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

Rating:
Summary: Feast of Weeks
Review: Kevin Weeks, in return for testimony against Bulger and Flemmi gets minimum prison time and to keep his lottery winnings while Bulger's sister is unable to keep Bulger's portion of Lottery winnings. The Justice Dept wants to get Bulger so bad that it is willing to basically forgive murders to get him while the FBI paints a picture of Bulger as so dangerous that it seems less likely he will be taken alive.

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Summary: Truth or consequences?
Review: Early in this case, defendants brought up the fact that the Justice Dept had compiled files on them but would not release contents or summaries of those files to the defendants. Perhaps a strategy used by the govt is to target an individual, harass them to the degree that they seek law enforcement help or protection, then use the info they provide not only forlaw enforcement intelligence, but as leverage later when they can hold this information over the head of the persons seeking law enforcement help who then may be branded a 'rat'.Perhaps a similar thing happened in the case of Flemmi and Bulger.This case also raises questions when you consider that the Justice Dept with all of its prosecutorial powers also oversees the Bureau of Prisons. The FBI investigates itself and the Justice Dept, it's boss, via the Office of Professional Responsibility.The CIA and NSA also appear to police themselves. This case is so complex and the mandate given to Bulger and Flemmi so unclear that it is extremely difficult to determine who had authority for what. It does not seem possible that a small group comprised of Connolly,Bulger,Flemmi,Mercurio,Morris were able to perpetuate the organization alleged for nearly 3 decades with the Justice Dept powerless to stop them.It is also disturbing that fellow agents have distanced themselves and left this group holding the bag alone. It is not to exonerate the group but to say that the responsibility is shared and the executives up top should have the conviction to do what is right. Also, in the Puzzle Palace by James Bamford it discusses how NSA had prospective employees agree in writing that they would obey the law in their personal lives , but does not say that they must in their professional lives. Another interesting work is "Underground Empire" by James Mills, which discusses a highly secretive pseudo-organization known as Centac, which had a mandate of destroying criminal empires from the top. Also, we do not know much about the recruitment of Flemmi and Bulger.. once recruited whether as informants or govt agents say as Bulger (a former Air Force veteran) or Flemmi (Army paratrooper) these individuals become assets of the govt and are tracked accordingly by social security number,etc and their lives heavily monitored by security components of the agencies for which they work.

Rating:
Summary: " I chopped down the cherry tree"
Review: We are not likely to hear this in this case. This case brings many questions to bear. The Justice Dept oversees the Bureau of Prisons and the FBI so has powers of prosecution and incarceration. The FBI investigates itself and the Justice Dept via the Office of Professional Responsibility. The CIA investigates itself, as does presumably the NSA. Informants,their friends and family members are used all over.Sometimes informants even go so far as to become lovers with targets or unsuspecting associates of them only to break their heart later, unconcerned about the trail of heartbreak and hurt left behind. All too often we find the truths we suspect but cannot be proven true later when a final confession is made by an agency or its agents of morally and ethically questionable tactics. One problem in this case is that it seems as if agents are attributed with morew authority than they probably have, thus protecting higher ups who really did have the authority. We do not know what happened with the profits from this operation nor the forces that went into making Flemmi, a former Army paratrooper, and Bulger , a former Air Force veteran informants. Bulger came from an environment where police beat suspects mercilessly, and rival gangs struggled for power. Much has been made of Bulger and Flemmi's 'gang' but the reality is that all of us need membership in a 'gang' to survive. And once the intelligence agencies get involved, the target becomes the subject of harassment, extensive privacy invasions, and psychological warfare and character assassination using any means to alienate the target from friends,family, employers,etc. all but those cleared for the activities of the operative. Only a handful know the true purpose of the operative and those fulfilling the profile requirements. Until all the facts are in we cannot know if Flemmi and Bulger truly acted on their own or where threatened,coerced or otherwise manipulated by the FBI, CIA,Secret Service,NSA or other agencies. Related books:Man of the House - Speaker Tip O'Neill w/ William Novak While the Music Lasts - William Bulger

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Summary: The real life "Sopranos"
Review: "Black Mass" is the story of a big time Irish gangster, James "Whitey" Bulger, and how he turned informant for the FBI. Unlike other instances where this has occurred, however, Bulger managed to corrupt his FBI handlers as they aided and abetted his twenty year crime spree. Authors Lehr and O'Neill know this story well, having covered it for many years with the local Boston newspapers. It is a good lesson in what can happen to anyone, especially a law enforcement officer, when little indescretions lead to major breaches in ethics. What the book does not have enough of, unfortunately, are first hand descriptions of the mobsters plying their trade. There is some of it in the book, but most of the stories are second hand. Unlike other notable recent mob stories, like "Wise Guy" and "Underboss," the focus is not on mob life itself. Overall, I found the book to be about a hundred pages or so too long, though still an interesting read for anyone who like real life crime stories.

Rating:
Summary: How are informants made?
Review: It has been asserted that when someone works for the govt their family and friends are paid off and that person 'dies', or assumes a new identity. What went into making Flemmi and Bulger informants? Were these guys surrounded in their personal lives by intelligence people and their lives constantly made miserable if they didn't toe the line? Were rumors and other character assassination techniques used to make Flemmi and Bulger ineligible for legitimate employment? It has also been said that when the govt wants to make you work for them., they will spread disinformation such that no employer would want to touch you.. maybe Flemmi and Bulger encountered this. Were Flemmi and Bulger part of a covert effort to destroy established agencies and pave the way for creation of 'supercops' with extremely broad police powers? When the full power of the US govt comes down on someone, who can resist and for how long?

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Summary: Corruption in Law enforcement
Review: From a management point of view we all know that government has an extraordinarily difficult time with the process of "Control". This book is an excellent documented example startingly displaying FBI Control process problems with agent-informant procedures.Well beyond the Control issue the story is wonderful "Truth is stranger than fiction" stuff and the point where the case finally turns with the efforts of Wyshak and Cardinale is high and exciting drama. Should be required reading for all law enforcement trainees.

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Summary: Gripping Story of Crime & Corruption in South Boston
Review: This is a gripping story of just how corrupt a law enforcement agency can become - in this case, the Boston office of the FBI. For over a decade they provided protective cover for a couple of the worst, most prolific criminals in Boston history. All this in name of protecting "valuable informants." I've not read a better tale of criminal activity, political influence, and white collar corruption set in one of the most interesting of all American cities, Boston. If these subjects interest you, you won't find a better tale.

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Summary: Bullies with FBI Backing
Review: When Whitey Bulger and friends needed money or excitement, they would choose a likely victim, confront him with the story that they had been hired to kill him, but he could buy the contract for $50,000 and stay alive. These heroes were protected by the Boston FBI and that story is told in this fascinating expansion of the story originally reported in the Boston Globe. This tale has resonance all over the US, anywhere the government uses informants to further its goals, these are the dangers that await. Good men gone astray, bad men made heroes and the rest of us pay the price.

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Summary: Wanne be a millionaire?
Review: There are many questions this book raises: 1) Were these informants drafted into service using obscure Selective Service regulations?, 2)Were these informants,agents,and their families constantly manipulated in their personal associations by govt agents from other branches posing as friends and allies?,3)Was some of the money raised in these operations funneled into corporations or political campaigns? 4) Did some of the parties involved in this case have children raised in Massachusetts child care and who were used as leverage against the informants? 5) What if Flemmi and Bulger did not do all these things but are being used as scapegoats by the govt and/or organized crime?

Rating:
Summary: Weren't There Any Good Guys?
Review: I found this book to be riveting and compelling! The charm and allure of a gangster and an agent who both seemed to be enamored by the other's power. Whitey and John are cut from the same cloth; both are big men with little souls. They are more concerned about their image than what effect their actions have on their families and friends. Whitey is at least true to his calling- he becomes a big crook in a small city. John is not true to anyone- he becomes a braggart and a liar. Neither is even a friend to the other in the true sense. A modern day tragedy! In reading this book I wondered however, about the hundreds of other agents who were a daily part of John's life. Didn't any of them know or protest about this agent's dealing with a known mobster? The authors allude to agents who had run-ins and difficulties with the "two Johns" but didn't bother to investigate or include the many who must have questioned these two agents and their motives. As a reader who has two family members who are agents in the F.B.I., I found this book to be lacking in objectivity and too focused on the " bad cop". A great book that leaves us either thinking that all agents are crooks or that the " good cop" doesn't make a good story.