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September 14, 2007

Was gangster Whitey Bulger spotted in Italy?

MA Where's Whitey.JPG AP Photo/FBI
The FBI wants to know if the people in this photograph are fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger and his longtime girlfriend.

BOSTON -- The FBI today released photographs and a videotape taken in Italy in April that show a man and woman who resemble fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger - one of the agency's 10 Most Wanted - and his longtime girlfriend.

(Read more about Bulger and see video on the FBI's Web site.)

A facial recognition analysis to determine if the photos were Bulger, 77, and girlfriend Catherine Greig, 56, was inconclusive, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Authorities also questioned the couple's associates, but still couldn't determine if the photos were Bulger and Greig.

The video was taken on April 10 in Taormina, an Italian city on the island of Sicily, by someone who thought they recognized the fugitives. Authorities now want to speak with anyone who visited that area in March, April, or May 2007 and may have seen Bulger and Greig.

-- The Associated Press

The possible Bulger sighting was first reported in May by Providence television station WPRI and The Boston Globe.

WPRI in Providence, R.I., reported that a source gave the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration two photographs taken in Italy, showing a man and a woman who bear a resemblance to Bulger and Greig. The DEA turned the evidence over to the Bulger Task Force, based in Boston. FBI agents went to Italy to investigate.

Bulger, the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang who also an FBI informant, fled just before he was indicted on racketeering charges in 1995. He is charged in 19 murders.

Bulger planned for life on the run by leaving cash in safe deposit boxes around the world. Safe deposit boxes believed used by Bulger have been discovered in Florida, Ireland, England and Canada and authorities believe there are more out there.

Authorities have received hundreds of tips about possible Bulger sightings in more than a dozen countries.

The last confirmed sighting, according to the FBI, was in London in September 2002. Many of the sightings have turned out to be Bulger lookalikes.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 10:24 AM | Permalink

Comments

If he's 77 and the FBI hasn't caught him yet; I doubt they ever will. His elusive nature makes for good reading.

thomas | September 14, 2007 10:54 AM link

A Mafia figure in Sicily? Sounds about right.

J-Dog | September 14, 2007 12:15 PM link

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