Black Mass : The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob

Rating:
Summary: In bad faith
Review: I don't believe the FBI is looking for Whitey at all because the truth Whitey may possess is far worse than dealing with the murders alleged in the case. I know someone who has provided info that could shed a lot of light in this case and the FBI nor anyone else has acted on it. Instead, the person who provided it became the target of their harassment. The information could shed some light in either direction on the case.

Rating:
Summary: Bits & Pieces of Truth
Review: During the Hoover administration, FBI agents had their relationships, like a potential fiancee, screened by an FBI approved background check. I wonder if this is still done, and if so, the FBI knows way more about the various relationships in this case than it admits. Many negative things have been said about Connolly ,Flemmi,Bulger, but as an orphan in state care in Boston with a private state-funded program, my short time in Boston was among the best years of my life in a childhood of physical and emotional abuse and abandonment. I don't know if these individuals had a role in the generosity we as disposable kids experienced by the business and nonprofit community in Boston and Brookline, having opportunities to see movies,swim in a public pool, and go to museums.These were not a cure, but they brought civility into our lives. Billy Bulger was a big advocate of child abuse prevention and i don't know if i was a beneficiary of that but my short experience in Boston, outside of witnessing some of the horrors of forced busing in Bromley,Heath and Mission Hill was positive. Much negative stuff in this book tries to portray the Irish as ruthless killers and organized crime as immoral but sympathetic victims. Throughout my tenure as a disposable kid, by and large the Irish community most warmly greeted me. I also met some kind Italian people, but far more Irish people who accepted me into their lives.I did not know my own ethnic background, looked Italian but was never really greeted in that community. As a young child i cried often wishing someday i would land with a family that would love me and i could have a normal life until one day there were no more tears to shed and no family that could make me feel at home. I cannot sterotype the Italian or Irish communities, but i am somewhat distressed by the protrayal of the Irish community as a band of ruthless gangsters as this book suggests. There are noble and not so noble elements in every single ethnic group and the reader needs to understand this and not jump to conclusions about the Italian or Irish communities.

Rating:
Summary: Is there an honest man to be found?
Review: I believe i am involved in this controversy somehow. I was abandoned and left in state care and told little about my family. Then in 1995, when this case broke, i suddenly became the target of vicious attacks. I was audited and levied by the IRS, had money taken from my bank account with no explanation and little recourse, had my car gas tank connected to the brake lights, suddenly became unemployable as the word was put on me to keep me from job opportunities, had my girlfriends threatened, and was apprised about the possibility of being committed involuntarily to a mental hospital or beaten up or worse. I have sought help with the FBI and Justice Dept and been treated liked garbage. In addition I have tried to shed light on truth in this case and i know from monitoring the case progression this information has not been considered and though i am no fan of any of the parties involved having been attacked at one time or another by representatives of all sides, it does seem as if truth is not being sought and few are being treated fairly. I wonder how much of the physical and emotional abuse i experienced growing up is a result of the clashing of these forces in this case. I have been approached by alleged or suspected reps of both the defendants and the prosecutorial team and the indicted and am disgusted with all of them. If i am in some related to one of the players in this case i wish i knew who so i could tell who my friends are and are not.

Rating:
Summary: Heads or tails?
Review: One thing to consider in this whole case is the business implications of justice. Use of informants may reduce labor costs and insurance liability for law enforcement or other agencies. Informants are routinely used even though the public is criticizing the informants in this case. For example, govt agencies and companies frequently hire undercover investigators from such firms as Pinkerton security, Wackenhut, Allied Security and so on to spy on employees for a variety of reasons, including theft, embezzlement and so on. Mass. Atty General Tom O'Reilly has retained Decision Strategies to help his office independently investigate the Big Dig. Also, informants in law enforcement can serve to utilize methods which may be in conflict with agency regulations. For example, an informant can procure personal information on someone where legal work must be done to secure authorization and so leave an auditable trail and the informant allows ongoing informational updates that are largely invisible to ouside parties. But this also has a scary side, in that large amounts of data are being gathered with an ambiguous motivation. Informants are a key source of data and data is power,as the legal profession knows all too well. Another aspect is that as bad as organized crime can be, in the 'big picture' organized crime may be much less dangerous in the eyes of the government than say a whistleblower, for organized crime skirts the laws while whistleblowers challenge the system and its integrity. Organized crime allows the system to basically persist as is but whistleblowers can cause systemic change. And a third concern is the relationship between law enforcement as a prosecutorial power and the vested business interests in providing a steady flow of prisoners. For example, the Justice Dept possesses enormous power to prosecute and convict, essentially unlimited resources drawn from taxpayer dollars but it also runs Unicor, or federal prison industries which makes viable consumer products and is a business conglomerate with a captive workforce and subsequent low labor costs. Additionally, every prisoner brings so many dollars into the system to provide jobs for corrections personnel and law enforcement support personnel and allied personnel up the chain. These are some factors to take into account in a comprehensive analysis of what happened here and what goes on in general.

Rating:
Summary: Skims the surface.....
Review: Plenty has been said about Flemmi,Bulger,Connolly. But what about the Caravan Club and the host of characters it played host to like Vincent 'Gigi' Portalla... or the things Angiulo or Cincotti or Rocco Solimeno were involved in? Or H.Paul Rico, the man who recruited Flemmi and later worked for security for World Jai Alai, where the owner was killed after it was tipped off that he had gone to the FBI about Bulger et al? This info has been in the papers. And a recent column that the FBI/Justice Dept is tapping all sorts of telephones and cell phones to find out whop is leaking info?

Rating:
Summary: Sign on the dotted line....
Review: Whitey was allegedly warned by his brother not to enroll in a CIA study. In a recent TV documentary inside the CIA lobby is allegedly a plaque that quotes " ..And the truth shall set you free" from the bible. Did Whitey find truth or consequences? Billy Bulger was strong advocate for defending children from child abuse and this should be considered. Whitey had support from Speaker of the House John W. McCormack and in his brother's book, William mentions that he felt his brother had enormous potential. Billy Bulger also made enemies during the forced busing crisis of the early 1970s,where desegregation was to provide racial integration and failed because parent's rights to supervise their children's safe education was usurped. The authors have a history with the Bulger family and this should be noted when reading this book.Whitey also worked as a custodian for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, highest court in the state. When considering this case one needs to see both sides. The FBI can influence NY Times bestseller lists, or destroy an individual's reputation or save a country from terrorists. You need to look further,where the public cannot see, to see the real danger as special interests claiming this massive authority as its own. 60 Minutes had a story on how even the NSA is subject to the whims of politicians and has arranged to use its incredible surveillance capabilities on US citizens and politicians. And the CIA has a long long history of establishing policy irrespective of its political overseers.On the one hand we have agencies with extraordinary capacity but a citizen populace with a herd mentality that many in authority view as ill informed about current events and therefore not capable of making good decisions.What seems to be a big issue in this case is the destabilization of a region (Massachusetts in the Irish violence of the 60s and 70s) and government efforts to stabilize it and stop the bloodshed. Under such circumstances and with limited knowledge, we can but second guess the tactics used. The victims in this case lost family members and there is the reality of broken families and its subsequent tragedy.But the Mafia is not known for its benevolence either. Take Rocky Graziano (allegedly set up by mob), or even Rocky Marciano ( financially drained throughout his career by his 'manager')and countless others who have helped and crossed the mob.The mob is about making money (lots of it) and power. Sometimes the mob does good and sometimes the FBI might do wrong, and this reflects human nature.Until a major spiritual trasnformation occurs in mankind, there will always be that battle going on between those skirting or flaunting the system and those whose job is to uphold the system.

Rating:
Summary: Leaves a lot out
Review: O'Neill & Lehr have a history with the Bulger brothers as does Jeremiah O'Sullivan. O'Neill & Lehr interviewed William Bulger about misconstrued dealings with 75 State Street. Whitey had an advocate in former Speaker of the House John McCormack, who believed Whitey could do quite well if given half a chance. Whitey also worked for a short time as a custodian at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. William Bulger is heavily connected, having ties to Jackie Birmingham, Thomas Birmingham's father, Senator John Kerry who has indirect ties to the extended Kennedy clan and many other notables. In his book William Bulger details how thorough FBI scrutiny can be and it is likely the FBI has extensively monitored the entire family. What might have happened in this case is that drastic measures were taken to mediate the escalating violence of the Mclean-Mclaughlin wars which claimed many more lives than what Bulger and Flemmi have been accused of taking. It is unlikely that action against Connolly, Flemmi and Bulger will effect any long term solution, as the system their organization perpetuated has strong buy in at the highest levels of government. Going after these 3 is like a company firing an executive to quench the public thirst for vengeance, but the organization itself perpetuates with new players. There are many many more individuals such as Flemmi and Bulger in the area and which have not gotten anywhere near the heat these guys have. They have been listed in local newspapers.And there has been a much stronger link between organized crime and law enforcement than one might suspect. Organized crime may actually help law enforcement by breaking down geographical regions into empires of control and holding those organized crime groups accountable, thus minimizing random crime.

Rating:
Summary: could this really be?
Review: I think the book was great! I commend the authors for their bravery. You just never really know what is truth and what is fiction. Knowing some of the players, I believe most of what I read. I think Jim Bulger is a master at his game and we will never see him pay for all he has done. I do think Boston Edison should dump this Connolly from the payroll! He should not be allowed to live life as if he had no part in this extreme corruption of Justice.

Rating:
Summary: Checks and Balances
Review: Bulger has been affiliated with former Governor Mike Dukakis of Northeastern University and Amtrak. Governor Cellucci has been linked to George Bush Jr. and to George Cashman of the Teamsters who in turn has been linked to Special Agent Connolly. Connolly is linked to Boston Edison.Cellucci is linked to former Governor Bill Weld and Weld is linked to the Justice Dept and to Wayne Budd of Bell Atlantic (Verizon) telephone.Weld is linked to former Prosecutor Gary Crossen who authorized the roving surveillance warrant issued when Sonny Mercurio was being used. Former attorney general Scott Harshbarger and R. Robert Popeo and James Kerasiotes have all been linked to Northeastern university as well.George Bush jr's father was head of the CIA and the President of the US and Whitey Bulger was allegedly involved with the MK Ultra program. Judge Wolf is linked to the Justice Dept and to Bill Weld as a subordinate of Weld's in the criminal division of the Justice Dept. Governor Cellucci is linked to Boston College, the same school John Martorano, confessed hitman who testified against Bulger and Flemmi, graduated from.This info all comes from local newspapers over a several year period. When one examines the case closely, this case has so many angles it is mind boggling.

Rating:
Summary: Rock and a hard place
Review: There are many troubling issues in this case.Bulger fled after it was leaked to the Boston Globe that Bulger is an informant- who leaked it? Has the Justice Dept/FBI made arrangements for replacements in its Top Echelon program to perpetuate the lucrative arrangement with Bulger,Flemmi and Mercurio? Were Flemmi,Bulger and Mercurio targeted as kids to become informants through long term monitoring and manipulation? Was Bulger made by the government? In his brother's book, William Bulger describes Whitey as quite intelligent but coming from a tough neighborhood and who frequently received harsh beatings by the Boston Police.It is said that when agencies such as the CIA recruit, they will cultivate a recruit and orchestrate events such that the recruit will have no choice but to relent and work for it. Some tactics employed are said to be: spreading rumors that cast doubt on the character of the target such that employment opportunities are few,if any..also, harassment of the friends and family members of the target or buying off family and friends to no longer have contact with the target thus controlling the relationships that person has. How did Flemmi 'recruit' Bulger? What does the handling of informants by the federal government say to all current and future informants? What is the government saying to its own agents in the manner it is treating the Boston FBI agents? Billy Breen in his book describes how after a time an informant can identify with the people under investigation, and even become one of them.But Breen also describes how the power of the govt will use informants in dangerous operations but then use things like IRS audits and the like to harass or control them.This case is so difficult to sort and to tell who is being truthful or not. Were Flemmi and Bulger called in to help thwart the bloodshed ongoing in the Mclean-Mclaughlin wars? How many people did Bulger and Flemmi help? How many crimes were prevented by the cooperation of Flemmi and Bulger? How many agents in the government were helped by Bulger and Flemmi? What were the members of rival gangs into? Did Flemmi and Bulger try to get out but were forced to stay in? Were Flemmi and Bulger drafted into it while military personnel?

Related title: While the Music Lasts-- William Bulger, Speaker of the House- Tip O'Neill w/William Novak, The Godson-Willie Fopiano,Wiseguy- William Joseph Breen