Secret FBI informant files introduced at Connolly trial

September 16, 2008 05:38 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

MIAMI -- Secret FBI informant files introduced today at the murder trial of John J. Connolly showed that when he was a Boston FBI agent he filed reports indicating that gangster James “Whitey” Bulger blamed the Mafia -- and then a crew from Charlestown -- for a 1982 slaying that authorities now believe Bulger committed himself.

Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, Bulger’s one-time lieutenant, has told authorities that Bulger killed Edward “Brian” Halloran after being warned by Connolly that he was cooperating with the FBI. Bulger believed that Halloran could implicate him, Flemmi, and others in the May 1981 slaying of Roger Wheeler, a Tulsa millionaire. Flemmi, who is now serving a life sentence for 10 murders, is expected to testify next week.

The once-secret FBI reports were introduced by James Marra, a special agent for the Justice Department's Inspector General's office who was on the witness stand for much of the day. In the Florida case, Connolly is accused of giving another tip to Bulger and Flemmi that he allegedly knew would lead to the 1982 murder of Boston businessman John B. Callahan.

Prosecutors have said that Connolly was a corrupt agent who recruited Bulger as an informant and then became "just another member" of Bulger's gang, while working inside the FBI.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Manuel L. Casabielle, Marra acknowledged that an FBI supervisor had recommended that Halloran be admitted to the federal witness protection program just a few weeks before his murder, in part based on information provided by Connolly.

Despite the solemn nature of the case, there have been moments of levity as the judge cracks jokes with jurors during breaks in the case. During the afternoon recess, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stanford Blake, who is presiding over the case and just celebrated his 60th birthday, circulated plates of chocolate cake with vanilla frosting to jurors, lawyers and spectators.