SOUTH BOSTON, Mass. (WHDH) — An emotional Tom Donahue hugged his godson after he heard that Whitey Bulger was convicted of murdering his dad Michael.
“After 31 years it was an overwhelming feeling. My mom broke down so…my mom is the spinal cord of our family, when she breaks, all three of us break,” said Donahue.
The family was in court every single day of the trial and when the end came, they weren’t sure how it was going to go.
“I was a little nervous after hearing all these not proved, not proved, so by the time they got to my husband and they said he was guilty, I just couldn’t hold my emotions in anymore,” said Patricia Donahue.
Michael Donahue was killed when Bulger and another man opened fire on his car. The Donahue family was actually pleased with the defense cause of the information that came out about the murder.
“How lousy is it that? That I’m cool with… you know, I end up finding a good relationship with the guys who are representing the man who killed my father. Tell me there’s something going on in this courthouse,” said Donahue.
The focus now is the U.S. government, which the Donahue’s said is the reason this all happened.
“We are here because of the U.S. government. The deceit of the FBI is the reason why we are in this place right now. And they should take care of the families in any way possible to help that,” said Donahue.
But for now, the family who put their lives on the hold can try to get back to some normalcy.
“To finally hear that and hear a guilty verdict, it was a good feeling, it was a very good feeling,” said Donahue.
Bulger was found guilty of racketeering, which listed 33 criminal acts, including 19 murders.