One of the most high profile organized crime cases in years came to a close on Monday as James "Whitey" Bulger, the head of Boston's Winter Hill Gang, was found guilty on 11 of the 19 murder charges he faced as well as a myriad of other charges, according to the New York Times.
Bulger, 83, was able to avoid capture by authorities for 16 years until he was found living in California in 2011. The trial lasted seven weeks and the testimony of over 60 witnesses painted a picture of the crime empire that dabbled in everything from money-laundering to drug-dealing in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The depth of depravity is stunning - the killing of weak people, the women, the treachery against their own friends, shooting them in the back of the head," Anthony Carindale, a criminal defense lawyer who exposed Bulger as an informant, told the New York Times. "It's almost Tosca-esque in terms of the treachery that went on and, in the end, everyone winds up dead."
Bulger was alleged to be a long time Federal Bureau of Investigation informant who would give out information on the Italian mafia in exchange for agents looking the other way when it came to his gang. Since the beginning of the trial Bulger vehemently denied that he ever assisted the FBI, according to the New York Times.
"This was the worst case of corruption in the history of the FBI," Michael Kendall, a former federal prosecutor, told the New York Times. "It was a multigenerational, systematic alliance with organized crime, where the FBI was actively participating in the murders of government witnesses, or at least allowing them to occur."
Bulger's lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., announced that he planned to appeal the case since the judge would not allow the defense to argue that the FBI had given the defendant immunity for his crimes. Bulger is facing life in prison for his crimes, according to the New York Times.
After the jury was excused Bulger argued with the judge claiming that he had "involuntarily" decided to not take the stand in the case, according to CBS News.
"I feel that I've been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense," Bulger said. "My thing is, as far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial, and this is a sham, and do what youse [sic] want with me. That's it. That's my final word."
One of the men who was planning on testifying against Bulger, former liquor store owner Stephen Rakes, was found dead one day after prosecutors had told him that he wouldn't be called to the stand in the case. Police arrested William Camuti and accused him of poisoning Rakes and dumping his body in the woods. It is unknown if the death was connected to the Bulger case, according to CBS News.
