BOSTON (WHDH) - A new court filing reveals approximately 35 pages of handwritten notes from a manuscript written by infamous South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger as he was a fugitive from justice. The pages were seized by the FBI during a raid in Santa Monica, California in 2011, and some of them have now been made public as part of a filing by former FBI agent John Connolly’s lawyers in Florida.
Bulger was on the run until 2011, when the FBI arrested him in Santa Monica in an apartment with walls stuffed with cash, as well as the unfinished manuscript. He was beaten to death in prison in 2018 at 89-years-old.
Dozens of newly released pages from the unfinished manuscript Bulger was writing as far back as 2007 show many of his thoughts, including, “I’ve been a criminal almost all my life – it came easier than honest labor.”
Former FBI Agent John Connolly, who was convicted of providing Bulger with information which led to a 1982 murder in Florida, was released from prison due to his age and poor health. He is still trying to clear his name. Connolly’s attornies presented the court with pages to help bolster their case.
Bulger wrote about the first time he was able to bribe Morris, after he claimed he found out Morris had a taste for wine and women.
“I gave him an envelope with [money] in it. He was real nervous and swore me to secrecy. I agreed + never betrayed the promise I made,” Bulger wrote.
Morris testified against Connolly at his racketeering trial and was granted immunity in exchange, but Bulger said when he fled Massachusetts in 1994, after learning he’d been indicted, it was Morris who gave him the information.
Bulger wrote, “Sadly for JC, he took the heat for warning me to take off and other tips that had come from JM.”
Bulger said this was a miscarriage of justice and was enraged when leaked information to newspaper reporters indicated he was an FBI informant. He wrote that he told Morris’ secretary he was former Boston Mayor Kevin White in order to get through to Morris on the phone.
He said he was put through and claimed, “I told him I should blow your brains out, but better yet, I threatened him with ‘if I go down, you’re coming with me.'”
Bulger said he never dreamed he’d write about his life of crime, but he had to because he claimed his former fellow gangsters James Mortarano and Kevin Weeks had been lying about him in interviews.
He said he was especially upset when he saw his former hit man Martorano, who is free, on a 60 minutes segment in 2008.
Bulger wrote, “Naturally, I’m very angry about all of this. I’d prefer to return to So. B. and settle this with a gun, but maybe I’m aware of the many cameras that record lic. numbers + images of pedestrians…Good sense indicates that a kamikaze attack by me is not a wise move and I would be limited to only one target.”
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