The FBI arrests legendary Boston mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger, now 81 years old and ailing, and his companion in Santa Monica. They had been on the run for 16 years.
James "Whitey" Bulger's image seemed set in stone. He was a Boston "Southie," a street punk who climbed out of the projects on a ladder of crime — petty larceny, then burglary, then bank robbery, then at least 21 murders, according to authorities, one in which a man standing in a phone booth was shot so many times his torso was nearly severed from his legs.
Savvy and feared, Bulger seized control of a mob empire, running rackets, shakedowns and drug deals over 40 years, officials say, before fleeing Boston in December 1994 on the eve of a federal indictment.
While the feds chased leads for 16 years in 19 countries, Bulger supposedly stashed fake passports and bank accounts across the Western world. Even as he rose to No. 2 on the most-wanted list, right behind Osama bin Laden, he appeared to be living as an untouchable bon vivant. He was reportedly seen at a banquet in Washington wearing a smart white suit with a red pocket square, and sighted strolling through a $500-a-night hotel in London's Piccadilly Circus.
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