Thanks to a warning from the retired Connolly, Whitey was able to leave town, but Flemmi was arrested. Attorney's Office put together racketeering charges against Whitey and others. However, other law enforcement agencies didn't feel the same way. However, he was so determined to keep Whitey and Flemmi on the streets, where they had access to information, that if another investigation came close to his informants, Connolly did his best to shield them.Įven as Whitey climbed to the top of Boston's criminal food chain - an ascent that should have made him a target, not an informant - Connolly remained committed to watching out for him. Corruption Exposedĭuring his years with the FBI, it appeared that Connolly was a dedicated and successful agent. He then headed to a well-paid corporate job. Both Whitey and Flemmi were designated as top-echelon informants Connolly would credit them with providing assistance that led to the arrests of figures like Gennaro Angiulo and members of the Patriarca family.Īs the agent whose informants had proved so useful, Connolly received multiple commendations before retiring in 1990. Drawing in part on their shared South Boston roots, in 1975 Connolly convinced Whitey, then a member of the Winter Hill Gang, to sign up as an informant against the Bureau's most wanted targets.Ĭonnolly ended up as not only Whitey's handler, but also served as a contact for Whitey's close associate Stephen Flemmi (who'd been feeding tips to the FBI since the 1960s). FBI CareerĬonnolly joined the FBI in 1968, and completed stints at offices in Baltimore, San Francisco and New York City before his 1972 arrest of Frank Salemme, a well-known Mafia figure, helped him get a transfer back to his hometown.Īt the time, the Bureau had decreed that putting an end to the Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra, was a top priority. He then took classes at Suffolk Law School, though he didn't obtain a law degree, and found work as a high school teacher. Whitey, who was already known for his run-ins with the law, once saved a young Connolly from getting beaten up by other neighborhood kids.Ĭonnolly got his undergraduate degree from Boston College. He also met James "Whitey" Bulger, Billy's older brother. While living in Old Harbor, Connolly befriended William "Billy" Bulger, who would become a successful politician. For the first 12 years of his life, Connolly and his family resided in the Old Harbor housing project in South Boston, a neighborhood of mainly Irish families like their own. was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 1, 1940. The corrupt relationship between Connolly and Bulger is depicted in the 2015 film Black Mass. Connolly's actions were uncovered in the 1990s, and he was eventually convicted of racketeering and second-degree murder. However, Connolly also broke the law himself to protect Bulger. In the 1970s and '80s, FBI agent John Connolly used gangster Whitey Bulger as an informant and credited him with helping bring down the Mafia in Boston.
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