined to a wheelchair on October 30, 2018, when he was slain at the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton, a high-security federal facility referred to by inmates as "Misery Mountain." FBI Agent John Morris was put in charge of the Organized Crime Squad at the FBI's Boston field office in December 1977. Tommy King, in 1975, was one example. Connolly frequently boasted to his fellow agents about how he had recruited Bulger at a late-night meeting at Wollaston Beach inside an FBI-issue car. [132] Bulger bought her an expensive house in suburban Quincy, Massachusetts, and acted as father to her children while commuting to "work" in South Boston. The deadly series of events began on July . [51]:216 Connolly reported that Halloran was shopping this information to the FBI for a chance for him and his family to be placed in the Witness Protection Program. Both families were awarded several million dollars in damages. [60] On May 23, 2001, Bulger, along with Stephen and Michael Flemmi, were charged in a 48-count federal indictment with racketeering, murder, and other crimes. Even though he was the boss, he always treated me equally, like an associate, not a son. [16] The trial lasted two months and included the testimony of 72 witnesses; the jury began deliberations August 6. Other reasons included South Boston's code of silence and corruption within the FBI, the Boston Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police. [98] On August 12, the jury convicted Bulger of 31 out of 32 counts in the indictment. According to retired FBI agent Scott Bakken, "Here you have somebody who is far more sophisticated than some 18-year-old who killed someone in a drive-by. [43]:300301, On September 5, 2006, federal judge Reginald C. Lindsay ruled that the mishandling of Bulger and Flemmi caused the 1984 murder of informant John McIntyre, awarding his family $3.1million in damages. [16] The racketeering counts included allegations that Bulger was complicit in 19 murders. [118] In January 2022, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey dismissed the lawsuit, ruling federal law did not allow his family the right to sue Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials because Congress expressly puts custody of inmates in the hands of the BOP, and "has repeatedly limited judicial authority to review BOP housing decisions and to entertain claims brought by prisoners. When their lawyer, Tony Cardinale, learned about this, he realized that the FBI had lied about the basis for the bug in order to protect an informant. Of Arab descent, he had a mustache like Saddam Hussein. Bulger's death certificate was released by NBC10 Boston on Thursday and it confirmed that Bulger's cause of death was "Blunt Force Injuries of the Head" that he sustained while after was "Assaulted by other (s)" in his . No more warnings. [120], Bulger had two younger brothers, William Michael "Billy" Bulger (born 1934) and John "Jackie" P. Bulger (born 1938). So Jimmy decided to kill him. There they remained for two. As long as Jimmy was an active informant, Connolly said, he could justify meeting with Jimmy and giving him valuable information. Three men, including a mafia hitman, have been charged in the 2018 prison killing of the notorious Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger. [94] In February 2016, Greig pleaded guilty to this charge. Bulger refused to sanction this, but Litif vowed to proceed. They just knocked the people from Southie during busing. He told Weeks, who had replaced him as head of the Winter Hill Gang, "If anything comes down, put it on me. Bulger replied, "You've stepped over the line. [35]:5759 Litif told an outraged Bulger he was also going to kill his partner, "Joe the Barber", whom he accused of stealing from the bookmaking operation. Lindsay stated the FBI failed to properly supervise Connolly and "stuck its head in the sand" regarding numerous allegations that Bulger and Flemmi were involved in drug trafficking, murder and other crimes for decades. "[51]:194. The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly. As Donahue and Halloran drove out of the parking lot, Weeks signaled Bulger by stating, "The balloon is in the air" over a walkie-talkie. In a decision that would prove costly to him, Donahue offered Halloran a ride home. I do not know where he has been over the past eight years. Bulger was allegedly bludgeoned to death in federal prison, according to prosecutors, by Fotios Geas, 55, also known as "Freddy," and Paul J. DeCologero, 48, known as "Pauly."