Whitey Bulger, the 89-year-old former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, has died.
According to initial reports, Bulger was killed at the Hazelton Penitentiary in West Virginia within a day of his arrival. Bulger had just been moved from a Florida prison to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City before arriving at Hazelton Penitentiary.
Whitey Bulger Cause Of Death: Unknown
Bulger was reportedly found dead in his cell at the Hazelton Penitentiary in West Virginia during the night between Monday, October 29 and Tuesday, October 30. At this time, the exact manner in which Bulger was killed is unknown.
via WV News:
The Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported on Tuesday that James “Whitey” Bulger, 89, an infamous Boston mobster who’s serving a life term, had just been moved to the Hazelton Penitentiary. Bulger was convicted of killing at least 11 people.
Bulger had been moved from a Florida prison to one in Oklahoma in the past week. No reason was given for the moves or the latest transfer to Hazelton, one of the federal system’s roughest prisons with more than 1,200 inmates.
An email message left with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons main office wasn’t immediately answered, and a phone message left with a prison official also wasn’t immediately returned. An FBI official referred inquiries to the Bureau of Prisons.
Investigative journalist Michele McPhee initially reported that Bulger had been “killed”, citing sources.
Who Is Whitey Bulger?
Bulger, 89, was an American mobster best known for being the leader of Boston’s infamous Winter Hill Gang.
After being on the run for 16 years, Bulger was found in Santa Monica, California, in 2011, and federal prosecutors indicted him for nineteen murders based on grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks and other former associates.
He was serving a life sentence after being convicted of a laundry list of crimes in 2013, including being convicted of 11 murders. For 16 years, Bulger was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, before eventually being arrested in Santa Monica, California, in 2011.
Bulger was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2015 film Black Mass and was reportedly the inspiration behind Jack Nicholson’s character in the 2006 film The Departed.