Above, Preparatory Study of Myles Connor, Oil on canvas by Charles Vincent Sabba
"Myles Connor; pencil on paper; Charles Sabba; 2009 scroll to 23 rd April 2009
Books about the life and times of Irish mobster Whitey Bulger are a cottage industry, so will you be surprised to learn another is on the way?
Tom Foley, the former head of the Massachusetts State Police who led the investigation that led to murder charges being filed against the mobster, has reportedly signed a deal to write his own insider’s account of the Boston gangster's rise and fall.
Titled "Betrayal," the book will focus on Foley’s 20-year pursuit of Bulger and his discovery that the FBI not only protected him, they allowed his criminal empire to thrive.
According to a report in the Boston Herald, Foley’s advance for the book is north of $250,000.
"This will be the real true story of what went on, and there’s nobody who can tell that story like I can," Foley told the Herald.
Foley said his book will focus on what he called the FBI’s mishandling of Bulger.
"When I said this would be about what investigators ran into on a daily basis from the government, they jumped all over it," he said.
"We’re going to tell the whole thing, including the good bad guys and the bad good guys."
The tell-all book is expected to be completed within the year.
Rumors that the Irish Boston mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger has died of a heart attack in Costa Rica are circling the Internet. It is believed that Bulger died of a heart attack and was cremated by his girlfriend Catherine Greig.
However an official statement from FBI Special Agent Gregory Comcowich said "The FBI has no credible information to indicate that Bulger is deceased. Until the FBI receives credible verified information that he has died, the FBI will continue its fugitive investigation.”
The Boston Herald reporters confirmed that no journalists from the area have travelled to Costa Rica to confirm his death. However they also mused on the fact that no one was going to attempt to prove that Whitey Bulger is dead considering there is a $2 million bounty on his head.
Whitey Bulger is at the top of the FBI's Most Wanted list. The 81-year-old is wanted for 19 counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit extortion, narcotics distribution and money laundering.
Victims of Bulger's crimes were similarly suspicious about the reports. Bulger has been on the run since the 1980s and has only been spotted a handful of times. Last year the FBI said "Bulger has been known to alter his appearance through the use of disguises. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Mexico."
One of Bulger’s victims told the Herald "He’s not dead until I say he’s dead…And I don’t say he’s dead until I see him laid out in the coffin.”
Another said "If I were Whitey, this is exactly the story I’d want out there. Not only is he dead, but the body is gone.”
They continued "She [Greig] needs to cut a deal to stay out of prison, and I would think it’d go a lot easier on her coming back to the States with a body instead of an urn. Saves time on the DNA. Plus, I’m sure she wants the money. But if he’s dead, does the FBI still pay off...?”
