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The Whitey Bulger trial has begun in Boston.
Bulger, whose real name is James Joseph Bulger, Jr., is portrayed as one of Boston’s most notorious Mob figures. Federal prosecutors have indicted Bulger for 19 murders. Associate Kevin Weeks has testified Bulger claimed he had "killed 40 men" in his life. After disappearing for nearly two decades, Bulger was arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California on June 22, 2011.
On Thursday, jurors were shown an arsenal of what was said to be Bulger’s weapons of choice. These included machine guns.
From the Associated Press:
Retired state police Col. Thomas Foley identified weapons hidden in several locations during a 2000 investigation, including in a shed behind a South Boston home owned by the mother of Bulger's partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi. When investigators searched the shed, they found just one handgun, but later, Flemmi's son led them to a house in Somerville and a storage facility in Florida where investigators say the guns had been moved.
Foley slowly and methodically identified dozens of guns through photographs. But prosecutor Fred Wyshak also pulled out six machine guns — one at a time — and asked Foley to identify them.
Foley said Bulger's gang collected fees known as "rent" or "tribute" from bookmakers, drug dealers and others to allow them to operate within their territory.
"What were the consequences of not paying a fee?" Wyshak asked.
Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
