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Whitey Bulger is dead!

dudalb said:
Uh, because you can't arrest a person until he actually does something?
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What if law enforcement has probable cause to suspect that a person (or persons) is actively planning a crime?

It's not like most criminals/terrorists, etc. go from "being one among a huge number of people that it's a good idea to monitor" to "active shooter in a cafe or school" overnight. Usually the number of red flags regarding a particular individual escalates before they reach the latter point, yes?

Obviously I'm not an expert and law enforcement can't be expected to catch every malicious actor before they "do something."
 
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Babbylonian said:
It's the "pretty much" qualifier to concern ourselves with when talking about organized crime. They have lawyers - good ones even - which makes arresting them without evidence a more dicey proposition that can result in lawsuits. Arresting and charging someone means that law enforcement has to present their evidence, and if that evidence is insufficient then it could mean compromising the means by which the evidence was gathered - burned witnesses, bugs, phone taps, etc.
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Good points. :thumbsup:
 
Oddly, his brother Bill was a political figure in Massachusetts, right up until congressional hearings on Whitey turned into a minor scandal that took him down and he ended up stepping down from the UMass system.
 
Allen773 said:
What if law enforcement has probable cause to suspect that a person (or persons) is actively planning a crime?

It's not like most criminals/terrorists, etc. go from "being one among a huge number of people that it's a good idea to monitor" to "active shooter in a cafe or school" overnight. Usually the number of red flags regarding a particular individual escalates before they reach the latter point, yes?

Obviously I'm not an expert and law enforcement can't be expected to catch every malicious actor before they "do something."
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Depends. Some criminals telegraph their crimes well in advance. Organized criminals and terrorists, at least the more competent ones, are more careful. Terrorist groups often deliberately disorganize themselves into independent cells that don't coordinate together. Law enforcement may be aware of individual people and small groups, and know that they are likely up to something, but not know the details.
 
Whether Bulger deserved his fate or not (and whether the FBI shares blame for some of his crimes), the mere fact that he was killed by another inmate is itself evidence that the federal prison system is not working properly.

I hope they use this to help make prisons safer. I have no sympathy for Bulger, though.
 
Loss Leader said:
Whether Bulger deserved his fate or not (and whether the FBI shares blame for some of his crimes), the mere fact that he was killed by another inmate is itself evidence that the federal prison system is not working properly.

I hope they use this to help make prisons safer. I have no sympathy for Bulger, though.
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He's the third murder at the facility this year and lasted all of 5 seconds. Clearly this prison is not run properly.
 
SuburbanTurkey said:
Not so safe for those three. Har, har har, our prisons are barbaric and the public likes it that way.

Now I've made myself sad.
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I think it's more apathy than appreciation. People in the US have been convinced that prisons are dangerous by their very nature and that there's simply no way to change that.
 
"Convicted Boston mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger was beaten early Tuesday morning when cell doors were unlocked so inmates could leave to eat breakfast, according to a law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation into Bulger’s death at a West Virginia prison.

The onetime kingpin of a ruthless gang was pronounced dead soon after, and federal authorities are investigating his death at the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton as a homicide. One of the suspects is a mafia hitman from Massachusetts serving a life sentence at the same prison, the law enforcement official said."

WSJ - https://www.wsj.com/articles/bulger...ast&tier_5=0048938c4af9641f2e04565be89ece5954
 
The name “James Bulger” has completely different connotations in the UK (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Bulger ), but I was familiar with Whitey Bulger from the Johnny Depp film which I happened to catch on a plane to Boston.

I can’t say I’d shed any tears over his death, but it is a scandal that his death should happen in such a way.
 
My research indicates that prison populations have a disproportionate percentage of criminals versus the general population. I'm not certain why this discrepancy exists, and am pursuing a grant to study the phenomenon. Until then I fear we can expect more of such behavior.
 
Loss Leader said:
Whether Bulger deserved his fate or not (and whether the FBI shares blame for some of his crimes), the mere fact that he was killed by another inmate is itself evidence that the federal prison system is not working properly.

I hope they use this to help make prisons safer. I have no sympathy for Bulger, though.
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Whitey had plenty of blood on his hands before the FBI got involved.
He just convinced a FBI agent to function as a hit man for him,instead of one of his usual stable of hitman.
 
Trebuchet said:
[conspiracy theory]
He was about to drop a dime on Trump....
[/conspiracy theory]
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Much more plausible would be that he was about to go Valachi on Robert Mueller. The Q folks already have stuff on that, I'm sure.

Something along the lines of:

"Curious that he just happened to get transferred to a new facility when Judicial Watch and QAnon started asking about the records of Mueller's years in Boston. Just asking questions, you understand...."

I'll bet five baht that Donnie Jr. would retweet it!
 
Foolmewunz said:
Much more plausible would be that he was about to go Valachi on Robert Mueller. The Q folks already have stuff on that, I'm sure.

Something along the lines of:

"Curious that he just happened to get transferred to a new facility when Judicial Watch and QAnon started asking about the records of Mueller's years in Boston. Just asking questions, you understand...."

I'll bet five baht that Donnie Jr. would retweet it!
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I always love the idea of floating ridiculous conspiracy theories for comedy purposes, right up until the moment I remember that this is how they probably start, and such nonsense has given us Trump.
 
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