Rating: 
Summary: Heavily researched, lightly written
Review: Here is a fascinating topic of recent interest which the authors seem to have spent a lot of time researching. Unfortunately, one gets the feeling they did not spend much time writing it.It is always difficult for multiple authors to write a cohesive narrative. In this case, the reader sometimes feels (s)he is talking to a forgetful party guest who keeps telling the same joke or story. The same incident is brought up several times as though it were the first, probably a result of duplicated effort among the authors combined with poor editing. Likely the publisher was in a hurry to get the book out while the topic was still current. Some of the writing is just plain silly. "Bulger was the head on Connolly's glass of beer." Even if that means something -- and I will never be convinced of that -- it does not contribute to my understanding of the case. The Bulger/Flemmi case could be the basis for a really great book, and I hope someday it will be. This is just a Boston Globe story that is much too long.
Rating: 
Summary: Those mean streets
Review: There is much contradiction in the newspaper accounts in this case. In addition, Charles Prouty wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that publishing newspaper articles with information that may be relevant to the case could be construed as obstruction of justice. Recently former state trooper Schneiderhan, who retired with an excellent reputation as n investigator and who also worked for the Attorney General's office, was arrested for allegedly leaking wiretap information to Bulger.In this case, several individuals have taken the fall defending Bulger or their joint activities. O'Neill pledged his home for bail and Flemmi has not had access to his financial resources to mount a complete defense. The degree of heat that Connolly, O'Neill ,Flemmi and now Schneiderhan are willing to accept is commendable and makes you wonder if there is a lot more going here than meets the eye. If these guys were Bulger's associates and friends, how is Bulger coping knowing that they are taking this much heat? Before anyone can cast judgement it might be wise to hold back until,if ever, we hear Whitey's point of view. Recently the Mass. state police and DEA have expressed strong interest in being included in the FBI's investigation of Bulger at every step. No one has asked the question: what if Flemmi and Bulger were mandated to protect someone or a group of people?
Rating:
Summary: Survival of the Fittest
Review: If we follow the hypothesis of the prosecution, Bulger and Flemmi and Mercurio and others voluntarily decided not to get legitimate jobs, run guns for the IRA, sell drugs, set up FBI agents, kill informants,rat out the mafia, perform hits, and play cat and mouse with the State Police, DEA,FBI,Customs, Boston Police,US Marshall's, and who knows who else. Either these guys are really as dangerous as is alleged or something is wrong here. Did these guys choose this or were they forced to do this? How much did they do and how much is attributed to them as whipping boys? Who in their right mind would choose this sort of life? Bulger has been alleged to be a serial killer-- but no one is contemplating the difference between one who murders for hire and one who murders from some psychological disturbance. Society is designed to handle the serial killer but not the sociopath who kills because of a VALUE problem, not because of mental incompetency. Bulger and Flemmi have been alleged to demand 'their cut..' but a further question remains-- who demanded 'their cut' from Bulger and Flemmi? Human nature is largely to blame for this scenario. If you do not pay your taxes, fail to pay traffic tickets, or are unfortunate enough to have a court rule against you, men and women with guns, not bibles, come to see you.And with vague construction and swift stroke of pen, legislators can initiate a chain of events that can hurl individuals into financial ruin or homelessness,effectively harming them as much as an overtly violent act can.As long as a 'survival of the fittest' mentality prevails, we will always have organized crime,public corruption and sheep and wolves.
Rating:
Summary: Growing up with the mystique
Review: Unfortunately the legend of Whitey will be the Bonnie and Clyde story for generations to come. Sure what he did was reprehensable and sinister. Bulger was a crime boss that employed tactics taught in some of our finer business schools. He gained trust and incorporated deceit to attain his capital goals. His alignment with Flemmi was a business move, he got closer to the enemy. His shrewdness cannot be overlooked, his manipulation of Morris and Connoly's FBI status worked in his favor. Competing corporations surly would find such business acumen enlightening. The book reveals how just important "politics" is to make it in life. So true as the saying goes "its not what you know, it's who you know." The book is a great read. Growing up in Boston I often wondered how come they were untouchable. Read it and you will have an understanding how they were able tos tay in control. Connolly is culpable in all of this and knew it's consequences. However he should not be the scapegoat of the FBI's informants policy. With ego's involved this was bound to backfire and the mere mention of William Bulger sent everyone into a tizzy, James Bulger saw a business opportunity. Connolly loved the action of the whole charade and justified his behavior by srewing the LCN. The mandate from Washington was the LCN was evil at it's best and therefore should be brought down at all cost. Even the U.S. Attorney looked the other way. Connolly did his job and organized crime got theirs. Innocent people payed the price and that is unfortunate. The life of crime depicted here portrays a profession that is dog eat dog and only the shrewd can survive.
Rating:
Summary: Casting stones
Review: When reading a book like this it is easy to judge. Ordinary people become suspicious of government institutions because carefully concealed practices sometimes slip through that erode the public trust,leaving us frightened of our own government. But one must also consider organized crime in general and not just the Mafia- how many people have been hurt as opposed to helped by the Mafia? Is the Mafia known for benevolence or cruelty? The role of organized crime seems to be in the dealings of activities which are not legal but may pose greater issues of morality that cannot be universally agreed upon.And it seems that a clear line is drawn between legal and illegal that also creates 2 clear sides of authority-- if it is legal, the govt gets a cut;if not, organized crime prevails. But it seems that the govt and organized crime can be competing for control of the same things.But when it comes to obtaining justice, the govt has clear superiority.The govt can bring to bear unlimited time and resources to bring someone down,oftentimes empowered with techniques that non-govt parties could go to jail for,like surreptitious eavesdropping and entry into homes and vehicles and the like.The govt has been known to tap phones and conduct electronic surveillance of individuals for YEARS! Should there be a limit to how long this sort of activity can go on? Another interesting element is the career paths of govt employees; how often does it occur that justice is not done because of future promises of employment in the private sector? This holds not just for law enforcement but from all branches of govt from public to private sectors. One of the most disturbing of allegations in this case is that for nearly 3 decades the players in this book operated but the oversight mechanisms of the FBI or Justice Dept did not kick in. Is it possible that other agencies with higher authority than the agents in this case had were involved in some way? And must informants have clearances allied with the levels their handlers have,thus falling into monitoring for compliance thereof? And anyone who has ever seen an employment application for FBI service knows that admission into the FBI is not easy or quick process.These individuals are extensively investigated and scrutinized and voluminous files created detailing their backgrounds and assorted connections. This case calls into question the character of the agents, but they obviously had what it takes to get into the FBI as well as to eventually retire with successful careers. Bulger and Flemmi are portrayed as serial killers, but don't lose sight of the fact that the FBI has extensive resources in profiling at their disposal and virtually unlimited technical expertise to draw from that should have prompted any flags relating to the mental stability of Flemmi and Bulger.
Rating:
Summary: The truth be told
Review: We have heard a lot about Bulger,Flemmi, Connolly.. but what about H.Paul Rico, Dennis Condon his partner, Agent Morris and Sonny Mercurio? What of the various agents we have heard little about? There are alleged to be roughly a dozen or more agents potentially involved. And why has the CIA not had something to say about this case? H.Paul Rico recruited Flemmi,Flemmi recruited Bulger. Who authorized Rico to recruit Flemmi and what was to be the scope of Flemmi's mission? We don't really know who is telling the truth in this case... Either Connolly is not or the government is making enormous efforts to make him look like he is not telling the truth. One of the things that is disturbing here is that Morris was given immunity in return for testifying that he accepted gifts and bribes from Flemmi and Bulger. But instead of holding Morris accountable, all is blamed on Flemmi and Bulger. Why doesn't the government offer immunity to Bulger,Flemmi and Connolly to get the full truth? How could Connolly help run an operation such as this for nearly 3 decades without FBI or Justice Dept interference or support? Is it possible that the government and organized crime compete in the same things?
Rating:
Summary: "I'm just a patsy"
Review: It seems reasonable that the informants in this case and perhaps even Connolly were set up by their own agency or a combination of agencies. I worked for a company with heavy govt contracts.During the screening and clearance phase i was encouraged to discharge my debts through bankruptcy or possibly be excluded from the job. After i had done so, i was forced to sign a statement saying i would never file bankruptcy again. I was told i would be monitored but not how, for how long, or to what extent. After being cleared i was 'promoted' to a new position and was led to believe the monitoring was over. How wrong i was. In my new position it became apparent early on that my new promotion was a fall guy position. I was expendable because i had no family that would be harmed when i went down. Mired in controversy, i was laid off from my position and this is when i began to bear what seemed to be the wrath of the govt. A whole gamut of harassment,character assassination, threats,intimidation began. Almost every conceivable attack was made against me and no employer would touch me. Individuals began entering my life some of whom i suspect were govt agents keeping tabs on me or to gather dirt and ammunition to later use against me.I began having job interviews with what may have been govt agents posing as legitimate interviewers who issued thinly veiled threats or promises of employment or the lack thereof. I know firsthand some of the tactis of the govt and i find it quite plausible that the govt will do anything possible to silence people like Flemmi, Bulger or Connolly i have had this happen to me.
Rating:
Summary: The other side of the coin
Review: How many people were exonerated by information provided by these and other informants? Do people become targets of high level law enforcement,who then seek to make the person fit the alleged crime for expediency? It seems quite believable that the major players in this case were not willing participants in the beginning. How do we know the informants didnt go looking for legitimate work but the FBI or other agencies made it impossible for them to secure legitimate work? How do we know that the communications among the informants weren't such that their movements were monitored by the govt and arrangements made to influence prospective employers or references used by these guys? And could it be that the informants were indeed told they could commit crimes with FBI protection but that this was simply a setup to see if they actually would and so validate FBI suspicions? How do we know that the social relationships surrounding these guys were not carefully orchestrated to ensure ongoing monitoring of the informants?
Rating:
Summary: What about...?
Review: The Mclean-Mclaughlin Wars began in the 1960s, but how was the conflict resolved and more importantly how did it began? Was it the result of economic concerns between the forces who were set on the boomin space industry in Massachusetts and the forces loyal to the Boston Navy Yard? In the early 1960s around the time of the sinking of the USS Thresher off Portsmouth,NH, the Defense Investigative Service is said to have been formed. Was the sinking of the Thresher related indirectly to competing interests between the Boston and Portmouth Navy Yards at the same time the Boston Navy Yard was competing with NASA in Massachusetts? A group of workmen transferred from the Boston Navy Yard to the Portsmouth Navy yard not long before it sunk ,according to local newspapers. These events seemed to happen in roughly the same time period, the early 1960s. The Thresher sank in August,1963 and causes from faulty welding to backwards installation of back pressure relief valves were cited in hearings involving military personnel. And what of the children who survived from the gang wars that tore families apart? Were children of various warring factions abandoned and left into state child care, or were some of these kids grouped together and raised together to foster a new generation of compatible and close knit adults to reconcile the animosities that precipitated the Mclean-Mclaughlin wars to begin with? And were many of the players in this case approved for varying levels of clearances and agency affiliations? And how do we know that Flemmi,Bulger, Connolly weren't routinely monitored by the govt, such as their financial records,credit cards, bank accounts, or even phone calls and phone records?
Rating:
Summary: silent victims of this work
Review: When this book came out, many people became casualties of this clash of forces that are not mentioned in this book. I began having all sorts of sudden problems, like interference with federal aid for college, problems with my schooling at a major Boston college, being blackballed by employers and being ignored or belittled by leading politicians in Massachusetts. This is a complex tapestry of clashing forces that i wonder if it is connected to the major clashes in economic concerns in Massachusetts in the 1960s between forces loyal to the space program and those loyal to the military during JFK's presidency. The heat and harassment has been continuous on me since this case really exploded in 1995. I have also had many suspicious job interviews with individuals who seem more interested in gleaning personal information out of me or discrediting me than giving me an opportunity. At times it seems like it could be mafia -related and at others like parties trying to make it look like someone else is trying to 'get' me. I don't know what the link is between myself and this case but the conduct all around has been reprehensible. I can only speculate if i am the only one experiencing this.
|
