BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - James Whitey Bulger, the accused South Boston mob boss facing trial for 19 murders, announced on Monday that he plans to take the stand in his own defense. Bulger is going to claim that he had complete criminal immunity given to him by the Department of Justice.
The new development came out during a heated hearing at the U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday. Bulger’s lawyers were locked in a struggle with federal officials over the release of certain documents.
Bulger is claiming someone in the Department of Justice gave him immunity to commit a crime, including murder, while he was an FBI informant.
Bulger’s lawyer J.W. Carney, Jr. is saying he will prove that Bulger had immunity when his client goes to trial. He said Bulger will take the stand, and he will name names.
Carney will not say specifically who granted Bulger immunity, but that it was someone in the Department of Justice, which would rule out disgraced FBI Agent John Connolly.
Connolly is serving a 40-year sentence for a murder related to the Bulger case.
Bulger’s partner Steven Flemmi already attempted to use the immunity claim, and is in prison for life; however, Carney claims that the immunity deal was for Bulger alone.
According to Carney, Flemmi didn’t know about his client’s immunity, nor did any of his other associates.
Bulger is accused of participating in 19 murders. He was also an FBI informant who provided information on his gang's main rival, the New England Mob. He fled Boston in 1994 and was captured last year in Santa Monica, California.
Bulger is slated to go to trial in March.
