James Bulger

Endangering Innocent Lives? Boston Globe Outs Tipster of Dangerous Gangster
By Dave Pierre | October 9, 2011 | 5:47 PM EDT

Is the Boston Globe endangering the life of an Icelandic woman who led the FBI last June to capture the notorious and dangerous Boston gangster, James “Whitey” Bulger?

Today (Sun., 10/8/11), the Boston Globe has published a compelling, behind-the-scenes story of the capture of Bulger, who was high on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for several years.

The Globe, however, raises eyebrows in its story by publishing the name, background, and picture of the woman who recognized Bulger and his female companion, who hid for several years in Santa Monica, California.

WSJ's Levitz Omits Dem Party Connection in Story on 'Whitey' Bulger Obtaining Public Defender
By Ken Shepherd | July 1, 2011 | 4:58 PM EDT

Yesterday mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger -- captured last month with $800,000 in his possession -- was granted the right to retain taxpayer-funded counsel by a U.S. Magistrate judge Marianne Bowler, who "appointed high-profile Boston criminal-defense lawyer J.W. Carney Jr. as Bulger's public defender," Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Levitz reported in today's paper.

Bulger, you may recall, is the older brother of former Massachusetts State Senate President William "Billy" Bulger. The younger Bulger was once one of the most powerful Democratic Party bosses in the Bay State, having served 18 years as Senate president.

Yet when it came to noting the family dynamic in the Bulger family, Levitz wrote one short paragraph and in it left out any reference to the Democratic Party:

WaPo Notes Dem Party Connection in 'Whitey' Bulger Arrest Story... In Very Last Paragraph
By Ken Shepherd | June 24, 2011 | 4:24 PM EDT

"TV, Twitter were Boston mobster's undoing" the below-the-fold page A1 Washington Post headline informed readers this morning.

In the 21-paragraph story that followed, Post staffer Jerry Markon detailed how the FBI closed in on the alleged serial killer and wanted mob boss.

Yet Markon waited until the very last paragraph to note James "Whitey" Bulger's familial connection to Bay State Democratic politics:

MSNBC Reports Bulger Arrest, Omits Fact Brother Was Dem Party Hotshot, May Have Helped Him Flee Law
By Ken Shepherd | June 23, 2011 | 11:40 AM EDT

Imagine that one of the FBI's most wanted mobsters had a brother who for decades had been a Republican power broker in a deep red state like say Texas. On top of that, that Republican party boss may have helped his brother flee justice. Imagine that that mob boss was arrested last night after 16 years on the lam.

MSNBC would most certainly report not just the capture but the political connections of the mobster's brother, right?

Only the party boss was former Massachusetts Senate President Billy Bulger (D) and the mobster was South Boston's James "Whitey" Bulger.