After 16 years of searching, on Wednesday the FBI has finally caught fugitive Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, one of the bureau’s most wanted men.
FBI agents arrested Bulger far from his hometown of Boston, where his criminal career has become a legend. Agents found him in Santa Monica, California, after they received a tip as to his whereabouts, the Los Angeles Times first reported. Bulger was reportedly taken without a struggle, though FBI wanted posters for him had long warned that he “is known to carry a knife at all times.” Agents did, however, find over 20 firearms in the the apartment where Bulger was staying.
The long sought-after arrest came on the second day of a new public outreach campaign by the bureau which provided a detailed description of Bulger’s female companion in the hopes that she would lead law enforcement to the crime boss. The companion, Catherine Greig, 60, who is wanted for harboring a fugitive and was believed to have been with Bulger since he fled, was arrested along with Bulger on Wednesday. The FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office, said at a press conference Thursday that the arrest was a “direct result” of that publicity campaign, the New York Times reported.
Bulger was a Boston mobster in the 1970’s and 80’s, and wanted for involvement in 19 murders, and for his role as the leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang, a crime ring that allegedly engaged in violence, racketeering, extortion and drug dealing. When law enforcement closed in on Bulger in late 1994, a corrupt retired FBI agent alerted Bulger of his impending arrest and he fled. Police had not been able to find him since, despite offering a $2 million reward, putting Bulger on the famed 10 Most Wanted list and issuing frequent public service announcements asking for information as to his whereabouts. Bulger became a crime legend in his hometown, and multiple sightings of him across the country, and world, were reported, and the FBI says that it believes Bulger had traveled extensively in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Then on Monday, the FBI’s Bulger Fugitive Task announced that it was starting a new publicity campaign looking for tips about Bulger, but with a new strategy: cherchez la femme.
In addition to doubling the reward for Greig to 100,000, the bureau ran ads in 14 media markets, which only began Tuesday, asking the public to look for Greig. FBI tidbits about Greig that agents felt would produce tips included that she loves animals, has well-kept teeth and likes to frequent beauty salons. In a statement Monday, FBI investigators said that they hoped appealing to a new audience—women—would produce fresh leads in the very cold case. Los Angeles, however, was not one of the areas targeted.
Bulger is set to appear in federal court in Los Angeles today.
