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Whitey Bulger, One of FBI's 10 Most Wanted, Arrested in Santa Monica
One of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted fugitives has been alive and living in a Santa Monica apartment. Now James J. "Whitey" Bulger, 81, and his ladyfriend, Catherine Greig, 60, have been arrested. A recent publicity campaign run in Boston produced a tip which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig at a residence Wednesday evening, said the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's office in Boston, Richard Deslauriers, and the FBI's Assistant Director in Charge in Los Angeles, Steven Martinez.
The publicity blitz was "launched Monday and Tuesday in 14 markets across the country where Bulger and his companion, Catherine Elizabeth Greig, 60, had been spotted or had past ties," explains L.A. Now.
Bulger has a long-running criminal career, but was known for his role as the leader of South Boston's Winter Hill Gang. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bulger and his cronies ran the rackets (extortion, loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijackings, arms trafficking, and cocaine and marijuana distribution) in the area, and took down rivals--by death or getting them sent to prison--in the process. He became an FBI informant, but had an arrangement whereby he could go on with his criminal doings. Ultimately, Bulger has been linked to at least 19 killings.
By 1994 things had soured, and when a probe into his gambling operation was launched, Bulger fled with his then-companion. The next year, Bulger joined up with his onetime mistress, Catherine Greig; the two became fugitives. According to authorities, the duo have been living as Charles and Carol Gasko. They were arrested without incident, with Bulger reportedly in ailing health. They are expected to appear in court in Los Angeles today.
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Bulger had recently moved up to the number one slot on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, replacing a recent major find: Osama Bin Laden.
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