Opinion ID: 202112
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Subsequent Events & Newspaper Coverage

Text: 15 Because our disposition of the case turns in part on when, and the degree to which, certain facts were publicized, we recount the subsequent events primarily as related in the local news media.
16 Newspaper coverage of the relationship between Connolly and Bulger and Flemmi began no later than September 20, 1988, when the Boston Globe reported that the FBI has for years had a special relationship with Bulger that has divided law enforcement bitterly and poisoned relations among many investigators. The Globe Spotlight Team, The Bulger Mystique: Law Enforcement Officials Lament about an Elusive Foe: Where Was Whitey?, Boston Globe, Sept. 20, 1988, at 18. The Globe's speculations in that initial article and subsequent ones were, however, vehemently denied by the FBI. See, e.g., id. at 19 (quoting FBI's denial that the FBI gave any special treatment to Bulger); Dick Lehr, Finnerty Is Attorney for FBI Agent, Boston Globe, Mar. 24, 1989, at 16 (rejecting the notion that Bulger has had relations with the bureau that have left him free of its scrutiny); Dick Lehr & Kevin Cullen, Liquor Purchase Fuels Friction over FBI-Whitey Bulger Tie, Boston Globe, Nov. 11, 1990, at 44-45 (noting FBI's strong denials of any impropriety). After this spate of reporting from 1988 to 1990, the papers became relatively quiet on the issue for a several years.
17 In 1995, Flemmi and a number of other members of both the Winter Hill Gang and La Cosa Nostra, including Francis P. Cadillac Frank Salemme, were arrested on federal racketeering charges following the obtaining of a set of indictments by the U.S. Attorney's office. Bulger was named in the indictments as well, but escaped before being arrested and fled the Boston area. At that time, the Globe reported that [n]o one has ever shown the FBI to be an active protector of Bulger — indeed, such a view is widely condemned as grossly unfair. Dick Lehr, Bulger's Flight Spares FBI Burden of Ties Being Aired, Insiders Say, Boston Globe, Mar. 5, 1995, at 24. It nevertheless suggested that Bulger's disappearance may have been convenient for the FBI, which might not have wanted a spotlight cast on its relationship with Bulger. Id. Reference to the FBI's light-handed treatment of Bulger also appeared in an August 1995 article in the Boston Herald, which reported that federal officials repeatedly have ignored allegations Bulger has been coddled as a valuable stool pigeon. Joe Heaney, Do Irish Eyes Smile on Whitey?, Boston Herald, Aug. 13, 1995, at 14. 18 Subsequent to these articles came another period of relative quiet: the prosecutions of Flemmi, Salemme and the others crept forward, and significant news bearing on the instant case did not emerge until 1997. Then, in a front-page article that ran on June 26, 1997, the Globe reported on the explosive testimony of Stephen Flemmi in connection with the prosecutions under the 1995 indictments. See Patricia Nealon, Flemmi Says He, Bulger Got FBI's OK on Crimes, Boston Globe, June 26, 1997, at A1. The article led with the following statement: Gangster turned informant Stephen J. `The Rifleman' Flemmi asserted yesterday that an FBI contact assured him and his criminal partner, James J. `Whitey' Bulger, they could continue to commit crimes — short of murder — without fear of prosecution. Just below, it continued in greater detail: 19 Flemmi, who ran the Winter Hill Gang with Bulger, described secret meetings at the Lexington home of FBI agent John Morris, who ran the bureau's organized crime squad here. At the meetings, Flemmi says, he and Bulger were all but given carte blanche to break the law. 20 Mr. Morris told Mr. Bulger and I that we could do anything we wanted so long as we didn't `clip anyone,' Flemmi's affidavit said. 21 Id. 22 That same article noted the FBI's slightly inconsistent responses to the accusation by Flemmi. On the one hand, Barry W. Mawn, then head of the Boston office of the FBI, acknowledged that the FBI would follow procedure and investigate the claim. Id. On the other, Paul E. Coffey, then head of the Justice Department's Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, suggested that there was nothing for an investigation to find, reportedly asserting that Flemmi and Bulger were warned periodically that they were not authorized to commit any crimes without specific permission — something Coffey said they never received. Id. In December 1997, an article buried deep in the Boston Herald reported that Connolly and Morris had been cleared of any wrongdoing in an internal Justice Department probe. See Ralph Ranalli, Justice Dept. Clears Ex-FBI Agents in Mob Case, Boston Herald, Dec. 5, 1997, at 24. 23 On January 7, 1998, the Herald reported in an inside story that Winter Hill wise-guy and FBI informant Stephen `The Rifleman' Flemmi said he was rewarded for his work for the agency with a free pass on murder, attempted murder and fugitive charges in the mid-1970s, defense lawyers alleged yesterday. Ralph Ranalli, Mobster: I Had a License to Kill; Flemmi Says FBI Knew He Was Murderer, Boston Herald, Jan. 7, 1998, at 6. A metro section piece in the Boston Globe on January 9, 1998 detailed the FBI's reluctance to assist the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in an investigation of cocaine trafficking by Bulger and Flemmi. Patricia Nealon, FBI Loyalty to Mob Duo is Detailed; DEA, Others Kept in Dark About Bulger, Flemmi Ties, Boston Globe, Jan. 9, 1998, at B1. Five days later, another article tucked inside in the Herald noted again that Flemmi had asserted that the FBI gave him immunity in exchange for useful information. See David Weber, Flemmi's Lawyer Contends Fed Let His Crimes Slide, Boston Herald, Jan. 14, 1998, at 10.
24 In 1998, Stephen Rakes was tried for perjury for falsely claiming in earlier grand jury testimony that he had voluntarily signed his family's store over to Bulger. 4 A front-page article in the Globe on May 28, 1998, ran during the trial and recounted the Rakeses' story. See Shelley Murphy, Mobster's Takeover of Store Recounted, Boston Globe, May 28, 1998, at A1. The article made reference to the ironic fact that the FBI agent to whom the Rakeses turned for help back in 1984 was Bulger and Flemmi's handler, and noted that Connolly was not able to recall whether he had reported the contact with Lundbohm to his supervisor, but made no direct suggestion of FBI impropriety. See id. In testimony to the grand jury before trial and again at the trial itself, Julie Dammers addressed the facts surrounding the 1984 extortion of the liquor store and the later investigation into Stephen Rakes' perjury. On May 29, 1998, the fourth day of Rakes' trial, Rakes' defense counsel asked Dammers about one of her interactions with an Internal Revenue Service agent named David Lazarus, who was investigating the perjury. The colloquy ran as follows: 25 Attorney: Did Mr. Lazarus say anything about Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi during the conversation? 26 Dammers: Yes. I said that they knew everything because Whitey Bulger was under their protective custody, and he — and I said, And that was your office, and he said No, it wasn't his office. 27 Attorney: Did he explain to you when he said No, it wasn't his office, who did he blame? Dammers: The FBI. 5 28 (emphasis added). 29 Two days later, the Globe ran a story about Dammers' testimony at the trial of her former husband, noting that Dammers said she argued with IRS special agent David Lazarus, who is assigned to the case, over how the government had protected Bulger while prosecuting Stephen Rakes. Shelley Murphy, Woman Says Bulger Shielded, but Husband Charged, Boston Globe, May 30, 1998, at B6. A story in the next day's Herald reported that Julie Dammers had in her testimony characterized Bulger as being in the government's protective custody. David Weber, Merchant's Ex-wife Details Mob Buyout, Boston Herald, May 31, 1998, at 5. 30 A June 17, 1998 article reported Lundbohm's testimony that, after Lundbohm went to speak to Connolly about the liquor store extortion, Connolly allegedly tipped off Bulger. Dick Lehr, Ex-detective's Testimony OK'd in Perjury Trial, Boston Globe, June 17, 1998, at F12. See also David Weber, Whitey Told Store Owner to `Back Off' from Authorities, Boston Herald, June 17, 1998, at 32 (reporting that, in testimony, Lundbohm said he believed that Bulger had some knowledge of the conversation with Mr. Connolly). A Globe article on June 25, 1998 reported on Rakes' perjury conviction and noted that: 31 With a prison term looming, the MBTA worker [Rakes] may face a dimmer future than either Bulger or Flemmi, both of whom worked as FBI informants for years. Flemmi is arguing in federal court that the FBI granted him immunity from prosecution, while Bulger is a fugitive. 32 Marcella Bombardieri, Jury Convicts Man of Perjury for Denying Gangster's Coercion, Boston Globe, June 25, 1998, at B4. 33 On Wednesday, July 22, 1998, the Boston Globe ran a major cover story detailing the many instances in which the FBI had apparently looked the other way while Bulger and Flemmi committed crimes. See Shelley Murphy & The Globe Spotlight Team, Cases Disappear as FBI Looks Away, Boston Globe, July 22, 1998, at A1. The piece recounted Bulger's 1976 extortion of a Dedham restauranteur, an incident on which the article suggested the FBI could easily have built a case against Bulger. The FBI chose not to build such a case, however, which, the article said, sent a powerful message to two of the region's more ruthless organized crime figures: As long as you're with us, we won't bother you. Id. This meant that [d]espite solid evidence indicating Bulger and Flemmi were involved in murders, shakedowns, and drug dealing, the FBI looked the other way throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Id. The article continued, It made no difference who the victims were, fellow wise guys or innocent people.... In some cases, the bureau even helped the gangsters by leaking information to them about ongoing investigations. Id. The Globe went on to list four potential cases that went nowhere. This description appeared on that list: 34 In 1984, a Boston police detective told Connolly that Bulger and Flemmi were trying to seize a liquor store owned by the detective's relatives with a can't refuse offer. But Connolly did not report the incident to superiors and, within days, Bulger sent word to the victims that he knew they had complained to the FBI and warned them to back off. 35 Id. 36 The article went on to note Connolly's denial of any wrongdoing, but nevertheless suggested some impropriety, stating that the record now shows that the deal — protection for information — left the bureau shortchanged, co-opted, and compromised. Id. In a more extended discussion of the liquor store extortion, the article asserted that Connolly denied leaking the information that the Rakeses were seeking police protection against Bulger, but noted that it appears that Connolly made a unilateral decision to neither investigate the extortion nor pass it along to a supervisor. Id. 37 In August 1998, at roughly the same time that media coverage of all of these events came to an end, Dammers left the Boston area and moved to Gansevoort, New York. The record apprises us of only two articles appearing after the date of her move. In late September 1998, a Boston Herald article, albeit one buried deep in the paper, noted that federal prosecutors had elicited testimony from Lundbohm as part of a continuing effort to paint Connolly as a `rogue' agent who overstepped his authority to aide [sic] Bulger and Flemmi, and which reported that Connolly is the subject of a grand jury probe in Hartford investigating FBI misconduct. Ralph Ranalli, Supervisor: Promises to Informants Tripped FBI, Boston Herald, Sept. 30, 1998, at 14. A Globe article on September 30, 1998 reiterated in brief the story of Rakes' perjury trial and Flemmi's allegations that Connolly had given him a free pass to commit crimes, and reported Lundbohm's recent denials that he was aware of any connection between Connolly and Bulger when he turned to Connolly on the Rakeses' behalf. 38 After September 1998, there began a year-long period during which the record reflects no reporting on the relationship between the FBI and the Winter Hill Gang. So far as the record shows, new news did not emerge until September of 1999, with the publication of Judge Wolf's opinion in Salemme and the media coverage of that event. Because in this case we are concerned only with what the plaintiffs knew or should have known before May 11, 1999, we need not discuss this later coverage.