EXCLUSIVE: Connolly says Bulger talked to him about surrendering

John Connolly (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, file October 2008)

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

MIAMI -- Disgraced former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., speaking in a jailhouse interview today on the eve of his sentencing on a murder charge, revealed that fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger called him twice after fleeing Boston and discussed the possibility of surrendering.

"He was thinking of giving himself up,'' Connolly said, recounting two pre-arranged calls that he received from the fugitive at a pay phone near the Prudential Center in Boston. "He seemed to be serious about it.''

He said he couldn't recall the date of the calls, but believed it was sometime in 1995 or 1996 when Bulger and his sidekick Stephen "The Rifleman'' Flemmi were facing racketeering, extortion, gambling, and drug trafficking charges, but had yet to be publicly revealed as longtime FBI informants and charged with 19 murders between them.

At the time, Flemmi was jailed without bail while awaiting trial. And Bulger -- now one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted -- had evaded capture.

Bulger didn't want to surrender unless he was assured that he and Flemmi would both be released on bail, Connolly said.

"He felt because they were both FBI informants and had produced for the FBI, they could be given that concession and get bail while fighting the case,'' Connolly said.

"I said I don't think that's possible,'' said Connolly, adding that he told Bulger that it would depend on whether his lawyer could persuade prosecutors to agree to bail.

During the first call, which lasted about 10 minutes, Bulger was "outraged'' that he was indicted on gambling and loansharking charges because he believed the FBI had authorized him and Flemmi to commit such crimes in exchange for the information they provided to the bureau about the local Mafia, according to Connolly.

Connolly said he assured Bulger that he had nothing to do with the indictment and agreed that he would "tell the truth'' and testify in court, if necessary, that Bulger and Flemmi had approval from the FBI and the Justice Department to engage in gambling and loansharking.

Connolly said he feared that if Bulger believed he had betrayed him, then it would place his life and that of his wife and children in danger.

Bulger wanted Connolly to recommend a lawyer for him, and Connolly said he promised to give it some thought and arranged for Bulger to call him back about a week later, at the same time and at the same telephone number.

During the second call, Connolly said, he passed along the names of three lawyers, whom he declined to identify. He said he didn't know if Bulger called any of the lawyers, and it was the last time he spoke to the gangster.

"He said, 'Good luck,' and I said, 'Good luck to you,' and that was it,'' Connolly said.

Connolly said he didn't know where Bulger was hiding when he made the call, but knew he was talking on a pay phone because he could hear him pumping change into the phone during the calls.

The 68-eight-year-old Connolly spoke to the Globe, with his lawyer present, on the eve of his sentencing on a charge of murder.

Connolly will be sentenced tomorrow for the 1982 slaying of Boston business consultant John B. Callahan. A Florida jury found him guilty on Nov. 6 of second-degree murder for leaking information to Bulger and Flemmi that prompted them to enlist a hitman to lure Callahan to Florida and shoot him. Callahan's bullet-riddled body was found Aug. 2, 1982, in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami International Airport.

Connolly faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison on the state case. Connolly, who retired from the FBI in 1990, is already serving a 10-year prison term for his 2002 federal racketeering conviction for protecting Bulger and Flemmi from prosecution and helping Bulger evade capture by warning him to flee just before the gangster's 1995 racketeering indictment.

During today's interview at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, Connolly said he is a "scapegoat'' and insisted that he is innocent of all charges and accused Flemmi and other witnesses of lying.

"I did not commit these crimes I was charged with,'' Connolly said. "I never sold my badge. I never took anybody's money. I never caused anybody to be hurt, at least not knowingly, and I never would.''

Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Michael Von Zamft said today that Connolly had the chance to testify at both his federal trial in Boston in 2002 and his recent trial in Miami, but chose not to take the stand -- where he would have faced rigorous cross-examination under oath from prosecutors.

"He refuses to take responsibility for his actions,'' Von Zamft said. "He didn't before and he's not doing it now."

Read more about the interview in tomorrow's Boston Globe.

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