Prosecutors and defense attorneys for the Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger 's trial completed jury selection Tuesday, choosing 12 regular jurors and six alternates.
"Bulger is accused in a broad racketeering indictment of a long list of crimes, including 19 killings, extortion and money-laundering," according to CBS News. "Authorities say he committed the crimes while he was an FBI informant, but Bulger's lawyers deny that he was ever an informant."
According to multiple reports, former FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick meet with Bulger, 83, before he became a fugitive on the run.
"When I interviewed him, he said he was not an informant and I found that odd because my whole reason for going out there was to assess him as an informant," Fitzpatrick told NBC News on Tuesday.
Fitzpatrick also told NBC News that if he were called to testify he would do so no matter which side it helps.
"I have no say in what happens to this guy anymore. I'm not the jury. I'm not the judge," he said. "I'm kind of disgusted with the way things turned out."
Bulger allegedly participated in 19 murders between the 1970s and '80s.
U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper told potential jurors during the selection process that the trial was expected to last three to four months. She also told jurors that it would be a disruption to their daily lives.
Jurors in the Bulger case reportedly will not be sequestered, but seated jurors will be referred to by numbers, and identities of the jury will not be revealed until after the verdict is announced.
Bulger received a tip that he was going to be arrested and fled. He spent 16 years as an alleged criminal at large until he was caught with longtime girlfriend Catherine Grieg in Santa Monica, Calif., in June 2011.
The judge denied the defense motion for a delay of trial to further investigate, and order everyone, including the 12 jurors and six alternates, to report to court on Wednesday for opening statements.
No live-streaming of the trial proceedings will be available as cameras are banned from the courtroom.
