Opinion ID: 204532
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Axis of Evil.

Text: For decades Whitey Bulger, a key figure in organized crime circles in Boston, and the leader of a criminal syndicate known as the Winter Hill Gang, led a double life. Unbeknownst to his counterparts in crime, he served as a confidential informant for the FBI. Bulger's underworld position made him privy to various and sundry activities of rival gangs, including the Mafia (sometimes known as La Cosa Nostra). The FBI's ardent desire to bring the Mafia to heel led it to make a Faustian bargain: in exchange for information about Mafia activities, the FBI would protect Bulger and Flemmi and look the other way as the duo pursued their own felonious misadventures. This alliance spanned three decades, lasting from the late 1970s well into the 1990s. John Connolly, a member of the FBI's organized crime unit, was tasked to handle Bulger and Flemmi. Connolly and Bulger had grown up in the same South Boston neighborhood. John Morris, who for most of the relevant period headed the organized crime unit in the FBI's Boston office, oversaw Connolly. Over time, Bulger and Flemmi plied their FBI handlers with assorted gratuities. See, e.g., United States v. Connolly, - 4 - 504 F.3d 206, 210 (1st Cir. 2007); Salemme, 91 F. Supp. 2d at 210. More importantly, they provided a cornucopia of high-quality information that led to the convictions of several Mafia hierarchs. These convictions were a gift that kept on giving: they enhanced the informants' value to the FBI, decimated a powerful rival of the Winter Hill Gang, and created a vacuum that Bulger and Flemmi systematically exploited. Not surprisingly, the FBI coveted Bulger and Flemmi and considered them Top Echelon informants. See Flemmi, 225 F.3d at 81 (describing the FBI's Top Echelon informant program). Because this characterization elevated the status of their handlers, Connolly and Morris did everything in their power, whether legal or illegal, to protect their prized informants and keep them happy. In the bargain, the agents blithely ignored FBI guidelines and permitted Bulger and Flemmi to carry out a constellation of criminal activities, ranging from loan-sharking to extortion to murder.