James J. “Whitey” Bulger, the South Boston gangster charged with 19 murders, who was one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, was arrested in Southern California Wednesday night.
The 81-year-old was captured in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, along with his longtime companion Catherine Greig, 60. They did not resist arrest.
No vehicles were towed from the property, hinting that the couple did not have a car.
According to the FBI, agents acted on a tip from a CNN viewer and moved in.
The arrest caps a 16-year global manhunt. The FBI recently stepped up its efforts in tracking Bulger by targeting Greig, taking to the airwaves during women’s daytime television shows, including “Ellen,” “The View,” and “Live with Regis & Kelly.”
Bulger does not appear to be in good health, officials said.
The arrest begins to mend a black mark for the FBI involving Bulger’s reputed years as an informant and a corrupt agent who allowed him to get away with murder as Bulger’g gang consolidated power away from the Italian mafia in Boston.
Both fugitives are due in a California court on Thursday.
About John M. Guilfoil
[...] today Leave a Comment The FBI confirmed Thursday that its recent spike in publicity, including commercials during daytime television shows, helped lead to the successful capture of James J. “Whitey” Bulger. [...]
[...] J. “Whitey” Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig were arrested on Wednesday at their apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., just days after the FBI launched a female-oriented [...]
[...] — Former Boston crime boss and the FBI’s new and former Number 1 Most Wanted man was arrested outside his Santa Monica apartment complex late Wednesday night after 16 years on the [...]
[...] Bulger, 81, was captured by chest-thumping federal agents in Santa Monica last week, and whisked to a Boston courtroom. He faces 19 murder charges, as well a series of other counts painting a picture of him as the consummate mobster. He’s been on the run for 16 years, and lived for 15 of those years in plain view in the California sunshine. [...]