Whitey Bulger transferred to federal prison in Oklahoma
Former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger was moved to a federal
prison in Oklahoma on Monday, although a prosecutor there said officials
haven't yet decided whether to try him for a 1981 murder in Tulsa.
It appeared to be a coincidence that the 84-year-old gangster was taken
from Brooklyn, N.Y., to FTC Oklahoma City, a transfer point that houses
inmates as they are moved between prisons. Chris Burke, a spokesman for
the federal Bureau of Prisons, would not say where Bulger is ultimately
headed, citing Bureau of Prisons policy.
Tulsa County First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said
Tuesday his office did not know Bulger was being transferred to Oklahoma
City, and referred inquiries to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
"If he is in Oklahoma, we had no knowledge of that," Drummond said in an
email to The Associated Press. "I think BOP would be the agency to
address that. No connection as far as I am aware."
Drummond said prosecutors are still discussing whether to move forward
with a murder case against Bulger in the 1981 killing of businessman
Roger Wheeler.
Wheeler, the owner of World Jai Alai, suspected Bulger's group of
skimming money from the business, and he was shot between the eyes at a
Tulsa country club. Ex-hit man John Martorano testified at Bulger's
trial that he was the shooter.
Last month, Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris told the Tulsa
World that prosecutors would take into consideration Bulger's federal
sentence as they decide whether to try him.
Wheeler's daughter, Pam, has said she didn't want Bulger extradited to Tulsa, saying it would be a waste of taxpayer money.
"It took this long to come to a partial resolution. Just let it end there," she told the Tulsa World in August.
Federal prosecutors in Boston, Bulger's attorneys and Wheeler's son and
his attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Spokesmen for the U.S. Marshals Service in Oklahoma City and Tulsa said
they had no information on why Bulger was transferred.
Bulger was moved out of Massachusetts in November.
A federal judge in Boston last week ordered Bulger to pay $6 million in
restitution to Wheeler's family. The mobster previously was ordered to
pay $19.5 million in restitution to his other victims' families and
forfeit $25 million to the government.
Investigators found $822,000 in cash stashed in his apartment walls when
he was caught in Santa Monica, Calif., after more than 16 years on the
run.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/boston-gangster-bulger-transferred-okla-21245112
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