Notes from Day 35 of the Whitey Bulger trial
08/02/2013
Day 35 of the James J. Bulger Trial
Moakley Federal Courthouse, Boston MA.
3:05 am
I arrive at the courthouse and take the #3 spot in line. Ahead of me is Veronica from my two previous days and a woman named Cara. #4 then arrives behind me. His name is Andrew. He tells me he used to be a story assignment editor for one of the local TV stations. We all talk about the case.
4:00 am
Veronica has her DVD player again and this time she plays “Throw Mama From The Train”. She puts it on the ground in front of us all. Billy Crystal looks young.
4:16 am
The rest of the first ten arrive. #9 & #10 Jump out of a car and run over to the line. A father and his son are here from St. Louis. Another man is a retired crime reporter from Montreal. He tells us about a mineral rights lawyer from Oklahoma who was a there here a few days before. He says that he knew an astounding amount of information about the case and Bulger’s history. The ex-reporter says that he asked the man what were FBI agent John Connolly’s three nicknames. “Zip, Elvis and Neighbor” the man from Oklahoma answered quickly. My friend Chris who attended the trial two days earlier told me about this guy. He told him that he had become a Bulger pen pal writing to him soon after he was captured. He said that he had 4 or 5 letters from Bulger. He said that they were always signed “Jim”.
5:00 am
12 people are now on line. A reporter fro WCVB Channel 5 comes by and asks to interview me. I politely pass as I am taking another day off from work for unexplained reasons.
5:30 am
It starts to drizzle. The line’s orderliness goes out the window as everybody comes underneath the front entrance to escape the rain. It soon starts coming down really hard.
5:50 am
The sun starts to come out. The streetlights switch off.
7:30 am
We are let into the courthouse five at a time and led right through security. The five of us run to the elevators and quickly start hitting the door close button. We get to the 5th floor ready to sprint to the list at the courtroom door but the hallway is empty. We casually walk the rest of the way.
8:15 am
We are let into the courtroom. Steve Davis and the Donahue family are present. Andrew and sit by the isle. We’ve been talking about the case and Bulger in general for the last couple of hours. He’s more knowledgeable than most of the people you meet on line.
8:30 am
Bulger atty. Hank Brennan enters the courtroom. Andrew tells me that I need to google the photo of Jackie Bulger wearing a fake mustache for a fake id photo for Whitey.
8:37 am
JW Carney enters the courtroom.
8:45 am
James J. Bulger enters the courtroom. His niece and a tall man are seated in the Bulger family row. Bulger acknowledges them.
8:46 am
Hank Brennan & Bulger share a chuckle at the defense table.
8:50 am
Judge Denise J. Casper deals with some motions. Carney states that they have decided to forfeit the 800k that was found in his apartment. Carney says that they would like the money to go to the families that had their awarded judgment taken away from them. This is huge. Carney then says that they want to meet with Bulger in the confidential meeting rooms during recess to speak about whether Bulger will take the stand. Andrew tells me that this is a sign that he will be taking the stand.
9:00 am
The jury enters the courtroom. Brennan & Bulger talk. Bulger holds up his yellow legal pad to hide their conversation.
9:05 am
JW Carney calls Mrs. Desi Sideropolous. She has been the chief secretary at the Boston FBI office for over sixty years. Served under 18 SACs. Carney asks her how dictation is taken. Mrs. Sideropolous doesn’t know where the voice is coming from. Carney has to wave his hands from the podium so she can see where to respond to. She finds him and tells him that it is done by hand and not by Dictaphone. Carney leads her into telling how the SAC used to have a safe in his office. SACs do not have safe anymore. Carney is showing her the same report by SAC Sarhatt in three different versions. Mrs. Sideropolous comes across very cute in a feisty grandma way. Her Boston accent is thick. Carney shows her another version of the same document. She quickly says out loud, “That’s not my IBM” meaning she didn’t type that version. Carney asks how long SACs stayed in the Boston office. “About three years.” Carney then leads her to say that an incoming SAC told her to destroy the report at hand, “because if I didn’t that we all would get fired.”
9:40 am
Side bar is called. The white noise is played.
9:44 am
Bulger has two sets of glasses on the defense table. He continues to keep his head down and writes on his yellow legal pad.
9:46 am
The Prosecution moves to cross-examine. Prosecutor is showing Mrs. Sideropolous the same four versions of the document. I decide to run to the restroom. On the way back I see John Martorano approaching the courtroom door ahead of me. He’s dressed to the nines. He stands at the door waiting to be called. I approach the door and notice that Martorano is 3-4 inches shorter than me. I re-enter the courtroom and JW Carney is objecting to every question the prosecution is asking. He comically gets up out of his seat and raises both hands over his head and objects again.
9:55 am
Mrs. Sideropolous is excused after the prosecutor doesn’t really get anywhere with her.
9:57 am
Sidebar is called.
10:00 am
JW Carney begins reading Marion Hussey’s testimony from a prior appearance. She is too ill to appear in court. The judge instructs the jury on how to regard this evidence. Hussey talks about how Deborah was a troubled girl. Flemmi was always bad mouthing Deborah calling her a slut a whore and a drug addict. Marion Hussey later kicked Flemmi out of the house. She tells how she was arguing about Deborah with Flemmi about her general drugged up state. Says Flemmi was slapping Deborah around in front of her. Deborah yelled out to Marion that she had been “sucking his prick for years.” Marion left the room in shock. As she was leaving Deborah said to her, “Mom I’m not lying.” Marion said to her, “I believe you.” Hussey told Flemmi to remove all of his belongings from the house. He did so the next day.
10:15 am
John Martorano is called to the witness stand. He enters the courtroom and walks right past me. His dapper look is crowned with a pair of swishy looking sunglasses that an older woman from Boca Raton might be wearing. JW carney leads Martorano towards the death of Debra Davis.
10:17am
Side bar is called after the prosecution objects three times. Martorano sits and stares at Bulger. Bulger does not return the gaze and just continues writing on his yellow pad. Atty. Brennan watches Martorano over Bulger. Martorano patiently waits.
10:20 am
Martorano says he used to socialize with Flemmi and Debra Davis. Martorano says that he asked Flemmi how Davis was doing. Flemmi told him that she wasn’t coming back and that he strangled her. The prosecution is constantly objecting. Martorano says that Flemmi told him that he strangled her and that it was an accident.
10:25 am
Wyshak cross-examines and gets him to agree that he wasn’t present when she was killed.
10:26 am
Carney leads him to say that he asked Flemmi how you strangle someone by accident. Carney approaches and hands Martorano a previous deposition of his. To read it, Martorano takes off his Boca sunglasses and pulls out a pair of humble reading glasses. After he finishes reading the document he replaces the Boca sunglasses. Martorano says that Flemmi never answered his question.
10:28 am
Wyshak asks Martorano who Flemmi’s criminal partner was at the time of Debra Davis’s death. Martorano answers “Whitey.”
John Martorano on the stand again.
10:29 am
20 min. recess is called.
10:50 am
JW Carney asks his wife, son & daughter to step outside of the courtroom.
10:51 am
JW Carney and his family return.
10:53 am
Judge Casper returns and begins discussing some matters continued from earlier.
10:55 am
JW Carney states that the defense will rest. Many people in the gallery are looking at each other in disappointment. The judge asks Bulger why he’s decided not to testify. Bulger stands and speaks! (After following Bulger’s exploits for some 23 years I am finally now witness to seeing and hearing him speak) Bulger tells the judge that he was promised immunity from Jeremiah O’Sullivan for saving his life. He says that “the whole trial is a sham and you can do what you want with me.” Before he is even finished Patricia Donahue, widow of Michael Donahue, who was an innocent bystander in the murder of Brian Halloran, yells from her seat, “You’re a coward!” A Bailiff comes over to quiet her but really doesn’t even confront her.
11:00 am
The jury is about to be lead back in. Bulger is in conversation with both of his attorneys. The judge is instructing the jury before dismissing them.
11:05 am
The jury is dismissed. The judge is going over the formalities of the defense resting its case.
11:10 am
Judge Casper starts reading off all of the charges against Bulger. Carney holds up a legal pad to shield their conversation before the judge. The list of charges is rather long and detailed. Carney is again blocking their conversation with a legal pad. More and more descriptions of charges, on and on and on. “Bookmaking, loansharking, extortion… various co-conspirators… murders perpetrated to protect the Winter Hill organization… various crimes including murder”
11:20 am
Prosecutor Wyshak gets up and pleads for the court to make sure JW Carney doesn’t talk to the press. Carney agrees and says he has always complied with the courts order and will continue to comply. Wyshak immediately retorts that he has spoken and did so yesterday.
11:27 am
Wyshak is asking for more time for his closing remarks. Judge Casper allows him 15 more minutes to the already 3 hours allotted.
11:35 am
Bulger is lead out of the courtroom. Andrew who is seated next to me tells me that he thinks Bulger looked teary eyed when he looked at his niece on the family bench before he left the courtroom. I didn’t see it.
11:50am
Outside the courtroom I see State Policeman Tom Foley talking to a group of people and Boston mob lawyer Anthony Cardinale. It feels like they are all semi-celebrating the end of this story. Moods are high amongst all of the contributors to this trial.
11:55 am
I notice T.J. English, author of “The Westies” outside the courthouse and strike up a conversation. He tells me that he’s working on a book about the trial. He tells me that he’s been there for every day of the trial. I ask him if he was surprised that Bulger did not testify. He tells me that he won quite a few bets on the matter. I tell him about the man from Oklahoma who had attended the trial the previous day who said he had exchanged letters with Bulger. He tells me that he also wrote to Bulger but that he never responded to any of his letters. English then tells me that he introduced himself to Bulger’s attorney Hank Brennan. Brennan said he was very pleased to meet him and that his client had required he read “The Westies” before the trial began. I tell English that is an excellent compliment. We talk about the trial. English tells me that he doesn’t think that Bulger and Flemmi were really friends beyond their business relationship. I’m not sure what I think about that. JW Carney exits the courthouse and approaches the press to make a statement. Both of us get closer to listen.
12:10 pm
After Carney is finished with his main comment he is doing an interview with a reporter to the side. His daughter and I start talking. I tell her I’ve seen her at the trial on previous days with an entourage. She laughs and says, “yeah, well you know…” I finish her sentence, “if my father were defending a huge case like this I’d be there every day too.” She laughs and says, “This is pretty historic.” She’s very nice and we say a few more things before her father calls to her to leave with him after finishing an interview.
12:45 pm
I meet my Friend Thos for lunch down the street from the courthouse at Louis. It’s on the second floor and has a nice view of the harbor. I see the Donahue family seated at a big table out on the deck. They are lifting their glasses in a toast.
There I am in the blue shirt standing between T.J. English, author of The Westies holding out his audio recorder and Joe Berlinger, director of Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger shooting with his video camera.
Here is the NECN report that I took this frame from.
http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=90017&sitesection=bostonherald&VID=24992535
Here is the docket for the day.
