Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down
In June 2011, notorious Boston crime figure Whitey Bulger was captured after years on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. During his years in a command position of the bureau’s Boston office, Fitzpatrick had tried to bring Bulger to justice but was thwarted at every turn. Despite being the leader of Boston’s Irish Mafia, Bulger cleverly placed himself beyond the law by becoming an FBI informant. The rationale for his virtual immunity was that he supplied critical intelligence on Boston’s Italian mobsters. During the 1980s, Fitzpatrick felt the Boston bureau was guilty of horribly misplaced loyalty to Bulger, who seldom, if ever, delivered information that led to the arrest of any significant criminals. In fact, Fitzpatrick argues convincingly that some agents may have been in Bulger’s pocket. Combining the story of his pursuit of Bulger with a personal and professional memoir tracking his own life from an orphanage childhood to his stint as an FBI agent, Fitzpatrick delivers a fascinating look at the potentially destructive relationship between law enforcement and informants. As troubling as it is interesting. --Wes Lukowsky