New Whitey Bulger Photo?

[boco357]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/cit...sts_pictu.html

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, may have been spotted in Sicily in April by a vacationing federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent who shot a brief video of the couple before they slipped away, according to law enforcement officials.

The FBI posted the video and a still photo today on its website and launched a media blitz in Italy and throughout Europe in an effort to boost the international profile of Bulger, 78, one of the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted," and Greig, 56, who is believed to be traveling with him.

"Law enforcement authorities are requesting the public's assistance in positively identifying the unknown couple,'' the FBI wrote under the photo.

"This could be Mr. and Mrs. Smith from Iowa on vacation in Sicily for all we know and that's why we're asking for help," said Warren T. Bamford, the special agent-in-charge of the FBI's Boston office.
The video taken April 10 shows a white-haired couple strolling past shops in the seaside resort town of Taormina. The man is wearing Bulger's trademark sunglasses and baseball cap and dressed in khaki pants and a sweater over a plaid shirt. He's accompanied by a woman with short hair, also wearing sunglasses.

If it is Bulger and not just another look-alike, it would be the first confirmed sighting of the South Boston gangster since he was spotted in September 2002 strolling alone down a busy street near Piccadilly Circus in London.

The FBI didn't disclose the circumstances of how the video and photos were shot or whether the person approached the couple, but law enforcement officials said they were taken by a DEA agent who was on vacation.

In a press release issued this morning, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office said an individual had observed a couple believed to be the fugitive and his girlfriend and videotaped them.

"A facial recognition analysis was conducted and proved to be inconclusive," Sullivan's release said.

Italian law enforcement authorities, the DEA, and members of the Bulger Task Force, comprised of investigators from the FBI, Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, have not been able to rule out the possibility that the picture shows Bulger and Greig.

Investigators were unable to resolve whether it was the couple even after interviewing their former associates and showing them the photos, according to Sullivan's office.

"Therefore, law enforcement is interested in speaking with anyone who was visiting the area of Italy during the months of March, April and May 2007 and may have observed or had contact with the two individuals in the photograph and video," Sullivan's press release said.

"Some people are saying, 'Absolutely that's him,' and others are saying, 'I don't think that's him at all,'" said Bamford. However, he added, investigators who have been tracking Bulger for years agree it's "a very good look-alike, probaby the best they've seen in a very long time."

After the reported sighting, Bamford said, Italian authorities helped investigators from Boston try to locate the couple with "some good-old fashioned detective work," searching hotels, marinas, bars, ferries and other areas throughout the country. Bamford said there was no audio of the couple so it was unknown if they are American.

"They weren't able to develop any logical leads for us," Bamford said. "Now we're all at a dead end here and it's time to put the video and pictures out to the public."

Bulger, a longtime FBI informant, was warned to flee just before his January 1995 federal racketeering indictment in Boston by his former handler, retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. Bulger has eluded authorities ever since, despite a worldwide manhunt. Since he fled, he's been charged with 19 murders. The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to his capture.

Three months before his indictment, Bulger took a European vacation, stopping in Venice and London and Dublin, according to the FBI. The FBI has scoured the world to investigate reported sightings that were later eliminated as look-alikes in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Connolly was convicted in 2002 of racketeering and obstruction of justice for protecting Bulger from prosecution and is serving 10 years in prison. The former agent is also awaiting trial in Florida on charges that he helped Bulger and fellow informant, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, orchestrate a 1982 gangland slaying.

[kamy]

Originally Posted by boco357

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/cit...sts_pictu.html

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, may have been spotted in Sicily in April by a vacationing federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent who shot a brief video of the couple before they slipped away, according to law enforcement officials.

The FBI posted the video and a still photo today on its website and launched a media blitz in Italy and throughout Europe in an effort to boost the international profile of Bulger, 78, one of the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted," and Greig, 56, who is believed to be traveling with him.

"Law enforcement authorities are requesting the public's assistance in positively identifying the unknown couple,'' the FBI wrote under the photo.

"This could be Mr. and Mrs. Smith from Iowa on vacation in Sicily for all we know and that's why we're asking for help," said Warren T. Bamford, the special agent-in-charge of the FBI's Boston office.
The video taken April 10 shows a white-haired couple strolling past shops in the seaside resort town of Taormina. The man is wearing Bulger's trademark sunglasses and baseball cap and dressed in khaki pants and a sweater over a plaid shirt. He's accompanied by a woman with short hair, also wearing sunglasses.

If it is Bulger and not just another look-alike, it would be the first confirmed sighting of the South Boston gangster since he was spotted in September 2002 strolling alone down a busy street near Piccadilly Circus in London.

The FBI didn't disclose the circumstances of how the video and photos were shot or whether the person approached the couple, but law enforcement officials said they were taken by a DEA agent who was on vacation.

In a press release issued this morning, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office said an individual had observed a couple believed to be the fugitive and his girlfriend and videotaped them.

"A facial recognition analysis was conducted and proved to be inconclusive," Sullivan's release said.

Italian law enforcement authorities, the DEA, and members of the Bulger Task Force, comprised of investigators from the FBI, Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, have not been able to rule out the possibility that the picture shows Bulger and Greig.

Investigators were unable to resolve whether it was the couple even after interviewing their former associates and showing them the photos, according to Sullivan's office.

"Therefore, law enforcement is interested in speaking with anyone who was visiting the area of Italy during the months of March, April and May 2007 and may have observed or had contact with the two individuals in the photograph and video," Sullivan's press release said.

"Some people are saying, 'Absolutely that's him,' and others are saying, 'I don't think that's him at all,'" said Bamford. However, he added, investigators who have been tracking Bulger for years agree it's "a very good look-alike, probaby the best they've seen in a very long time."

After the reported sighting, Bamford said, Italian authorities helped investigators from Boston try to locate the couple with "some good-old fashioned detective work," searching hotels, marinas, bars, ferries and other areas throughout the country. Bamford said there was no audio of the couple so it was unknown if they are American.

"They weren't able to develop any logical leads for us," Bamford said. "Now we're all at a dead end here and it's time to put the video and pictures out to the public."

Bulger, a longtime FBI informant, was warned to flee just before his January 1995 federal racketeering indictment in Boston by his former handler, retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. Bulger has eluded authorities ever since, despite a worldwide manhunt. Since he fled, he's been charged with 19 murders. The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to his capture.

Three months before his indictment, Bulger took a European vacation, stopping in Venice and London and Dublin, according to the FBI. The FBI has scoured the world to investigate reported sightings that were later eliminated as look-alikes in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Connolly was convicted in 2002 of racketeering and obstruction of justice for protecting Bulger from prosecution and is serving 10 years in prison. The former agent is also awaiting trial in Florida on charges that he helped Bulger and fellow informant, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, orchestrate a 1982 gangland slaying.

My opinion, it resembles him, but I don't think it is him. The female doesn't look like the Elizabeth Grieg (or whatever) at all. I vote.....no.

[Chris Billings]

The man in the video does resemble Whitey, age, height and neat appearance (Whitey likes finer clothes and keeps himself in good shape) The problem I have is with the woman. She looks much older than Grieg's 56 years IMO. It would be interesting to hear what to Bulger's former associates think.

Has anyone spoken to Whitey's top henchman?? I wonder what Steve Flemmi and Kevin Weeks have to say about this latest sighting???

[Janice]

http://bostonherald.com/news/opinion...icleid=1031617


Ear this: Mr. X matches serial killer to a hair
By Howie Carr

It’s definitely Whitey - unless it’s Tom Reilly.

If you’ve only studied the still photos the FBI put out yesterday of a silver-haired couple photographed in Italy this spring, check out the video.

This guy, whoever he is, carries himself the way Whitey used to. A certain menace in his gait - I hesitate to say serial-killer menace, but he’s definitely someone who appears to be on guard. Why would a regular old-fashioned American tourist care who the hell was videotaping him in Taormina?

One of the early posters on the Herald message board yesterday complained that our man in Sicily has too much hair. But that’s the point - it’s a combover. It’s designed to make it appear that you have more hair than you do. In the old days, when Whitey was loitering outside the South Boston Liquor Mart, he combed it straight back, in the traditional, working-class gangster ’do.

Changing hairstyle is the quickest way to disguise your appearance. The Tom Reilly look makes him appear to be a middle-class retiree - Tom Reilly, in other words. Combing across your head screams middle class. It’s the way Brother Billy, always the striver, parts his hair.

Check out Mr. X’s right ear in the still. Then go to the 1953 mugshot that’s posted online (it’s also in my book, “The Brothers Bulger”). I’m no ear expert, but cops say there is definitely a similarity in the two photos, taken 54 years apart.

If it’s Whitey, then that’s Catherine Greig. She’s 56, and looks 10 years older. That’s the bad news. The good news is, she certainly hasn’t let the tension of almost 13 years on the lam affect her appetite.

And if this is Catherine, it answers another question - whether Whitey killed her, just because he enjoyed killing women, preferably by strangling them.

That’s not a bad argument, but the fact is, he is 78, and not exactly in robust condition (some cops have seen a hearing aid) in the photos. He had a heart condition even before he fled at the end of 1994, and he needs someone to go down to the pharmacy - or is it an apothecary where he now lives? - to pick up his medicine. Plus, an elderly couple doesn’t look nearly as suspicious as one creepy old pedophile traveling alone. To quote Jim Morrison, “People are strange when you’re a stranger. Faces look ugly when you’re alone.”

If it’s Whitey, this also confirms the suspicions that he’s probably been in Europe all along, traveling on an EU passport. Forget those false alarms in Thailand and Uruguay. He’s pulled a Michael Corleone - he fled to Sicily, just like the Godfather. Just one more zig when he might have zagged - an Irishman heading to Italy.

I first heard about these photos two weeks ago. I was talking with a guy who’d been threatened by Whitey more than once. Out of the blue, he mentioned that two cops had stopped by his workplace a couple of days earlier and showed him a picture.

“It was him,” he said. “I’d know that (expletive) anywhere.”

You swear? I said. You swear the cops showed you a picture, and it was him.

“I swear on my children’s heads,” he said.

God, I hope he’s right. Think of my book sales.

[kadrmas15]

You know, that new photo and video of Whitey or a guy that supposedly was Whitey, that was taken in Italy, that did look like him. Did you notice how the guy that was supposed to be Whitey, how he would look away from the camera whenever it was pointed at him? You could tell that the guy didnt like the camera being on him at all, it did look like Whitey and his girlfriend. If you go to www.amw.com you can actually see the video that was taken of them in Italy, I do agree with others here though, while the man looks a lot like Whitey, the woman doesnt really resemble Whitey's girlfriend, she looks older and if that is her, she has no offense to anyone by the way, but she has plumped out.

[DP1]

It looks like him but you never know. It's amazing that Bulger has been able at his age to stay one step ahead of the world. They've literally been chasing him through Europe for years.