Whitey Bulger’s family files lawsuit against U.S. Bureau of Prisons for his murder
The family of James “Whitey” Bulger has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, accusing a West Virginia prison and 30 of its employees of failing to protect the notorious Boston crime boss when he was attacked and beaten to death two years ago.
Bulger was killed less than 12 hours after he was transferred to United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, a notoriously violent facility in Preston County. His body was found in his cell at 8:21 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2018.
In the lawsuit, obtained by the Boston Globe, Bulger’s family described him as “perhaps the most infamous and well-known inmate” to be incarcerated at the facility since Al Capone. They also alleged he was “subjected to a risk of certain death or serious bodily injury by the intentional or deliberately indifferent actions” of prison officials.
Bulger ruled the streets of Boston for decades as the head of Winter Hill Gang, an Irish-American organized crime operation that ran loan-sharking, gambling and drug rackets in the area. He fled the city in 1994 but was eventually captured in California after more than 16 years on the run.
He was 81 at the time.
Bulger also served as an FBI informant and provided authorities with information on the New England Mob, the rival of his own gang at the time.
According to the lawsuit, the prison system was aware that the gangster was labeled a “snitch,” but still did nothing to protect him from other inmates.
"Predictably, within hours of his placement in general population at Hazelton, inmates believed to be from New England and who are alleged to have Mafia ties or loyalties, killed James Bulger Jr. utilizing methods that included the use of a lock in a sock-type weapon,” the lawsuit read.
The actions and practices of prison officials “are shocking to the conscience of civilized persons and intolerable in a society governed by laws and considerations of due process,” it continued.
The suit, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages, comes a year after Bulger’s family filed a wrongful death claim with the Justice Department demanding $200 million.
More than two years after his death, no one has been charged in crime boss’ killing. The FBI said it continues to investigate.
With News Wire Services
