Families Sue Boston FBI for $600 Million
May 14 -- Two families who claim their lives were destroyed by two Massachusetts mob figures-turned-FBI informants said they plan to sue the Boston FBI for $600 million.
Attorneys for the families of slain Oklahoma millionaire Roger Wheeler and South Boston liquor store owner Stephen Rakes claim the FBI is responsible for Wheeler's shooting death and the extortion of Rakes.
Both crimes, the attorneys say, were orchestrated by longtime FBI informants — and reputed Boston organized crime lords — James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.
"These are two law-abiding families from different walks of life whose lives were destroyed by two known criminals and killers and the FBI could have foreseen it," attorney Paul Kelly said today. "They [FBI officials] knew the potential danger these men posed to these families and did nothing to prevent it."
Kelly served notice of the suit to the FBI in Boston on Friday. The FBI has six months to respond to the legal claims. If the agency does not respond or settle the claims out of court, then Kelly said a lawsuit would be filed in November.
Wealthy Businessman Betrayed?
The families, Kelly said, were not involved in the allegedly criminal activities of Bulger and Flemmi and were "chosen at random" by the reputed Irish-American mobsters.
Oklahoma businessman Wheeler was the chairman of Telex Corp. and had several other businesses at the time of his death in 1981, including World Jai Alai in Miami, Fla. Unknown to Wheeler, Kelly says Bulger and Flemmi had infiltrated World Jai Alai before Wheeler bought it, and the pair had set up a cash-skimming operation.
Wheeler found out about the scheme and began conducting his own investigation. Eventually he contacted the FBI. However, Wheeler's investigation led to his death after, attorneys claim, the FBI tipped off Bulger and Flemmi, who then sent a hit man to kill Wheeler.
"To protect their gravy train, James 'Whitey' Bulger and Stephen Flemmi dispatched one of their killers, who ambushed Mr. Wheeler after he finished a round of golf at the Southern Hills Country Club on a Wednesday and literally shot him between the eyes," said Kelly. "He was a family man with a wife and five children and at the peak of his earning potential."
Related Stories
ABC News Live