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After 20 years of organized crime in Boston, 16 years on the run, and a number-two slot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list (behind Osama bin Laden), Irish mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was finally captured in Southern California on June 22, 2011.
Two years later, a federal court in Boston convicted Bulger of 11 murders, plus multiple counts of extortion and money laundering.
Related: Crime and No Punishment in Prohibition-Era New York
New York Times bestselling author and renowned crime journalist T. J. English followed Bulger’s case–and chronicled the gangster’s reign of terror in his book Whitey’s Payback.
In the video below, English discusses the notorious Bulger case, including the murder of Debra Davis, the 26-year-old girlfriend of Bulger’s partner in crime, Steve Flemmi. Bulger is widely believed to have murdered Debra Davis after deciding she knew too much about his informant relationship with the FBI. While Bulger's 2013 federal trial issued a verdict of “no finding” with regard to the death of Debra Davis, the jury did find Bulger guilty of 11 other murders, as well as drug trafficking and extortion.
Featured photo: Wikimedia Commons
