James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. (born September 3, 1929) is a former organized crime figure from South Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Based on grand jury testimony from Kevin Weeks' former associates, U.S. prosecutors indicted Bulger for 19 murders. Bulger is the brother of former President of the Massachusetts Senate Billy Bulger.
Beginning in 1975, Bulger served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As a result, the Bureau largely ignored his organization in exchange for information about the inner workings of the Italian American Patriarca crime family. Beginning in 1997, the New England media exposed criminal actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials tied to Bulger. For the FBI especially, this has caused great embarrassment. On December 23, 1994, after being tipped off by his former FBI handler about a pending indictment under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding. For 16 years, he remained at large. For 12 of those years, Bulger was prominently listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.