James 'Whitey' Bulger's next stop may be South Florida
Bulger may face charges in connection with murder of John Callahan
Bob Norman
Ben Candea
MIAMI – The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has placed a transfer order for convicted Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger in connection with a 31-year-old murder case.
A federal jury found Bulger guilty in August of 31 counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and weapons possession. The jury held Bulger responsible for 11 killings from 1973 through 1985.
Bulger's next stop may be Miami in connection with the 1982 murder of former World Jail Alai president John Callahan. Police say Callahan was killed for fear that he would inform federal authorities about the murder of World Jai Alai owner Roger Wheeler.
"Callahan, as you know, was found at MIA (Miami International Airport) in the trunk of a car," said WPLG-TV engineer Steve Ellis, who worked at World Jai Alai at the time of the murder.
Callahan was shot twice in the head. A dime was left on his chest, the underworld symbol for snitching.
Federal authorities say Bulger controlled part of World Jai Alai with the help of corrupt FBI agents.
"It kind of attacks everything that you've been taught in your life growing up," said Ellis. "The FBI -- that's the gold standard of ethics."
Ellis worked with Paul Rico, a former FBI agent who worked with Bulger, an FBI informant himself. Another former agent, John Connolly, was convicted for his role in Callahan's murder.
Despite placing a transfer order, Miami-Dade prosecutors haven't decided whether they'll charge Bulger.
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James Bulger was first arrested in 1943, at the age of 14, for larceny.Bulger was sent to a juvenile reformatory in 1943 after arrests for larceny, forgery, assault and battery, and armed robbery.A undated photo taken during one his arrests.After his release from prison in 1948, he joined the Air Force.When Bulger returned to Boston, he joined a gang that robbed banks and hijacked trucks. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1956After prison, Bulger began a long affair with Lindsey Cyr after meeting her in a cafeThe two had a son, Douglas, who died when he was 6 years old.By 1973, Bulger and Patrick Nee were in control of organized crime in South Boston.Bulger became heavily involved in drug trafficking in the early 1980s.By 1988, Bulger headed an organization that ran extortion, loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijackings and arms trafficking throughout New England.In this undated photo released by the FBI, Bulger associate Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi is shown.Along with Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, he led the violent Winter Hill Gang, a largely Irish mob that ran loan-sharking, gambling and drug rackets.Bulger served as a criminal informant for the FBI in its drive to dismantle the New England Mafia. He was wanted in connection with 21 murders.Bulger's FBI informant cardThis store was previously known as Stippo's and the South Boston Liquor Mart. Bulger and his cronies wanted Stippo's Liquor Mart. They brought along a gun and $67,000 in cash to help seal the deal with owner Stephen Rakes.In April 1994, a joint task force of the DEA, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Boston Police Department launched a probe of Bulger's gambling operations.Bulger was photographed before he fled in South Boston by a Boston Globe photographer.Bulger disappeared just after his indictment on charges that he plotted with the Mafia to split up gambling and drug profits throughout New England.Bulger is seen with his dogs in South Boston before fleeing the area.Bulger and Greig walking their dogs in South BostonFBI agent John Connolly was convicted of tipping off FBI informants Bulger and Flemmi about investigations of their crimes and warning them when they were about to be indicted.Connolly claimed he had recruited Bulger at a late night meeting inside an FBI-issued carBulger is shown holding a goat in this undated photo taken shortly before he disappeared in 1995Bulger had prepared to be on the run. He'd established a whole other person, Thomas Baxter, with a complete ID and credit cards.Using the names Tom and Karen, Bulger his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were spotted in several states, including New York, Wyoming, Louisiana and Mississippi.This is a "Wanted" ad placed in the January 1998 issue of Soldier of Fortune magazine by the FBI.This undated FBI photo was released Dec. 30, 1998. There were unconfirmed sightings in about 30 countries and on every continent but Antarctica.Jackie Bulger is seen through his car window as he was pursued by reporters and cameras April 10, 2003, after he pleaded guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice charges.John "Jackie" Bulger's retirement pension was stopped in May 2003, after he pleaded guilty to interfering with efforts to capture his fugitive brother.This wanted poster was released by the Massachusetts State PoliceBulger with girlfriend Catherine Greig in a photo released by the FBI. When and and where it was taken was not disclosed.Whitey Bulger and Catherine GreigNo description foundThen Senate President William Bulger received a $250,000 payment from a Boston developer. Federal prosecutors cleared him after an investigation.These were FBI artist composition images released Jan. 2, 2003, showing Bulger, who was believed to have been sighted in London in September 2002.The last confirmed sighting of Bulger prior to his arrest was in London in 2002.Working with federal investigators, Terra Lycos hoped the placing of the posters over their worldwide network would assist in Bulger's capture.State Police investigators examine dirt as a front end loader and an excavator dig for the bodies of victims of Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi in Hopkinton, Mass.FBI photos of Bulger, taken in the 1980s and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, who traveled with the former gangster.A State Police officer is seen over a sifting table Sept. 22, 2000, at the search scene in Quincy, Mass., where authorities discovered the remains of a man, believed to be a Bulger victim.Released by the FBI on Sept. 14, 2007 a man and a woman are shown in Taormina, Italy. They turned out not to be Bulger and Greig.Former FBI agent H. Paul Rico was arrested in 2003 and charged with conspiring with his old informants in the 1981 murder of Oklahoma businessman Roger Wheeler.Whitey Bulger Passport, date not known.On his 79th birthday, the FBI increased the reward to $2 Million and released these "age-enhanced" photos.The FBI released new sketches of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in 2009No description foundThe FBI released these images in June 2011, as it stepped up its search for Greig.The pictures on each end depict what Greig might have looked like in 2004.No description foundThe FBI quickly changed its website after Bulger's arrestNo description foundGreig and Bulger had separate bedrooms in their California apartment, the FBI said.No description foundThe listing of tenants at the Santa Monica apartment where Bulger and Greig were livingAn FBI agent holds an evidence bag outside an apartment complex where James "Whitey" Bulger and Catherine Greig were arrestedFBI agents load evidence bags into a truck outside an apartment complex where James "Whitey" Bulger and Catherine Greig were arrested.James "Whitey" Bulger appears in court in Los Angeles after his arrest.
James Bulger was first arrested in 1943, at the age of 14, for larceny.
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