BOSTON — Imprisoned former Boston FBI Agent John Connolly claims mobster James “Whitey” Bulger has told authorities Connolly did not tip him off to a 1995 indictment and had nothing to do with a Florida murder, according to a published report.
In an interview with the news website The Daily Beast and Newsweek magazine, Connolly says “my lawyers have information” that Bulger, since he was arrested last June, has told FBI agents that Connolly was not involved in the killing of businessman John Callahan in Florida and that Connolly did not warn Bulger about his indictment.
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Bulger, the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang, fled Boston in late 1994 after learning of the impending indictment. He remained one of the country’s most wanted fugitives until last June, when he and longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig were apprehended in Santa Monica, Calif.
Connolly’s appellate lawyer in Florida, Manuel Alvarez, told The Asociated Press in a telephone interview Monday that he has no knowledge of what Bulger has said to authorities. Miami attorney James McDonald, who is representing Connolly on a post-conviction motion, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Bulger, now 82, is awaiting trial for his alleged role in 19 murders. Greig was sentenced to eight years in prison last week for helping Bulger while he was on the run.
Connolly served nearly 10 years in prison after being convicted in 2002 of racketeering and obstruction of justice. He is now serving a 40-year sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder for allegedly helping Bulger’s gang kill Callahan.
Bulger’s Boston attorney, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston and the FBI all declined comment Monday.
Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Connolly in Callahan’s killing, said in a telephone interview Monday he was unaware of what statements Bulger may have made, but expressed skepticism about Connolly’s claims.
“Self-serving statements regarding Mr. Connolly, who’s already been convicted by two juries, seems expected,” he said.
“I don’t know what statements Mr. Bulger is or is not giving, but Mr. Bulger himself is facing several murder charges, so I would think his credibility would certainly be a stretch, under any circumstances.”
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