BOSTON — Mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, 81, was returned to Boston on Friday to face federal charges after his arrest in California after 16 years as a fugitive.
When Bulger fled in 1994, he was under federal indictment in connection with accusations of extortion, money laundering and 19 killings. State prosecutions also await over two killings in Miami and in Tulsa, Okla.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly said prosecutors oppose a taxpayer-funded attorney for Bulger.
Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler asked Bulger if he could afford an attorney.
"Not after you took my money," Bulger responded. More than $800,000 in cash was found in his apartment after his arrest, the FBI said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly said Bulger’s fugitive girlfriend, Catherine Greig, told court officials William Bulger — who hauls in a nearly $200,000 state pension — was prepared to pay his brother’s bail and legal tab.
“We think the Bulgers should pay for his representation, not the taxpayers,” Kelly said. “We think he has access to family resources.”
William Bulger, who’s ducked questions about his gangster brother for decades, brushed past a crush of reporters asking him whether he’d be picking up his brother’s legal tab. William Bulger’s beefy son, Christopher, a former Probation Department manager fired as part of a sweeping patronage scandal, told his dad to “just walk right past” reporters.
“I’ve already made a statement. And I’m just going to stand by that,” William Bulger told reporters, referring to a vague release sent out late Thursday.
Pressed by the Herald as to whether he’ll cover his brother’s legal bills, Bulger shrugged off the question and repeated his no comment. Christopher Bulger repeatedly shoved a Herald reporter and when told to stop, he sneered: “Are you threatening me?”
Outside the courthouse, William Bulger told reporters he recognized his 81-year-old brother and called the courthouse meet-up “an unusual experience.
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