Whitey Bulger Sentenced To Pair Of Life Terms Plus Five Years In Prison
AP | By DENISE LAVOIE
Posted: 11/14/2013 8:03 am EST | Updated: 11/14/2013 12:54 pm EST
BOSTON (AP) — Former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for his murderous reign of terror in the 1970s and '80s, bringing to a close a case that exposed FBI corruption so deep that many people across the city thought he would never be brought to justice.
Bulger, 84, was defiant to the end, calling his trial on racketeering charges a sham and refusing to testify or provide information to probation officials preparing a sentencing report for the judge.
A jury convicted Bulger in August in a broad racketeering indictment that included murder, extortion, money-laundering and weapons charges. The jury convicted Bulger in 11 of the 19 killings he was charged with participating in but acquitted him of seven and could not reach a conclusion on an eighth.
Judge Denise Casper heard testimony Wednesday from a dozen relatives among the 19 slaying victims. They called him a terrorist, a punk and even Satan. Prosecutors called him a sociopath.
On Thursday, Casper told Bulger the depravity of his crimes is "almost unfathomable," calling them "heinous" and "all about money." Bulger looked directly at her, listening intently.
"The testimony of human suffering that you and your associates inflicted on others was at times agonizing to hear and painful to watch," Casper said.
She then sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences plus five years, as prosecutors had requested.
Bulger, 84, was defiant to the end, calling his trial on racketeering charges a sham and refusing to testify or provide information to probation officials preparing a sentencing report for the judge.
A jury convicted Bulger in August in a broad racketeering indictment that included murder, extortion, money-laundering and weapons charges. The jury convicted Bulger in 11 of the 19 killings he was charged with participating in but acquitted him of seven and could not reach a conclusion on an eighth.
Judge Denise Casper heard testimony Wednesday from a dozen relatives among the 19 slaying victims. They called him a terrorist, a punk and even Satan. Prosecutors called him a sociopath.
On Thursday, Casper told Bulger the depravity of his crimes is "almost unfathomable," calling them "heinous" and "all about money." Bulger looked directly at her, listening intently.
"The testimony of human suffering that you and your associates inflicted on others was at times agonizing to hear and painful to watch," Casper said.
She then sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences plus five years, as prosecutors had requested.
