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Old 18-07-13, 18:19   #1
 
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United States of America James 'Whitey' Bulger: 3 Men Charged in Mob Boss Murder

Murdered by the Mob or Suicide? Whitey Bulger victim who hoped to 'Drop Bombshell' at trial of gangster is found dead in the woods

Daily Mail UK, 18 July 2013



Police have confirmed that the body discovered on Wednesday in a secluded wooded area of Lincoln, Massachusetts is that of Stephen Rakes, a key witness in the on-going trial of James 'Whitey' Bulger.


The stunning development comes before Rakes was supposed to testify that Bulger, 83, threatened his daughter at gunpoint in an effort to force him to turn over his South Boston liquor store as a headquarters for the notorious mobster.


Victim of Whitey Bulger is found dead in woods days after he was struck off list of trial witnesses

  • Stephen Rakes, 59, was discovered dead on Wednesday on a secluded rural road in Lincoln, Massachusetts
  • Rakes was days away from testifying against notorious mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger
  • Had told friends he was going to give explosive testimony against Bulger at his ongoing trial in Boston
  • Rakes alleged that Bulger tried to extort his South Boston liquor store from him the 1980s
  • Bulger allegedly held a gun to Rakes' daughter's head to make him give up his business
  • Friends and family deny that Rakes would kill himself

Police have confirmed that the body discovered on Wednesday in a secluded wooded area of Lincoln, Massachusetts is that of Stephen 'Stippo' Rakes - who hoped to be key witness in the on-going trial of James 'Whitey' Bulger.

The stunning development comes after Rakes, 59, was denied the chance to testify that Bulger, 83, threatened his daughter at gunpoint in an effort to force him to turn over his South Boston liquor store as a headquarters for the notorious mobster for $100,000.

The cause of death is being determined by the state medical examiner’s office. There were no obvious signs of trauma to the body, which was found at about 1:30 p.m. in the area of Mill Street in Lincoln
Police are believed to have told Rakes' realtives that the death appeared to be a suicide. However, a source close to the family said that 'he had no phone, no wallet and police are still looking for his car.'



Last Picture: Stephen Rakes looks over his shoulder as he leaves the courthouse after attending the trial. The trial of James "Whitey" Bulger continues at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston on July 8th

Rakes, who had previously refused to testify against Bulger, had told his friend Steve Davis that he was 'nervous' about the 'bombshell' he thought he was going to drop on the stand at the feared mobster's trial.
'He was looking forward to taking the stand. He told me over and over he had a big bombshell to drop,' said Davis.
However, he was robbed of this chance on Tuesday when U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz informed Rakes that he was no longer needed as a witness - a decision that reportedly 'devastated' him.

Rakes had harbored decades of anger at Bulger and his accomplices, Stephen 'The Rifleman' Flemmi and Kevin Weeks, after they allegedly forced him to hand over his South Boston liquor store in 1984 by holding a gun to his daughter's head.

'The day I see him in a box, not breathing, will be better,' Rakes said in April.

Indeed, Rakes had been a constant presence at Bulger's trial at the US District Court in South Boston.
Attending every day for the past six weeks, the trial began after the notorious gangster was captured in California two years ago after 16 years on the run from authorities.


Scene: Lincoln Police guard the side of the road where Stephen Rakes was found dead on Wednesday afternoon




Secluded: This is Mill St in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where Stephen 'Stippo' Rakes was discovered dead on Wednesday afternoon


A long time friend of Rakes, Steve Davis, whose sister Debbie was allegedly killed by Bulger, said the first indication of anything amiss with Rakes was on Wednesday afternoon when he was removed from the witness list of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz at the U.S. District Court in South Boston.
This was because on Tuesday, Ortiz told Rakes that she did not plan to call him to testify, a decision that Davis said upset his friend.

A spokesman for Ortiz did not respond when asked to comment
Davis, whose sister is one of 19 murders Bulger is charged with said that he realized something was wrong on Wednesday, when Rakes did not call him back.

He told the Boston Globe that Rakes thought Ortiz's decision had taken away his chance to refute the claims of Weeks, an associate of Bulger, that his claims about being extorted were untrue.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office confirmed on Thursday that a body was found at 1.30 p.m. on Wednesday in the area of Mill Street and that it was 59-year-old Rakes, of Quincy.
Davis told ABC News that the last time he saw Rakes was on Tuesday in court but he failed to reach him during the night and alarms bells started ringing when he didn't meet him for breakfast on Wednesday.

'Stippo would not kill himself. Absolutley not,' said Davis to ABC News on Thursday morning.

Davis said that his friend was 'in good shape' and the two of them would frequently cycle across Boston.


Testimony: Stephen Rakes smiles after greeting an acquaintance outside the liquor store he once owned in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Thursday, June 6th, 2013


'He had everything to live for and was looking forward to his day in court.'
'It doesn't make sense.'

Experts watching the trial said that Rakes' death will not affect the outcome of the case against Bulger.

'He had a special level of outrage and really wanted to tell his story, but his story was not consistent' with prior testimony by key prosecution witness Kevin Weeks, said Rosanna Cavallaro, a Suffolk University criminal law professor



James 'Whitey' Bulger: He was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives after he fled Boston in 1994. He was finally captured two years ago in Santa Monica, California and faces 32 counts, including 19 murder charges

There were no obvious signs of trauma. The office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
Davis said he was told by authorities that Rakes was still dressed in the clothes he was wearing Tuesday when he was found in Lincoln.
Authorities initially said they believe that Rakes may have been out for a walk and suffered some kind of medical episode.

Rakes' death remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the district attorney's office and Lincoln Police.
Federal prosecutors confirmed Rakes was supposed to testify that Bulger and associate Stephen Flemmi threatened his daughter at gunpoint and forced him to turn over his South Boston liquor store to become Bulger's headquarters.

Bulger's right-hand man, Kevin Weeks testified last week Rakes' expected upcoming testimony that Bulger's gang put a gun to his daughter's head was bogus.
Weeks, who was a close associate of Bulger's for two decades, later became a government witness and eventually led authorities to the bodies of people who were allegedly killed by Bulger and the gang.

He served five years in prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory to five murders.

Bulger stared straight ahead during much of Weeks' testimony and only glanced at him occasionally.
Weeks also described how Bulger acquired a liquor store in South Boston.

Prosecutors say Bulger forced Stephen Rakes to sell his liquor store to him in 1984 to use as a headquarters for his gang and as a source of ‘legitimate’ income.


Arrested: This pair of file booking photos shows Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, left, in 1974 from the Boston Police Department, and James "Whitey" Bulger, right, in 1984 from the FBI



Weeks denied that the gang forced Rakes to sell the store, saying Rakes had agreed with an offer from Bulger to buy the store for $100,000
He said when they arrived at Rakes' house to close the deal, Rakes said his wife didn't want to sell the store and complained about the selling price.
‘He was trying to shake us down,’ Weeks said.
At the time, Rakes' two young daughters were in the room and Bulger was bouncing one of the girls on his lap, Weeks said.




Steve Davis, brother of alleged murder victim Debra Davis, answers a reporter's question outside federal court on Monday, July 8th, in Boston while Kevin Weeks (bottom pic) speaks during a 2011 prison interview



Stephen Rakes (L) and Stephen Davis arrive for the first day of the trial of accused mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts June 12, 2013



He said he pulled a gun out of his waistband and put it on the table. The girl on Bulger's lap reached for the gun, Weeks said. Bulger then told him to put it away.

Weeks said Bulger told Rakes he couldn't back out of the sale.

‘At that point, we went through with the deal,’ he said.
‘We didn't go to him to buy the store. He came to us. It wasn't your regular extortion,’ Weeks said.

Rakes, who was in the courtroom for Weeks' testimony, later disputed his account and said he was forced to sell his store to Bulger.

‘Kevin continues to lie, as usual, because that's what he has to do,’ he said.
‘My liquor store was never for sale - never, never, never.’



Surveillance shot: This undated surveillance photo released Monday, July 8, 2013 by the U.S. Attorney's office at federal court in Boston shows James 'Whitey' Bulger, left, with his former right hand man, Kevin Weeks



In addition to the slayings of Halloran and Donahue, Weeks has testified previously that he was present for three other killings committed by Bulger.


Quote:
'Would You Like To Have Your Daughter Grow Up Without a Father?' How 'Whitey' Bulger Tried to Extort Stephen Rakes

Rakes owned a profitable liquor store in South Boston that Bulger had his eye on.

One night in January 1984 Bulger, Flemmi and Weeks knocked on the door of his house.

'You’ve got a problem. We were hired to kill you,' Rakes said Bulger warned him calmly that cold winter night.

Offering him the chance to save his life by selling him his store, Bulger allegedly put his gun down on the table where his one-year-old daughter, Meredith began to play with it.

'Would you like to have your daughter grow up without a father?' Bulger allegedly asked Rakes.

Rakes was handed a bag for $67,000 and told that he had lost control of the liquor store and threatened with death if he reported them to the police.


Bulger, 83, is accused of playing a role in 19 killings while allegedly leading the Winter Hill Gang. He has pleaded not guilty.

Bulger fled Boston in 1994 and was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011.
Bulger, now 83, faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of charges including racketeering and 19 murders that prosecutors say he committed or ordered in the 1970s and 1980s. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, though his lawyer admitted that Bulger was a drug dealer, extortionist and loan shark, essentially an "organized criminal."

Bulger and Flemmi, who had not seen each other since 1994 when Bulger fled Boston to evade arrest, briefly got a look at each other on Thursday morning when Flemmi was brought in to testify but then hustled back out of the courtroom and a new witness called.

Their tale recalls a dark side to Boston's FBI office during that period, when both men were listed as FBI informants but also were given tips by corrupt agents who helped them escape capture and root out 'snitches" within their ranks.

Their story inspired the 2006 Academy Award-winning film "The Departed," in which Jack Nicholson played a character loosely based on Bulger.


Changing sides: Weeks, right, who was a close associate of Bulger's for two decades, later became a government witness and eventually led authorities to the bodies of people who were allegedly killed by Bulger and the gang



In 2004, Flemmi pleaded guilty to 10 murders in a deal that spared him the death penalty, and his testimony is expected to form the backbone of the government's case against Bulger.

Defense attorney J.W. Carney of the Boston law firm Carney & Bassil on Thursday cross-examined former drug dealer William David Lindholm, who was jailed on drug and tax evasion charges in 1991 but released early for cooperating in the case against Bulger.
Lindholm admitted to having submitted fake tax returns while he earned more than $10 million as a marijuana smuggler.

'For you the lying was worth it, because of the benefit that you would get in return,' Carney asked. 'Yes,' Lindholm replied.

In six weeks of testimony, witnesses so far have described Bulger as a cold-blooded criminal quick to violence. Former associates have accused him of participating in killing several people suspected of talking to law enforcement. Others said he used fear to extort cash.

On Wednesday, a former drug kingpin testified that Bulger forced him to play Russian roulette in a nightclub's back room in 1983 as a way to make him hand over $1 million, and then later threatened to 'cut my head off'.

Bulger's trial has riveted Boston and given the jury a glimpse of an era when machine-gun toting mobsters shot associates and 'rats' who talked to authorities, then buried their victims' bodies in basements or under bridges.

Bulger fled in 1994 after tip from a corrupt FBI agent that arrest was imminent. He was finally captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011 after 16 years on the lam.
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Old 20-08-22, 08:00   #2
 
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Movies Re: James 'Whitey' Bulger: 3 Men Charged in Mob Boss Murder

James 'Whitey' Bulger: Three Men Charged in Mob Boss Murder

Three men have been charged over the prison killing of infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger.


BBC 20 AUG 2022






James "Whitey" Bulger was killed while in prison



The 89-year-old Bulger was discovered unresponsive in October 2018 at a maximum-security facility in West Virginia.

Fotios Geas, 55, Paul J DeCologero, 48 and Sean McKinnon, 36, were all charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, the Justice Department said.

Bulger was captured in California in 2011 after a 16-year manhunt.

He was serving two life sentences for 11 murders when he was beaten to death, on the same day that he was transferred to the Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia, which houses 1,385 inmates.

The US justice department announced the charges against the three men on Thursday.




Federal prosecutors accuse Geas and DeCologero of striking Bulger in the head multiple times, causing his death.


They have also both been charged with aiding and abetting first-degree murder, along with assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Geas, believed to have been a Mafia hitman, faces an additional charge for murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence, while McKinnon has been charged with making false statements to a federal agent.

All three were held at the Hazelton penitentiary at the time of the killing, though only Geas remains there.

McKinnon was on federal supervised release at the time of the indictment and was arrested in Florida.

Bulger, the former leader of South Boston's Winter Hill gang, inspired the film Black Mass featuring Johnny Depp, and The Departed, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2007.

Raised in Boston's Irish-Catholic South Boston neighbourhood, he became involved with The Shamrocks gang as a young man, starting off by stealing cars and soon escalating to robbing banks.

While heading the Irish-American Winter Hill mob from the early 1970s until the mid-1980s he lived a double life as a prized FBI informant, feeding the bureau information about rival criminals.

The US government eventually paid more than $20m (£16.8m) in damages to his victims on the grounds he had committed his murders while under government supervision.

During his criminal career, he also attempted to provide weapons to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland.



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