Former FBI agent John Connolly Jr., convicted of aiding Whitey Bulger, hopes to be exonerated, Daily Beast says

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent

Imprisoned former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. believes he might be exonerated by information that James “Whitey” Bulger has revealed since the reputed mobster’s arrest last June, according to a report published in The Daily Beast, an online news website.

“My lawyers have information that since Bulger was brought in, he spoke to FBI agents and told them I had nothing to do with tipping him off’’ about a pending federal indictment, Connolly said in what The Daily Beast described as his first interview since Bulger’s arrest. “And he told them I had nothing to do with this murder in Florida, not one damn thing.”

In 2002, a federal jury convicted Connolly of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and lying to an FBI agent. Jurors found that he tipped off Bulger and an associate, Stephen Flemmi, prior to their 1995 racketeering indictments. However, the jury found prosecutors failed to prove the most serious charge against Connolly — that he leaked information to Bulger and Flemmi that prompted them to kill three men. Connolly was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

However, Connolly, 71, is serving 40 years after being convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder for helping the Bulger crew kill Boston businessman John B. Callahan in Florida, who was a potential witness against them.