Chivalry Is Not Dead! Whitey Bulger Reveals He Offered To Plead Guilty — If Girlfriend Could Go Free
Aug. 30 2013, Published 6:53 a.m. ET
After 16 years on the run, Whitey Bulger's long-awaited trial this summer was a media spectacle the likes of which his hometown, Boston, had never seen.
But the families of his victims and the city that lived under his thumb for decades almost missed out on their chance to see him brought to justice at last: In RadarOnline.com's exclusively obtained prison letter, the 83-year-old mobster reveals that he offered to plead guilty to all charges -- and even take the death penalty -- if the feds would let his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, walk free.
Whitey and Catherine, 61, were arrested at their nondescript Santa Monica, Calif., apartment in June 2011, after a neighbor tipped off feds.
Two years later, Whitey writes from solitary confinement, "When captured I offered to plead guilty to all charges -- "Guilty or Innocent" -- in return for one thing -- free Catherine G. and do your best with me."
"I'd not appeal any sentence, execution or life," he adds, "just let Catherine go."
The man who ruled Boston streets in a reign of terror for decades reveals that he brokered such a deal decades before.
"Back in the 50s, I was fugitive 'Bank Robber,'" he writes, "last man captured -- agreed to plead guilty if they set my girlfriend free -- they did -- I received 20 year sentence. Hard time. Last man captured catches hell!"
"Feds knew I would do the same for Catherine," he suggests, "but they wanted 'Show Trial' and Revenge for corrupting 2 FBI agents."
Indeed, after chasing Whitey for years, the feds weren't so willing to give him what he wanted. "Their answer," he reveals, was "'No.'"
Instead, they "held her no bail in isolation cell 23 hours per day for one year."
Then in March 2012, she took a plea deal and admitted guilt to charges of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
She subsequently did not go to trial, but admitted in a statement of facts filed in court that she agreed to join Whitey on the run in early 1995.
As his partner in crime, she admitted she used aliases and unlawfully obtained IDs to help him live life under the radar.
"I engaged in conduct that was intended to help Bulger avoid detection from law enforcement and to provide him with support and assistance during his flight from law enforcement," the document stated.
As part of the deal, she didn't have to testify against her boyfriend, but the former dental hygienist, was "sentenced to 8 years in prison," Whitey explains in the letter,
"$150,000 fine and ordered, don't write a book."
Whitey is currently working on his memoirs, as RadarOnline.com has reported.
Catherine later appealed the term but was denied.
Whitey is currently awaiting sentencing on 31 charges of racketeering, conspiracy and more.
Be sure to stay logged onto RadarOnline.com for more of “Whitey Bulger — The Jailhouse Letters” publishing exclusively all this week.
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