Mobster 'Whitey' Bulger Worth $25 Million, Prosecutors Claim
By MICHELE McPHEE
BOSTON - Crime did pay for notorious Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, according to the government's claim in a court filing.
The U.S. Attorney's office made a detailed tally of testimony from Bulger victims who recounted form the stand extortion and drug-deal shakedowns, and "rent" paid by other criminals. Prosecutors determined the earnings of Bulger and his criminal compatriots "spanned decades" and totaled $25,162,800 in ill-gotten gains.
The government wants a judge to force Bulger to reveal where his money may be hidden. The mob boss had opened safety deposit boxes around the world.
Bulger was convicted last month of murdering 11 people, extortion, money laundering and weapons charges after a trial that came nearly twenty years after he was tipped off to a pending federal indictment by a corrupt FBI agent.
Police found $822,000 in cash secreted in the walls of his Santa Monica hideout, where he and his longtime companion spent 14 years living a life on the lam. Bulger was second only to Osama Bin Laden on the FBI's Most Wanted List.
In his opening statement, Bulger defense attorney Jay Carney admitted his client made "millions upon millions upon millions" of dollars, and now the government wants the 83-year-old to relinquish any assets. He is slated to be sentenced in November.