'Whitey' Bulger's cause of death in prison revealed | Fox News Investigators are working to build an exact timeline of events leading up to his death, how and why he was placed in the West Virginia lock-up and who is responsible for the killing. James "Whitey' Bulger, the ruthless leader who was at the helm of the South Boston-based Winter Hill Gang, died in prison just years after he was convicted in 2013. But how was he left vulnerable to a beating so forceful that it displaced his eyeballs? , had cut a corrupt deal as a FBI informant in 1975 which gave him a free hand to commit crime as long as he informed about the underworld. F.B.I. Despite the attackers efforts to hide, officials said, cameras caught video images of at least two inmates rolling Mr. Bulger, 89, who was in a wheelchair, into a corner where the attack took place. He's also infuriated by any suggestion that he was a government informant who ratted out mobsters in exchange for protection from rogue law-enforcement agents. Connolly was convicted in 2008 of racketeering, taking bribes and second-degree murder for his role in the slaying of an accountant who Bulger and Flemmi feared would testify against them. As a teenager he joined a gang known as The Shamrocks and ended up in prison from 1956 to 1965 for robbing banks. He was killed after being in Hazelton for less than 12 hours, after he was transferred from another facility. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Mr. Bulgers eyes appeared to have been dislodged from his head, although it was unclear whether his attackers gouged them out or if they were knocked out because he was beaten so severely in the attack. Bulger's attorney, J.W. But despite the attackers efforts to hide from view, officials said cameras caught at least two inmates jump on the gangster and wheel him in his wheelchair into a corner where the attack took place. At least two inmates were quickly sent to solitary confinement after Mr. Bulger was found, according to three employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, who requested anonymity because the investigation was not public. Murder victim son Tommy Donahue told CBS: "He deserved a slow death and that's what I hope he got. Wake up to the day's most important news. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Clickhereto upload yours. Several sources familiar with the investigation say that Bulger was hit repeatedly. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. In the hours after Boston crime boss James Whitey Bulger was found beaten to death in his prison cell, three inmates were hauled away to solitary confinement. He said:He wouldnt rat on anybody and he had no respect for anyone who would.. Mr. Bulger was bleeding profusely when he was found by prison authorities at 8:20 Tuesday morning. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. By 8:07 a.m., Bulger was found dead by prison guards. The document, which was published by Bostons WHDH-TV, states that Bulger, 89, was found unresponsive at 8:21 a.m. Oct. 30, 2018. Bulger was the third inmate killed in six months at USP Hazelton. Its been a long time waiting, Ms. Donahue said. Nearly three years later, all but one have been moved out. In the hours after Boston crime boss James Whitey Bulger was found beaten to death in his prison cell, three inmates were hauled away to solitary confinement. There they remained for two years, eight months and more than 20 days, as the investigation into Bulgers murder dragged on. Prosecutors allege that a mere 12 hours after Bulger arrived at USP Hazelton, he was found dead in his cell. Sources: Whitey Bulgers Body Was Positioned to Look We were not nice guys.". Investigators found that officials at the Florida prison, supported by the Bureau of Prisons medical director, had downgraded Bulger's health assessment, which cleared the way for his transfer to Hazelton. Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. It also presents troubling evidence that BOP officials had let slip to inmates that Bulger would soon arrive at the prison, apparently unaware of the obvious threat to Bulger's life that information would cause. BOSTON The inmates who killed James (Whitey) Bulger, Bostons notorious crime boss, deliberately moved out of view of surveillance cameras in a West Virginia prison before pummeling him with a padlock that was stuffed inside a sock, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday, as investigations began into how such a murder could have taken place in a supposedly secure facility. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. So far, federal officials have been dodging questions about who transferred Bulger and why. Part of HuffPost News. Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger Jr. poses for a mugshot upon his arrival at the Federal Penitentiary at Alcatraz Nov. 16, 1959, in San Francisco. A source close to the murder investigation told the New York Times: They apparently tuned him up to the point where he was unrecognisable.. Inmates at the violent West Virginia prison where infamous gangster James In his younger years, Mr. Bulger was a fitness fanatic who obsessed over taking care of his body and keeping in top physical condition. Boston mob kingpin James Whitey Bulger was beaten to death in a West Virginia prison cell just one day after his arrival at U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton, according to More than $800,000 in cash and a cache of weapons was found hidden in the walls of his apartment. Im not surprised that he got hit; Im surprised that they let him get hit, said Ed Davis, the former Boston police commissioner. Documents show that on the day he was killed, he was scheduled to for some kind of medical exam in Morgantown, West Virginia. They turned a blind eye to his crimes in exchange for information they could use against the Italian Mafia. He was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Email us [email protected] call 0207 782 4368. A prison workers union official told The Associated Press in 2018 that sending Bulger to the troubled federal penitentiary that housed other New England gangsters was like giving him a death sentence.. The men alleged to have killed Whitey are thought to have links to the Mafia. The DOJ Office of the Inspector General opened an investigation due to "unusual" circumstances in Bulger's transfer to Hazelton. ", "No other information will be released at this time.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, We just stepped out from the side of the building the garage and shot him, Flemmi said. One of their neighbours, Anna Bjornsdottir, a former U.S. television actress and Miss Iceland of 1974. MURDERED mob boss Whitey Bulger's head was so pulverised after a savage beating and eye gouging that he could not be recognised, it was revealed today. Bulger was killed shortly after arriving at Hazelton on Monday night. There were no fireworks Friday, but reporters tweeted that Bulger, 83, appeared flushed with controlled anger as Flemmi wrapped up his testimony. Whitey Whitey Bulger's death in prison exposed "deeply troubling" Now my family can relax a little bit, now that we dont have to worry about hearing his name all the time.. Sending him there is like a death sentence. Bulger was found dead the morning after being transferred to United States Penitentiary, Hazelton in Bruceton, West Virginia. Attorney Christopher Nasson said while there was certainly "no love lost" between his client and Bulger, Weichel was not dwelling on the past. There were plenty of inmates at Hazelton who hated him. Private investigator Ted McDonough, who knew Geas, told the Boston Globe: Freddy hated rats. In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. Don Treeger/The Republican, via Associated Press. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. A federal law enforcement official told The AP after Bulgers death that disciplinary issues led to Bulgers transfer to USP Hazelton. But when he was moved on Monday to US Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia he would be sharing a prison with hit-man Fotios Freddy Geas, 51. Flemmi, 79, who is serving life after admitting to 10 murders, said he didn't want to kill Debra Davis but Bulger thought she was a distraction and knew too much about the Winter Hill Gang's relationship with corrupt FBI agents. I'm Whitey Bulger." "We found it particularly troubling that Coleman personnel placed Bulger, an 89-year-old inmate who used a wheelchair and had serious heart conditions, in a single cell in Colemans special housing unit, or SHU, for eight months while Coleman staff bureaucratically struggled with how to transfer him to a new facility. Fotios Freddy Geas, Paul J DeCologero, and Sean McKinnon are facing charges nearly four years after Bulger was beaten to death while serving a life sentence. "And if someone ratted us out, we killed him. One night in 1981, Bulger had him bring the 26-year-old Davis to an empty house in South Boston. Legal Statement. Whitey Bulger A recording of that phone call was played in federal court on Monday by Nowalk, a transcript of which was obtained by ABC News. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Horrifying details have been emerging about the notorious, He was killed after being transferred to a federal prison in West Virginia, according to reports, The inmates who killed Bulger, 89, deliberately moved out of view of CCTV before pummelling him with a padlock stuffed inside a sock -, Whitey Bulger was serving a life sentence for a string of crimes including murder and racketeering. They dont get any colder than him. Retired police detective Tom Duffy Flemmi told the court he wrapped his dead girlfriend in a tarp and when it got dark, he and Bulger went to the Neponsit River with the corpse and shovels. Last known photos of Whitey Bulger released - YouTube October 30, 2018.