“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Departed…
October 30th, 2018“`James Whitey Bulger was a Boston gangster who benefited from a corrupt relationship with the F. B. I. before spending years as one of America’s most wanted men. He was a model for Jack Nicholson’s ruthless crime boss in the 2006 Martin Scorsese flick The Departed; and the bio-pic Black Mass that starred Johnny Depp as Bulger. Whitey led a largely Irish mob that directed loan-sharking, gambling, and drug rackets.
“`Whitey was known for helping old ladies across the street and giving turkey dinners to his neighbors at Thanksgiving. He had a kind of Robin Hood-like image among some locals. But, he would put a bullet in the brain of anyone who he even suspected of double-crossing him.
“`Bulger gained notoriety as leader of the Winter Hill Gang. He also was the informant who ratted on the New England mob, his gang’s main rival. This was an era when bringing down the Mafia was a top national effort. His younger brother, William Bulger, became one of the most powerful politicians in Massachusetts, leading the state Senate for seventeen years.
“`He spent sixteen years on the lam as a fugitive before his 2011 capture in Santa Monica. In 2013, Whitey was convicted for murder, extortion, and money-laundering after a sensational racketeering trial that included stark testimony from three former Bulger cohorts: a hit man, a protege, and his partner. He was sentenced five years ago to two consecutive life sentences plus five years.
“`Whitey Bulger was found dead at the penitentiary in West Virginia. Believed to be a victim of a mob hit, he was eighty-nine.
Until next time> “never forget”
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