Veteran organized crime reporter George Anastasia reviewed two books about Boston Irish mob boss Whitey Bulger, who is currently on trial for murder and other crimes, in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It was supposed to be the FBI's "dream team," two high-level informants in position to provide chapter and verse about the workings of the Boston underworld.
This was at a time, the early 1970s, when FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had finally decided that the Mafia did exist. And so he put out the word that bringing down that criminal organization was a priority and developing informants who could aid the bureau in that pursuit was paramount.
Paul Rico, a veteran agent in the Boston office, was a master at developing snitches. James "Whitey" Bulger and Steve "The Rifleman" Flemmi would be two of his best. But that dream team proved to be the FBI's biggest nightmare.
The story of how rogue FBI agents gave Bulger and Flemmi license to kill and how Bulger became the target of a 16-year manhunt is told in detail in two books by Boston journalists who have chronicled the saga in countless newspaper articles.
You can read the rest of the review via the below link:
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/20130602_The_Whitey_Bulger__opera_.html
You can also read my Washington Times review of Whitey: The life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss via the below link:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/13/whitey-bulgers-horrific-crime-span/
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