Thirteen years on the lam, Bulger remains elusive

(Still from the FBI video)

The man who the FBI believes may be Bulger gave the camera a hard stare this spring in Sicily.

By Globe Staff

Thirteen years ago Friday, a federal warrant was secretly issued for the arrest of alleged South Boston crime boss James J. "Whitey" Bulger. The next day, State Police and federal agents tried to grab him -- but he was gone. And he has never been caught since.

"Although we are disappointed at the end of each day that he has not been apprehended, we are confident that Mr. Bulger will one day be captured," state and federal law enforcement officials who continue to search for Bulger said in a statement today. "Let's hope that the 13th anniversary of his disappearance will indeed prove to be an unlucky number for Mr. Bulger."

The multi-agency Bulger Fugitive Task Force exhausted every lead and lookalike sighting across the world in 2007, seeking both Bulger and his companion, Catherine Greig, the officials said.

A possible sighting in April in Sicily has not been confirmed, but "it has instilled renewed optimism that Mr. Bulger and Ms. Greig will be apprehended," said the officials, who included US Attorney Michael Sullivan and the heads of the State Police and local FBI office.

The officials reminded the public that there is a $1 million reward for information leading directly to Bulger's arrest.

"A single piece of information could turn a worldwide fugitive into a high profile inmate and a tipster into a millionaire," the officials said.

Bulger, a longtime FBI informant, was warned to flee by his former handler, retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., shortly before his federal racketeering indictment.

Since he fled, a number of Bulger's former associates have cooperated against him, leading to the discovery of hidden graves and charges that Bulger murdered 19 people, including two women.

Bulger and Theresa Stanley, a woman he'd lived with for 30 years in South Boston, were staying at a hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans from Dec. 26, 1994, through Jan. 2, 1995.

The couple were driving back to Boston when Bulger learned of the warrant issued Jan. 4, 1995, for his arrest and decided to go underground.

Stanley urged Bulger to take her home after several weeks. After dropping her off in Hingham, Bulger picked up Greig, a woman he had been seeing behind Stanley's back for years, and disappeared.

The last confirmed sighting of the gangster was in London's Piccadilly Circus in September 2002, the FBI has said.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email