"Whitey" Bulger's girlfriend due back in court (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – James "Whitey" Bulger's longtime girlfriend was headed on Wednesday to federal court in Boston, where family members of the gangster's alleged murder victims could be granted time to speak.

Catherine Greig, 60, was arrested with 81-year-old Bulger on June 22 in their Santa Monica, California hide-out. She has been charged with harboring Bulger as a fugitive and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Greig was scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal in a continuation of her probable cause and detention hearing that began on Monday.

Prosecutors said at least three family members of Bulger's 19 alleged murder victims wanted to speak in court and were relevant to the case. The government said it has evidence showing that Greig harbored Bulger and caused direct harm to the families.

Greig's defense attorney has said the charges against her are not related to these crime victims.

In a separate filing, her attorney wrote that when Greig fled with Bulger, he was "considered to be a hero-like figure in the city of Boston," and only many years later was the brutality of his alleged killings revealed.

If the court allows the families time to speak, they will be limited to a few minutes, court filings said. The defense has requested that victim impact statements be addressed to the court and not directly to Greig "in any type of highly charged, emotional or pejorative terms."

During Monday's session, prosecutors called one witness, FBI special agent Michael Carazza, who detailed the early period of Bulger and Greig's 16 years on the run together.

He discussed the pair obtaining and using fake identities and played video footage from a Santa Monica pharmacy showing Greig picking up prescriptions under an alias.

CALLING CARDS

Carazza also said Greig and Bulger used calling cards to stay in touch with associates and with Greig's twin sister in Boston. Greig would speak with her sister in calls placed to the homes of neighbors and friends, he said in his testimony.

Carazza said the pair crossed the country spending time in Louisiana and New York, sometimes indicating they were from New York and that Bulger was a retired real estate broker and Greig was a dog groomer.

The couple was arrested in Santa Monica, California where authorities found a stash of about 30 firearms and $822,000 in cash hidden in holes in the wall.

Prosecutors said they plan to wrap up Carazza's testimony on Wednesday, and Greig's defense lawyer Kevin Reddington was slated to address the court.

He has requested that Greig be released on bail to home confinement and electronic monitoring pending trial, according to court documents.

Greig, born and raised in South Boston, still owns a home in Quincy, Massachusetts, south of the city. Her twin sister will offer her home as collateral in the release as well, the filing said.

Greig's attorney said Greig posed no danger to the community and was not a flight risk, as the government has suggested.

It was Greig, not Bulger, who took a star turn in the authorities' recent media campaign that led to a crucial tip from the public and the arrest of the pair.

Authorities produced television spots that focused on Greig's appearance, habits and personality traits.

Greig loves dogs and was known to frequent beauty salons, according to the FBI. She had previously worked as a dental hygienist and had plastic surgery before fleeing with her criminal boyfriend, 20 years her senior.

(Reporting by Lauren Keiper; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)

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"Whitey" Bulger heads back to court on attorney issue (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – James "Whitey" Bulger is expected to learn the fate of his request for a public defender on Thursday, when the former mob boss returns to federal court in Boston for two separate hearings.

Back-to-back court appearances, the first scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, should resolve the lingering issue of who will represent the aging gangster against charges that include racketeering and murder.

Bulger, 81, who had been on the FBI's Most Wanted List, and his longtime companion Catherine Greig, 60, were arrested in Santa Monica, California, on June 22 after being on the run together since 1995.

The arrests came after a tip from a member of the public, days after the FBI launched a new media campaign.

Bulger is the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang, a mostly Irish-American organized crime operation based in Boston.

He had been sought by the authorities for 19 counts of murder committed in the 1970s and 1980s, many of them brutal slayings, and charges of drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy.

Bulger and Greig had some $820,000 stashed in a wall in their California hide-out and according to prosecutors were able to finance a comfortable lifestyle replete with Las Vegas gambling trips and jaunts to Mexico to buy medications.

Bulger requested a court-appointed attorney on June 24 during his initial appearance in federal court in Boston, but prosecutors have been adamant his defense should not be at public expense.

Bulger's provisional attorney and prosecutors have also wrangled this week over the government's dismissal of a 1994 racketeering-focused indictment to concentrate resources on the stronger 1999 case that includes the multiple murder charges.

The defense moved instead to consolidate the two indictments, saying they are related and in some cases identical.

Both sides lobbed accusations of forum shopping -- an attempt to manipulate the random assignment of judges to the Bulger case or cases. A judge is expected to rule on this matter in a separate hearing.

(Reporting by Lauren Keiper; editing by Ros Krasny)

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New hearing set on Whitey Bulger attorney request (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – Former mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger is expected back in court in Boston on Thursday, where a judge could assign two prominent lawyers to take on the case of the aging gangster, the Justice Department said.

Bulger, 81, requested a public defender at his initial Boston court appearance on Friday, saying he could not afford an attorney. He has been provisionally represented by attorney Peter Krupp.

Published reports suggest Howard Cooper and Max Stern could be named to the Bulger case if a judge allows court-appointed counsel over prosecutors' objections.

The pair were in court for a another Bulger hearing on Tuesday. Neither returned calls seeking comment.

Stern was named one of Boston's best criminal defense lawyers in 2010 by "Law and Politics" magazine, while "Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly" named Cooper to its list of the state's most influential attorneys in 2009.

Bulger, who had been on the FBI's Most Wanted List, and his longtime companion Catherine Greig, 60, were arrested at their rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica, California, on June 22 after being on the run together since 1995. The pair had some $820,000 on hand, mostly in bundles of $100 bills.

On Tuesday, prosecutors moved to drop a 1994 indictment against Bulger and focus on the 19 murder charges in a later case. A conviction on just one count could send Bulger to prison for life.

(Reporting by Lauren Keiper; Editing by Ros Krasny and Jerry Norton)

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Accused Boston crime boss "Whitey" Bulger arrested (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On the run for 17 years, the accused Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger and his longtime girlfriend were finally caught in California by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday.

They were arrested without incident at a residence in Santa Monica, the FBI said in a statement, just days after the agency renewed its public campaign to capture Bulger and his 60-year-old girlfriend Catherine Greig.

The 81-year-old former fugitive has been wanted on 19 counts of murder committed in the 1970s and 1980s, drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy. He is the older brother of William "Billy" Bulger, a former president of the Massachusetts State Senate.

"Recent publicity produced a tip which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig at a residence," FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauries said in a statement.

A $2 million reward was offered for information leading to Bulger's arrest and $100,000 for details of Greig's whereabouts. He was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999 and she was charged in 1997 with harboring a fugitive.

The FBI late on Wednesday slapped "Captured" tags on the photos they had posted on its website of Bulger and Greig, including ones enhanced of him to account for the time that had passed. Greig had multiple plastic surgeries before fleeing.

Before their capture in California, the last credible sighting of the pair was in London in 2002. Bulger is thought to have traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Canada and Latin America.

The FBI produced a 30-second public service announcement focused on finding Greig and it began airing on Tuesday during daytime television programs in ten states. It was aimed at aimed at female viewers in the same age group as her.

The agency had hoped a hair-stylist, manicurist, doctor or other acquaintance might recognize Greig, a former dental hygienist.

The two are expected to make initial appearances in federal court in California, though it was not immediately clear when.

Bulger, said to be an avid reader and history buff who likes to take long walks on beaches, has been featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted" more than a dozen times between 1995 and 2010.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington and Ros Krasny in Boston; Editing by Philip Barbara)

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FBI turns to TV to find Whitey Bulger's girlfriend (AP)

BOSTON – FBI agents on the trail of James "Whitey" Bulger are turning to TV ads aimed at women and hoping to exploit his longtime girlfriend's vanity as they try to bring the fugitive Boston mob boss to justice after 16 years on the run.

The FBI on Monday announced a new publicity campaign and accompanying public service ad that asks people, particularly women, to be on the lookout for Catherine Greig.

She and Bulger have been on the run since 1995 and are thought to still be traveling together. Bulger is wanted in connection to 19 murders while Greig is accused of harboring a fugitive.

The 30-second ad is scheduled to start running Tuesday in 14 television markets to which Bulger may have ties and will air during programs popular with women roughly Greig's age.

"We are trying to reach a different audience that will produce new leads in the case," said agent Richard Teahan, who has been tracking Bulger since 2006. "Greig has certain habits, characteristics, and idiosyncrasies that are recognizable, and we think the public might naturally notice these things."

The new campaign points out that Greig had several plastic surgeries before going on the lam and was known to frequent beauty salons.

It notes that Greig, a former dental hygienist who is 5-foot-6, blue-eyed and blond, had impeccable oral hygiene and perfect teeth as a result of monthly visits to the dentist. It also notes that she, like Bulger, is an animal lover and mentions that she has used the aliases Helen Marshal and Carol Shapeton.

The public service announcement also stresses the age difference between the two. Bulger is now 81. Grieg is 60.

The FBI already had taken out ads in publications aimed at dentists and plastic surgeons.

"The next logical step was to profile her on a national scope," Teahan said.

The FBI is hoping that a patron or employee of a dental office, hospital, manicurist, beauty salon or other business remembers seeing Greig.

The FBI also doubled the reward leading to Greig's capture to $100,000. The reward for the capture of Bulger, who is on the FBI's most wanted list, is $2 million.

Bulger was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang when he fled in January 1995 after being tipped by a former Boston FBI agent that he was about to be indicted. Bulger was a top FBI informant.

The FBI has pursued Bulger around the world. The history buff and avid reader is believed to have traveled in France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain and Canada while on the run. The last credible sighting of the couple was in London in 2002.

The current campaign focusing on Greig will be extended internationally, Teahan said.

Despite his age, the FBI said Bulger is still considered dangerous because of his violent temper and is known to carry a knife.

"It is important for the FBI to bring Bulger to justice, and Catherine Greig can lead us to him," Teahan said.

The ads will be shown in Albuquerque, N.M.; Biloxi, Miss.; Boston; Chicago; Fort Myers, Fla.; Miami; Milwaukee; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans; Phoenix; San Diego; San Francisco; Tampa, Fla.; and Tucson, Ariz.

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Online:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/june/greig_062011/greig_062011

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FBI in media blitz to find mobster Whitey Bulger (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – He has been on the run since 1994 and is one of America's most wanted criminals. Now, the FBI is launching a new publicity campaign to find 81-year-old James "Whitey" Bulger, the mobster indicted for 19 murders in the 1970s and 1980s.

Authorities are focused on finding Bulger's long-time girlfriend, Catherine Elizabeth Greig, in the hopes she will lead them to the former Boston crime boss.

The FBI has produced a 30-second public service announcement that will begin airing on Tuesday on daytime television programs in ten states and is aimed at female viewers in the same age group as Greig, 60.

The FBI hopes a hair-stylist, manicurist, doctor or other acquaintance might recognize Greig.

"We are trying to reach a different audience that will produce new leads in the case," said Richard Teahan, who leads the Boston FBI task force searching for Bulger and has been tracking the crime boss since 2006.

Greig and Bulger's images will also be placed on a digital billboard in New York's Times Square and at multiple other locations across the United States.

The last credible sighting of the pair was in London in 2002, but Bulger is thought to have traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Latin America.

Bulger, said to be an avid reader and history buff who likes to take long walks on beaches, has been featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted" more than a dozen times between 1995 and 2010.

The FBI offers up to $2 million for information leading to Bulger's arrest, the largest ever reward the agency has offered for a domestic suspect. The reward for information leading to Greig's whereabouts was doubled on Monday, to $100,000.

Teahan said Greig has habits, characteristics and idiosyncrasies that could make her recognizable -- not least of which is the 21-year age difference between her and Bulger.

Greig loves dogs, likes to frequent beauty salons, and had multiple plastic surgeries before fleeing with Bulger. The former dental hygienist has blue eyes, is 5 feet 6 inches tall, and had a thin build when she fled.

Bulger led an organized crime group that allegedly controlled extortion, drug deals, and other illegal activities in and around Boston.

He is the older brother of William "Billy" Bulger, a former president of the Massachusetts State Senate.

Bulger was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999. Besides the 19 murder charges he is also wanted for racketeering, money laundering and narcotics distribution, among other offenses.

The FBI will also publicize the Greig campaign through its Facebook, You Tube and Twitter accounts.

"For 100 years the FBI has known that combining the reach and power of the media with alert citizens is a successful formula for catching fugitives," said Teahan.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny)

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