James "Whitey" Bulger is the former leader of Boston's Irish organized crime syndicate the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger has been a fugitive and on the FBI's Most Wanted list since 1995, when he went on the run after being informed by a FBI agent John Connolly that an indictment against him was imminent.
The family of 1950s nightclub owner Richard Castucci is seeking reparations by the Department of Justice in their handling of a Bulger-related investigation that lead to the murder of Castucci, presumably by Bulger-affiliated hitmen. The family is seeking an injunction into the millions, and appeared in court on May 18, 2009.Boston Herald: Rat Pack pal’s kin seeks money in Whitey Bulger hit (May 18, 2009)
Whitey Bulger and The Departed
Martin Scorcese has said that the character of Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson) in The Departed is extremely loosely based on Whitey Bulger. The DVD contains a documentary titled Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and 'The Departed,' which explicitly details the parallels between the real-life Winter Hill Gang and the events in the film.
References
Fast Facts
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Born
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Birth place
Dorchester, MA
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Brother
William Bulger, former president of the Massachusetts State Senate
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Fact:
Brother was also the president of University of Massachusetts
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1952
Honorably discharged from U.S. Air Force
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1956
Served nine years in prison for robbing banks
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1975 - 1995
FBI informant
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1979 - 1995
Head of the Winter Hill Gang
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Fact:
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September 2008
