Rating: 
Summary: Scary stuff!
Review: I know someone who communicated with the Justice Management Division after attempts to get help from the Boston and Lowell/Lawrence Mass. FBI offices failed and the State Police in Massachusetts blew them off. After accepting a hundred pages or more of correspondence the Justice Mgt division told them to get a personal lawyer and that they don't speak to ordinary citizens. Appeals to Attorney General Scott Harshbarger's office only resulted in an angry letter from that office saying the AG's office is not their private firm.What did this person complain to these authorities about? Death threats and threats of violence to friends,family and people that person was dating when this case went public in 1995 and thereafter. Car tampering, being followed, and individuals alleging ties to the highest ranks of the local FBI office and to the Justice Dept. Some suggested the person was the target of a cruel joke being played by the DEA and other Justice Dept personnel. When this individual requested copies of any files they had with the FBI or Justice Dept, they were blown off. The person mentioned had no criminal history and was a longtime volunteer for many organizations in Massachusetts and often worked 3 jobs.This person became convinced they are somehow linked to parties in this bizarre case but were never told they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but more detail needed
Review: This book reads well and is interesting but the reader might want to have more info. The Government reform committee headed by Congress might want to investigate linkage between this case and Judge Sartorelli of Middlesex County, Massachusetts and also research agents Weafer and Driscoll and other Justice Dept personnel in Middlesex county of the 1960s/1970s, as many of the players here are located in Middlesex county.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting!
Review: I enjoyed this and learned a lot. Perhaps the only thing more interesting than the case itself might be what the life of a child of Whitey Bulger might have been like. While Flemmi and Bulger were considered gangsters only, if it was known Bulger had children, then those reating the child well might be said to be sympathetic to the Bulger gangster persona. Then when it was revealed Bulger and Flemmi worked for the FBI,those who had treated Bulger's children badly would realize their mistake and the gangster-friendly people might suddenly hate the children. If Burton wants to understand this case fully in his committee he should locate if Bulger had children, offer them protection and interview them. It might just be that additional victims in the form of children used as bait can be found.
Rating:
Summary: Good overview of local history
Review: In 1995, when Bulger fled, there was a man who was old enough to be Bulger's son who suddenly seemed to become a target. The man's medical records became unavailable right back to birth, and longtime associates the man knew for decades with strong ties back to the Boston area began getting hostile to this person as well as anxious about the Bulger case fallout in sync.It was as if this person had ties to the Bulger case unknown to them but which was known by these older individuals with roots to Boston prior to the ascent of these guys. The key to this whole case might be if Bulger had children and how those children have been dealt with. If Dan Burton can locate and interview exhaustively this man,then Bulger might be more understandable.Could a child of Bulger's have been put under witness protection or the US Marshall's service and not even know it?
Rating:
Summary: Flotsam and Jetsam
Review: An associate to be referred to as 'Pat' has been a target ever since Bulger fled. In the past few months, Pat has been approached by an alleged relative of alleged Bulger murder victim Brian Halloran. This relative seemed bent on establishing a rigorous schedule for Pat and had barely concealed hostility for Pat. Pat has suspicions that Pat might be a child of one of the informants, agents, or murder victims in this case and that it may have been leaked out deliberately or not. Pat has had all sorts of problems since Bulger left and was warned by a Cellucci/Bush supporter to leave Massachusetts when Bulger fled " or lose everything". Governor Cellucci hosted his transition team meeting at the office of Sullivan and Cogliano, a recruitment firm with past ties to deceased Rocco Solimeno's business partner. Many bad things happened to Pat after Bulger fled. Pat became the target of personal attacks, rampant unemployment, financial destruction and eventual homelessness, all following the threat of the Cellucci/Bush supporter's predictions. Is Pat paying the price for something Pat doesn't even know about their past?
Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: "Black Mass" is the chilling account of how two killers from South Boston were able to manipulate the FBI for a period of decades. James"Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi were legendary wiseguys in Boston during the 1970s. John Connolly a childhood acquaintance of Bulger's who made good and joined the Boston FBI. When Connolly hooked up with the tough guy from his old neighborhood things began to go awry. Connolly was awed by his friendship with Bulger and used his contact in the underworld as proof of his prowess as an agent. For their part Bulger and Flemmi were able to pass along innocuous mob gossip to the Feds in exchange for protection form local law enforcement. Carefully placed tidbits of information helped the FBI to arrest enemies of the Bulger gang. With each arrest Whitey and Flemmi were able to expand their own power base. Those people who complained to the police were inevitably redirected to the FBI. Once the bureau had its hands on a case, the stonewalling began. This was a cycle that continued from the late 60s up until the mid 90s. During this period the 'invaluable informants' provided little of substance to their 'handlers'. However the agents were able to cook the reports and win commendations and promotions for themselves. At the same time, over a dozen murders are directly attributed to the pair. If there is honor among thieves you can't prove it from this book. "Black Mass" is a shocking story of deceit and corruption within Boston law enforcement, politics and organized crime. It is almost impossible to describe the level of hubris on the part of the crooks who were protected by the FBI and those very agents who cosseted the killers in order to advance their own careers. If they are lucky, the crooks end up behind bars, but many meet their fate in the trunk of a car. No small part of this seems to flow from good old-fashioned insularity, the "Us vs. Them" mentality so prevalent in South Boston. The area was still reeling throughout the 1970s from the forced bussing earlier in the decade. To many Bulger, was a mythic Robin Hood figure. He might be a crook but he was Southie's crook and a damned good one at that. With a cunning that allowed him to outwit the police at every turn, it was a blow for hometown pride that the Italian Mafia was failing while the Irish mob was waxing in power. This was the myth that the Bulger gang worked to promote while at the same time Whitey was murdering and extorting from the citizens of his old neighborhood. His cunning ability to outwit the police boiled down to being an informant for the FBI and his concern for the streets he grew up on is evident by how he promoted the use of drugs to the people in Southie. This account is a sad story of how the best intentions (Like the FBI informant program) can have the worst results.
Rating:
Summary: Footnote
Review: One of the reviews has mentioned someone being harassed since this case blossomed in 1995-96. One thing to note is that attempts may be being made even now to make it look like that person for example is not really looking for work as opposed to being blackballed. This can be done easy by calling on a recorded line and carefully wording the conversation such that it appears the target is saying what you want them to say when in fact it is wrong. Or by making such terrible offers that person is unlikely to take a position then using spin to make it sound like they simply didn't give the job consideration. It sounds like someone might want that person out of work and financially broken and is covering themselves in the process.
Rating:
Summary: "Harassment R Us"
Review: The investigation in this case is quite intriguing. Take the case of 'Mark'(psuedonym), who suddenly came under heavy fire when Bulger fled in 1995.
'Mark' was approached following the Bulger flight by individuals who suddenly appeared in his work or school life, quickly befriended him and apparently began gathering large amounts of information later to be used against Mark. The individuals claimed various political loyalties but seemed especially anti-Bill Clinton. Mark's video store records appeared accessed at a store later revealed to be owned by a Governor Paul Cellucci of Mass. supporter. Before long, the store suddenly closed. At local health clubs, Mark was followed by a new coworker and 'friend','Bob' who was very nervous by developments in the Bulger investigation.Bob later claimed affiliation with the Mass. state police, and even made innuendos to the effect that ties to the FBI and other agencies also existed. Bob took every opportunity to tap Mark for money and used Mark for maximum gain, as if to hurt Mark for some unknown slight or to intimidate. Wherever Mark went, Bob followed and each place Mark did business he was made to feel unwelcome. Bob as it turned out, had also worked for a company in which former employees were busted by the FBI for illegal software. Later, having been seen with Bob, Mark was to come under suspicion as an informant when Bob may have been.
Whether at a Massachusetts state college, a local gym, or a diner, Mark was followed by Bob who seemed unconcerned by suggestions of stalking behavior. Bob maintained dual addresses in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and alleged extensive defense contractor work. It appeared that Bob might be some investigator or a supporter of a party in the Bulger case and be targeting Mark for some relationship to the Bulger case Mark was unaware of.
Rating:
Summary: The FBI strikes (out) again!
Review: They're from the government and here to help. Yeah, right! This is another horrid story in which the FBI twists the knife they have in the back of local law enforcement. Innocent people and others are terrorized, brutalized, and murdered while the FBI turns a blind eye. Even the local law enforcement who, in this case at least, were trying to put the "bad guys" away were betrayed by the FBI. If you think we live in a civil society you need to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable, Appauling and Sadly, a Ture story
Review: "Black Mass", I'll say right off, should be required reading for anyone working in or considering working in any sort of law enforcement, for the story it tells from its humble beginning in the mid 1970's to its appauling body through the 1980's and early 1990's and to its yet unresolved conclusion barely two years ago needs to be understood. Never has a more disgusting episode of law enforcement corruption and lawlessness been recorded in modern America, and the way in which two mob brutes manipulated and turned the Boston FBI into their legal bodyguards and protectors is so reprehensible that it must be understood so as to assure that it is never replicated.
The tragic story this book tells of the unlawful relationship between the Boston G-Men led by Agent John Connolly and the criminal activities of mob boss James Bulgar detail a long list of abuses in which the FBI essentially gave Bulgar a free pass to commit any crimes he wanted without fear of punishment, all for the help he could possibly bring in the Feds' defeating of the La Costa Nostra. To do this, the FBI deflected prosecution attempts, tipped Bulgar off to other agencies' investigations of him, told him of other mob informants (many of whom turned up dead soon thereafter) and used the ambiguity of bureaucracy to assure he was never caught. The injustice and legal stupidity was both disgusting and incredible, and my heart goes out to the hundreds of Boston residents and other victims who suffered as a result of it.
The saddest part of all is that the story goes on, though thankfully Connolly is currently in the midst of an indictment for his crime and should soon see justice finally come his way. However, his protection of Bulgar has let the mobster allude capture still, just look at the current FBI Ten Most Wanted List and you'll see James Bulgar right up at the top. He should have been there 20 years ago, but the FBI made him invincible then.
I assure you, this book will anger and distress you, but it is well worth reading and may help reshape the way you view the justice establishment and its fragile integrity. It'll also do nothing to bolster the FBI's image amidst the onslaught of scandal and abuse that have risen recently, but maybe that's justifiable considering.
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