SALON

Tuesday, Jan 8, 2013 11:15 PM UTC

Boston mobster’s lawyer seeks to have judge tossed

By

Topics: From the Wires,

BOSTON (AP) — A lawyer for mobster James “Whitey” Bulger on Tuesday framed an attempt to get the presiding judge kicked off his client’s murder case as an effort to protect the court’s integrity.

“I’m not really representing James Bulger,” J.W. Carney Jr. told a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel. “I’m representing us, the people who care about the perception of the federal prosecution system in Boston.”

Bulger is the former head of the Winter Hill Gang who faces charges that he participated in 19 murders.

He fled Boston in late 1994 and was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list when authorities captured him in June 2011 in California. The 83-year-old has pleaded not guilty and faces a June trial.

The defense claims U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns can’t be impartial during the trial because he was a federal prosecutor in charge of the U.S. attorney’s office criminal division during some of the time Bulger was an FBI informant.

But a government lawyer countered Tuesday that Stearns, who has rejected recusal appeals, didn’t participate in and didn’t know of any investigations involving Bulger while serving as a federal prosecutor.

Carney has said Bulger will testify at trial that the late Justice Department attorney Jeremiah O’Sullivan gave him immunity for his crimes that protected him from prosecution while he informed on the Mafia for the FBI.

But the government has said O’Sullivan, who died in 2009, testified before Congress that he didn’t authorize Bulger to commit any crimes or immunize him from prosecution.

On Tuesday, Assistant State Attorney Zachary Hafer attacked the defense’s failure to provide more details about the purported immunity agreement, saying there was no information about whether it was spoken or written or even the terms of the deal. He also questioned the defense’s attempt to link Stearns and Bulger.

“There are no facts that support Judge Stearns’ connection to the defendant in any way,” Hafer said.

After a question from retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Carney said Bulger’s immunity agreement was in place before 1984 when Stearns became criminal division chief for the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.

“That’s what the evidence will show. And you’re the first person to get this out of me,” Carney told Souter.

Souter joined Chief Judge Sandra Lynch and Senior Judge Bruce Selya on the three-judge appellate panel.

Lynch pressed Carney for specifics, saying he hadn’t provided the panel details on the type of information Stearns might have received on Bulger while at the U.S. attorney’s office. Under questioning, Carney stopped short of calling Stearns dishonest and agreed he hadn’t shown bias so far.

The lawyer also said the recusal motion wasn’t a delay tactic and his client would be ready for trial.

But Carney said that corruption within federal law enforcement in the 1980s couldn’t be ignored and not recusing Stearns would stain the integrity of Bulger’s trial.

A former Boston FBI agent who provided the tip about an impending indictment that led Bulger to flee went to prison on a racketeering conviction.

And the idea of presenting a picture of fairness when it comes to Bulger’s trial seemed to register with the panel Tuesday.

“I’m concerned about the public perception about whether the defendant can get a fair trial,” Selya said.

But Hafer said the most relevant factor in the matter was Stearns’ statement he didn’t know anything about an investigation of Bulger.

“The law is clear. The facts are nonexistent and the petition should be denied,” he said.

After court, the son of a man whom Bulger is accused of murdering said it might be a good idea for Stearns to be off the case.

“It’s all accusations, but if this is the outcome of it, then I would like to probably see him step down,” 38-year-old Boston resident Thomas Donahue said.

By Bridget Murphy

More By Bridget Murphy.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations