In Boston, the trial of alleged mobster James “Whitey” Bulger is in its fourth week.
There has already been a parade of former drug dealers, former FBI agents, a hit man and victims’ families — including a man whose dad went missing when he was 14.
Bulger is accused of taking part in that murder and 18 others, including the strangling of two 26-year old women.
He’s also accused of racketeering, extortion, money laundering, drug dealing, and gun stock piling in the 70s and 80s. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His stomping grounds were South Boston — “Southie” — a working class, Irish-Catholic neighborhood in Boston. He lived there until the 90s, when he went on the lam for 16 years. He was discovered in 2011, living with his girlfriend in Santa Monica, Calif.
And now his trial is digging up the past and also raising embarrassing questions for the FBI. There’s strong evidence that Bulger was an informant for that agency while he was running his criminal enterprise.
Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen has been covering Bulger for decades, and joins us to talk about the trial.
Cullen is from South Boston and he’s co-author of “Whitey Bulger: America’s Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice.”
Guest:
- Kevin Cullen, columnist for the Boston Globe. He tweets @GlobeCullen.
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