Whitey Bulger
Details
- Also Known As:
- Jimmy Bulger
- Date of Birth:
- September 3, 1929
- Height:
- 5' 8"
- Hometown:
- South Boston
Bio:
Whitey Bulger (born James Joseph Bulger, Jr. on September 3, 1929 in South Boston, Massachusetts) is an American ex-mob boss. As a kid, Whitey developed a reputation as a thief and street fighter, one especially loyal to South Boston. In 1943, Whitey was arrested and charged with larceny, assault, battery and armed robbery. He was sent to a juvenile reformatory. Whitey joined the Air Force afterwards, but he was sentenced to the stockade for several assaults. He was given an honorable discharge in 1952. Whitey’s first federal prison term came in 1956, when he was sent to the Atlanta Penitentiary for armed robbery and truck hijacking. He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1959 and was released in 1965. After his release, Whitey worked as a janitor and construction worker before becoming a bookie and a loanshark tied with the Kileen Irish mob of South Boston. During the Kileen-Mullen gang war, Whitey committed his first homicide. Whitey reportedly became a FBI informant in the mid 1970s, using this power to eliminate competition. Through the 1980’s and 1990s, Whitey was involved in murder, drug trafficking and arms dealing to the IRA. When Whitey learned that the FBI were planning to arrest him in 1993, he fled Boston and remained free until his arrest in 2011. He was charged with 32 counts of racketeering, extortions and complicity in 19 murders. He was found guilty on 31 counts and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Whitey’s life is the basis of the 2015 movie, Black Mass, featuring Johnny Depp as Whitey.
Best Known For:
Whitey Bulger is best known as an American crime figure, most noted as a part of the South Boston Irish mobs.
Personal Life:
Whitey had a 12-year common law marriage with Lindsey Cyr. The two had a son, Douglas Glenn, who died at age 6 after a severe allergic reaction to an aspirin injection. After splitting with Lindsey, Whitey began a relationship with Theresa Stanley.