Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
James "Whitey" Bulger Vs. Jack Nicholson's Frank Costello
James "Whitey" Bulger, notorious Boston mob boss, was arrested yesterday in Santa Monica. This ends not only 16 years of searching for the infamous criminal, but the possibility that Bulger would go down in an even remotely similar fashion as his onscreen doppelganger, Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson in "The Departed," or as we like to call it, "The Depahted."
Read on for some other similarities and dissimilarities between fact and fiction...
In the 2006 movie, Costello, a character that was openly based on Bulger, had been leading a semi-double life as both mob boss and FBI informant. This storyline runs parallel to Bulger's real-life involvement with the FBI.
The Boston Globe broke the news that Bulger, who is now 81, was an FBI informant in 1997. The Globe's revelation, which embarrassed the agency, is part of the reason that their capture of him yesterday is such a coup (if you can call something that was 16 years in the making a coup).
A striking dissimilarity, though, is the tidy Hollywood ending with which Costello eventually meets. After one of his inside men on the police force, played by Matt Damon, finds out that he's an FBI informant, he's shot and killed almost immediately.
In real life, Bulger had been on the lam for years before it was even revealed that he had FBI ties -- he bolted from Boston in 1994.
In other words, in the movies, the bad guys die right away, instead of successfully evading law enforcement for a decade and a half.
Sponsored message
Either way, both the movie and the man are legends. "The Departed" won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and numerous books and articles have been written about Bulger and about the mafia he oversaw. Bulger is believed to have seen the film, with reports indicating that he was witnessed leaving a movie theater in San Diego following a screening.
We wonder if the FBI will question him about his feelings on the screen adaptation of parts of his life.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
