Friends of ours: James "Whitey" Bulger
The Tulsa Police hopes a piece of Hollywood will finally end a murder case that began 25 years ago.
The movie, "The Departed" opened Friday in theatres and stars Jack Nicholson playing an Irish Mafia boss in Boston. That character is based on real life Irish mobster, Whitey Bulger.
Bulger has been on the run since 1995 when corrupt FBI agents warned him he was about to be indicted. Tulsa Police want him in connection with the mob murder of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler in May of 1981.
They hope this movie will lead someone to turn Bulger in. Tulsa Police Sgt. Mike Huff: "We would love to see him captured. It'd be wonderful to finally put this thing to an end. I have never seen a case that has drug on this long. It changed a lot of people's lives." Bulger has a $1-million price tag on his head and is on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive list.
Police say he was spotted in Oklahoma as recently as three years ago, at the Luvs in Henryetta.
Showing posts with label Whitey Bulger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whitey Bulger. Show all posts
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Long Before the Mafia, There Was the Irish Mob - PADDY WHACKED on The History Channel
Once called the "National Scourge," "The Shame of the Cities" and "The White Man's Burden," the Irish Mob rose from hellish beginnings to establish itself as the first crime syndicate in the United States. From "Old Smoke" Morrissey to "Whitey" Bulger, a parade of characters used ruthlessness, guile, and the diabolical power trio of "Gangster, Politician, and Lawman" to rise to power in the underworld. Their 150-year legacy of corruption is chronicled in the new special from The History Channel, PADDY WHACKED, a world premiere Friday, March 17 at 8 pm ET/PT on The History Channel.
After the devastating mid 19th century potato famine killed nearly a third of Ireland's population, the Irish looked across the ocean to America for salvation and opportunity. They arrived in New York City in droves, starving, destitute, determined ... and loathed by native New Yorkers. Gang wars soon enveloped the streets, and from the chaos rose the first mob boss, James "Old Smoke" Morrissey, as proprietor of gambling joints, saloons, and whore houses who aligned himself with the corrupt power corridors of Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed. Soon, the Irish carried the dubious distinction of dominating the lower rungs of the immigrant ladder. For the next century-and-a-half, they rose and found power and glory in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Hollywood, before being done in by Italian foes, infighting, and eventually the law. PADDY WHACKED is the story of a long rise to power and a violent and bloody collapse, with a steady drumbeat of unforgettable characters along the way.
Highlights of PADDY WHACKED include:
* Re-creations of the early New York City gang wars made famous in
Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York.
* "King" Mike McDonald's efforts to establish the Irish Mob in Chicago,
under the philosophy of "There's a sucker born every minute" and
"Never steal anything big, the small stuff is safer," and the
portrayal of the mobster as "the man behind the man."
* The rise of bootlegging as a primary source of income for the Irish
Mob during Prohibition, an effort led by Dean O'Banion in Chicago and
Owney Madden in New York.
* The first glorification of the Irish mobster in Hollywood films
starring James Cagney.
* The arrival of ruthless foes like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer
Lansky, who wipe out Irish bosses by the dozen as the mafia rises to
power, while government foes such as FDR and Thomas E. Dewey doggedly
struggle to end corruption in the United States.
* The legitimization of the Irish in the upper levels of American
society crests in the 1950s and 1960s as Irish gangsters begin to take
over legitimate businesses. The son of upper-crust Irishman Joseph
Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, is elected President of the United States
after a multitude of back-channel dealing seals his Democratic Party
nomination.
* The JFK assassination signals the beginning of a murderous era of
bloodshed that leads to Wild West-style shootouts in Boston between
the Mullin Gang, the Winter Hill Gang, and the Charlestown Boys.
* James "Whitey" Bulger's rise as the last great Irish Boss is fueled by
protection from his state-senator brother and his best friend in the
FBI ... a shining example of the "Gangster, Politician, Lawman"
triumvirate that was so hard to crack. But even the untouchable Bulger
can't hide from the government's most powerful weapon, RICO.
Executive Producer for The History Channel is Carl H. Lindahl. PADDY WHACKED is produced for The History Channel by Joe Bink Films Inc.
After the devastating mid 19th century potato famine killed nearly a third of Ireland's population, the Irish looked across the ocean to America for salvation and opportunity. They arrived in New York City in droves, starving, destitute, determined ... and loathed by native New Yorkers. Gang wars soon enveloped the streets, and from the chaos rose the first mob boss, James "Old Smoke" Morrissey, as proprietor of gambling joints, saloons, and whore houses who aligned himself with the corrupt power corridors of Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed. Soon, the Irish carried the dubious distinction of dominating the lower rungs of the immigrant ladder. For the next century-and-a-half, they rose and found power and glory in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Hollywood, before being done in by Italian foes, infighting, and eventually the law. PADDY WHACKED is the story of a long rise to power and a violent and bloody collapse, with a steady drumbeat of unforgettable characters along the way.
Highlights of PADDY WHACKED include:
* Re-creations of the early New York City gang wars made famous in
Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York.
* "King" Mike McDonald's efforts to establish the Irish Mob in Chicago,
under the philosophy of "There's a sucker born every minute" and
"Never steal anything big, the small stuff is safer," and the
portrayal of the mobster as "the man behind the man."
* The rise of bootlegging as a primary source of income for the Irish
Mob during Prohibition, an effort led by Dean O'Banion in Chicago and
Owney Madden in New York.
* The first glorification of the Irish mobster in Hollywood films
starring James Cagney.
* The arrival of ruthless foes like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer
Lansky, who wipe out Irish bosses by the dozen as the mafia rises to
power, while government foes such as FDR and Thomas E. Dewey doggedly
struggle to end corruption in the United States.
* The legitimization of the Irish in the upper levels of American
society crests in the 1950s and 1960s as Irish gangsters begin to take
over legitimate businesses. The son of upper-crust Irishman Joseph
Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, is elected President of the United States
after a multitude of back-channel dealing seals his Democratic Party
nomination.
* The JFK assassination signals the beginning of a murderous era of
bloodshed that leads to Wild West-style shootouts in Boston between
the Mullin Gang, the Winter Hill Gang, and the Charlestown Boys.
* James "Whitey" Bulger's rise as the last great Irish Boss is fueled by
protection from his state-senator brother and his best friend in the
FBI ... a shining example of the "Gangster, Politician, Lawman"
triumvirate that was so hard to crack. But even the untouchable Bulger
can't hide from the government's most powerful weapon, RICO.
Executive Producer for The History Channel is Carl H. Lindahl. PADDY WHACKED is produced for The History Channel by Joe Bink Films Inc.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Bloom is Off Whitey's Rose
Friends of ours: James "Whitey" Bulger, Kevin Weeks, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi
Probably no one should be surprised that federal authorities would mark the anniversary of Whitey Bulger's disappearance in such a low-key fashion last week. There were no press conferences, no dramatic announcements or updates, just a three-paragraph release assuring the world that the FBI and other agencies remain on the case.
Bulger's former criminal protege, Kevin Weeks, theorized to the Globe's Shelley Murphy that Boston's most legendary mobster has been marooned in Europe since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which is probably as valid a theory as we're likely to hear. Weeks, after all, was the mobster's surrogate son.
There's something anticlimactic about these anniversaries, these nonupdates to one of the most dramatic tales in the city's recent history. If there's one thing James J. Bulger never was in his presence, it was monotonous. Yet that is exactly what he has become in his extended absence.
One thing has changed in his decade-plus on the lam: His cult of personality, the blood-soaked romance of his exploits, has utterly collapsed. Few kid themselves anymore that Bulger kept the drugs out of South Boston, or kept its streets safe with his unique brand of do-it-yourself justice. As that image has receded, as the keepers of the flame have faded away and 19 murder indictments are what's left of his legacy, Bulger has come to be seen for what he really is. If he's returned to Boston, it'll be as a serial killer - that's if there's a return at all, which has to be considered less likely than it was a decade ago.
Meanwhile, his exile has taken police on a wild ride from California to Chicago to Uruguay to New Zealand.
I've always been amused by the story of his brief, early-exile stay in Louisiana, where he befriended his neighbors and bought one couple a washing machine before his instincts told him it was time to move on. Just think: For him the ultimate disguise was as a nice guy.
As some predicted at the time of his last vanishing act, Bulger's everyman appearance has proved to be a nightmare for investigators. He has been sighted everywhere, and nowhere. On nearly every continent someone has thought they may have seen him, one dead end after another.
Coincidentally or not, his time in flight has been difficult for many of those close to him. His equally famous brother, William M. Bulger, has left politics and been driven from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts. Another brother, Jackie, is embroiled in a long fight to have his $65,000-a-year state pension restored after his convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. Former FBI agent John Connolly is serving time on a racketeering conviction, and has been indicted for murder. Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi is serving a life sentence and cooperating with the authorities. Weeks, who served five years in prison, is writing a book. When Whitey Bulger went down, a lot of people went with him.
Pity the poor investigators, chasing a man who has been hiding from the police for decades. If there is anyone who knows where and how to hide, it's him.
But that sympathy has to pale next to the suffering of the survivors of his many alleged victims. For them, anniversary is probably too cheery a word to describe these annual reminders of law enforcement futility.
Catching Whitey still matters, of course. Now that the world knows how he manipulated the FBI to facilitate his felonious career, and how thoroughly certain officials sold out their public trust on his behalf, we need the public accounting that only a trial can bring. And there's the more personal accounting, too. His victims -- the survivors of his victims are, themselves, victims -- deserve the day they can face him in court.
Not much is left in Boston of the mob culture that made Whitey Bulger possible. The whole notion has become an anachronism. One of the few remaining pieces is the search for Bulger. His capture will be its epilogue, and it can't come soon enough
Thanks to Adrian Walker
Probably no one should be surprised that federal authorities would mark the anniversary of Whitey Bulger's disappearance in such a low-key fashion last week. There were no press conferences, no dramatic announcements or updates, just a three-paragraph release assuring the world that the FBI and other agencies remain on the case.
Bulger's former criminal protege, Kevin Weeks, theorized to the Globe's Shelley Murphy that Boston's most legendary mobster has been marooned in Europe since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which is probably as valid a theory as we're likely to hear. Weeks, after all, was the mobster's surrogate son.
There's something anticlimactic about these anniversaries, these nonupdates to one of the most dramatic tales in the city's recent history. If there's one thing James J. Bulger never was in his presence, it was monotonous. Yet that is exactly what he has become in his extended absence.
One thing has changed in his decade-plus on the lam: His cult of personality, the blood-soaked romance of his exploits, has utterly collapsed. Few kid themselves anymore that Bulger kept the drugs out of South Boston, or kept its streets safe with his unique brand of do-it-yourself justice. As that image has receded, as the keepers of the flame have faded away and 19 murder indictments are what's left of his legacy, Bulger has come to be seen for what he really is. If he's returned to Boston, it'll be as a serial killer - that's if there's a return at all, which has to be considered less likely than it was a decade ago.
Meanwhile, his exile has taken police on a wild ride from California to Chicago to Uruguay to New Zealand.
I've always been amused by the story of his brief, early-exile stay in Louisiana, where he befriended his neighbors and bought one couple a washing machine before his instincts told him it was time to move on. Just think: For him the ultimate disguise was as a nice guy.
As some predicted at the time of his last vanishing act, Bulger's everyman appearance has proved to be a nightmare for investigators. He has been sighted everywhere, and nowhere. On nearly every continent someone has thought they may have seen him, one dead end after another.
Coincidentally or not, his time in flight has been difficult for many of those close to him. His equally famous brother, William M. Bulger, has left politics and been driven from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts. Another brother, Jackie, is embroiled in a long fight to have his $65,000-a-year state pension restored after his convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. Former FBI agent John Connolly is serving time on a racketeering conviction, and has been indicted for murder. Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi is serving a life sentence and cooperating with the authorities. Weeks, who served five years in prison, is writing a book. When Whitey Bulger went down, a lot of people went with him.
Pity the poor investigators, chasing a man who has been hiding from the police for decades. If there is anyone who knows where and how to hide, it's him.
But that sympathy has to pale next to the suffering of the survivors of his many alleged victims. For them, anniversary is probably too cheery a word to describe these annual reminders of law enforcement futility.
Catching Whitey still matters, of course. Now that the world knows how he manipulated the FBI to facilitate his felonious career, and how thoroughly certain officials sold out their public trust on his behalf, we need the public accounting that only a trial can bring. And there's the more personal accounting, too. His victims -- the survivors of his victims are, themselves, victims -- deserve the day they can face him in court.
Not much is left in Boston of the mob culture that made Whitey Bulger possible. The whole notion has become an anachronism. One of the few remaining pieces is the search for Bulger. His capture will be its epilogue, and it can't come soon enough
Thanks to Adrian Walker
Sunday, November 06, 2005
FBI Top 10 List
Friends of ours: James "Whitey"Bulger
As mentioned at Showtime's Brotherhood , Showtime is about to air a mob series that is inspired by the life of James "Whitey" Bulger, a Boston mobster. Bulger is currently on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List.
Charges include:
Additionally, Bulger is an avid reader with an interest in history. He is known to frequent libraries and historic sites. Bulger is currently on the heart medication Atenolol (50 mg) and maintains his physical fitness by walking on beaches and in parks with his female companion, Catherine Elizabeth Greig. Bulger and Greig love animals and may frequent animal shelters. Bulger has been known to alter his appearance through the use of disguises. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
He is CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
The full details and how you can help can be found at FBI Wants James Bulger
As mentioned at Showtime's Brotherhood , Showtime is about to air a mob series that is inspired by the life of James "Whitey" Bulger, a Boston mobster. Bulger is currently on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List.
JAMES J. BULGER IS BEING SOUGHT FOR HIS ROLE IN NUMEROUS MURDERS COMMITTED FROM THE EARLY 1970s THROUGH THE MID-1980s IN CONNECTION WITH HIS LEADERSHIP OF AN ORGANIZED CRIME GROUP THAT ALLEGEDLY CONTROLLED EXTORTION, DRUG DEALS, AND OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES IN THE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AREA. HE HAS A VIOLENT TEMPER AND IS KNOWN TO CARRY A KNIFE AT ALL TIMES.
Charges include:
RACKETEERING INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS (RICO) - MURDER (18 COUNTS), CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT EXTORTION, NARCOTICS DISTRIBUTION, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MONEY LAUNDERING; EXTORTION; and MONEY LAUNDERING
Additionally, Bulger is an avid reader with an interest in history. He is known to frequent libraries and historic sites. Bulger is currently on the heart medication Atenolol (50 mg) and maintains his physical fitness by walking on beaches and in parks with his female companion, Catherine Elizabeth Greig. Bulger and Greig love animals and may frequent animal shelters. Bulger has been known to alter his appearance through the use of disguises. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
He is CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
The full details and how you can help can be found at FBI Wants James Bulger
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Showtime's Brotherhood
An enraged construction worker will beat a mob leader to death with a shovel. A frustrated housewife will cheat on her politically prominent husband. A mother will hoard and then dispose of a stash of ill-gotten cash. And authorities will discreetly snap photos of known criminals, from a distance.
It's not ''The Sopranos," but it promises to be just as gritty. Yet on the cramped living-room set of ''Brotherhood," a TV series about the mob shooting in Providence for the cable network Showtime, the characters are making nice. It's the birthday of mobster protagonist Michael Caffee, who has just stepped into his mother's home with a female companion, unaware of pending events.
''Surprise!
" people shout as Caffee (played by Jason Isaacs) opens the front door.
Caffee, it appears, doesn't like surprises, especially when he's in the company of a woman everyone knows is married to someone else. The set is as silent as a tomb.
''Look what the cat dragged in," his mother, Rose (Fionnula Flanagan), says quietly.
''Ma," says Caffee in a warning tone. ''You remember Kath McCarthy, she's . . . a friend of mine?"
''How could I not?" Rose says. ''Happy birthday, Michael."
''Cut!" director Nick Gomez announces.
With just five months to go until the highly anticipated sixth season of HBO's ''Sopranos," Showtime is hustling to produce its own mob story. But executives don't want to stress the comparison. The network, in mobspeak, plans to come heavy with its own thing.
''Brotherhood" will follow the lives of an Irish mobster in Providence and his brother, a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives who is under a lot of pressure from his sibling's associates to bend the rules. The series, which is loaded with racial and socio-economic tensions, is inspired by the real-life brotherhood of Boston's William Bulger, the former state senator and university president, and James ''Whitey" Bulger, one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives. But the program, which was originally set in Boston and called ''Southie," is not biographical, its creator insists. ''I didn't want to do their story," says Blake Masters, executive producer, in an interview in his office here. ''The idea of telling a story through two brothers is just an interesting dynamic."
Clearly, the Caffee brothers are not the Bulgers, most notably because they live in Providence and aren't nearly as powerful in their respective circles as the Bulgers were. Michael Caffee was once in line to run the show locally but fell out of favor with the reigning crime boss because of an unauthorized killing. After seven years on the run for the murder, he's back in Providence to reclaim his territory. Tommy Caffee (Australian actor Jason Clarke) is his younger brother, a rising star in the state house whose link to Michael makes his professional life murky as underworld types lean on him for state-sponsored favors. Masters says he moved the series to Rhode Island because, in the wake of the Boston-based feature films ''Mystic River" and ''The Departed," Providence is ''less explored" terrain.
Now 29 years old, Showtime has struggled to define itself in the changing television landscape. Although it recently won its first Emmy (a supporting actress nod for Blythe Danner in ''Huff"), the network's original programming has been heavily niche-oriented (the African-American drama ''Soul Food," the gay-themed ''Queer as Folk") or has fizzled after early buzz (the comedy ''Fat Actress").
Now, though, Showtime may have momentum. ''Huff" will return next year as will ''Weeds," a comedy about a pot-dealing suburban widow, which has become the network's highest-rated show. In December, Showtime will premiere ''Sleeper Cell," a miniseries about a Muslim, African-American FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist cell in Los Angeles.
''Brotherhood" is expected to premiere in May or June.
''We are focused on critical acclaim and buzz and awards, more than on how many people are watching," says Robert Greenblatt, president of entertainment for Showtime, which has 13 million subscribers (HBO has 30 million). ''We want to air controversial, edgy subject matter and flawed characters that aren't allowed on broadcast television," he says. ''We only do a handful of shows a year, so each one has to be something you'd write home about."
The challenge for Showtime is getting viewers not to view the show as a takeoff on ''The Sopranos." ''It will never compare," Greenblatt says. ''We are in Mafia territory, but it's not the mainstay of the show. What's more interesting is to see a family where there are two brothers who have chosen very different paths. The good brother is in a business that is inherently bad [politics]. He has to do things for the greater good that aren't always completely upstanding. Conversely, the guy who wears the black hat [the mobster] actually does some incredibly benevolent things. It's the gray area of all of that that's most interesting."
Here on the set, which includes a nonworking kitchen with real canned beef stew on the stove, as well as faux marble hallways replicating the State House, playfulness is in the air. Idle crew members are hitting a ball with a bat in one corner of the warehouse while others are hovering around buffet tables loaded with cookies, cakes, and brownies.
''Jason! They have your [character's] business card in here with an address and everything," says Isaacs, 42, who is lounging in Tommy Caffee's state house office.
Clarke, who broke into Hollywood three years ago with ''Rabbit-Proof Fence," pops his head inside the office to glance at the cards before returning to business. The 36-year-old actor has been doing extensive research on the Bulgers and Rhode Island politics to prepare for his role. He met with a number of legislators, including the real-life Rhode Island Speaker of the House William Murphy. Clarke also sat in on a few House committee meetings.
''I know every politician in the state," he brags. Murphy has even advised Clarke on what to wear to church in the series. ''They wanted me to wear a suit, but Bill said that's too dressy. A sweater and khakis pants is better," Clarke says.
True to his character, Clarke, who says he was apathetic growing up in Australia, is conflicted about the gray nature of politics in his scripts. ''I'm always thinking, 'This is really dodgy mate. Is this right or wrong?' "
British-born Isaacs, who stopped production briefly in September after his wife gave birth to their second child here, is less concerned about Michael's soul. ''What's criminal?" he says. ''In England, you can bet on when the queen is going to die and that's perfectly legal. . . . If you think the whole system is corrupt, then living outside of it makes perfect sense."
Upstairs in his office, Masters is tinkering with his story lines as he prepares for a read-through of the next day's script with the cast. Greenblatt will listen in via telephone from Los Angeles. For the 34-year-old producer, this show is more than just entertainment. It's a chance to look at a bygone era when ward-style politics dominated immigrant neighborhoods in cities such as Chicago and New York and corruption was king.
''Although those cities have rooted out a lot of the bad, there were good things that were lost too," he says. ''We lost a personal connection to our local politicians. The idea that when a family member died, your politician would come by the house and make sure that you had money for the funeral."
Masters calls that political behavior ''ancient history" in Boston. Rhode Island, he adds, is a different story. ''Rhode Island is referred to as the world's biggest high school . . . Many of the cops, criminals, priests, and lawyers all went to the same schools, they attend the same churches, their wives exchange recipes. I want to explore the contradictions in those relationships -- the idea that the guy who played softball with you in high school is the guy responsible for arresting you today."
As a backdrop, Masters will portray the angst of lower-middle class Irish ''getting squeezed" by the influx of Southeast Asians, Latinos, and yuppies bent on gentrification. Reacting to racial stereotypes and economic pressures, some of his Irish characters will lash out in ugly ways, he says. ''I want your skin to crawl. I want you to be repelled by it. We want you to be horrified by these nice, sweet people who are nice one day, talking about baseball. Then they bash someone's head in and then go back to talking about baseball."
Kevin Chapman, who grew up in Dorchester, is all for the bashing scenes. Just back from filming Clint Eastwood's film ''Flags of Our Fathers," the actor is excited to play the cocky and portly mob boss Freddie Cork . ''It's fun to get dark and almost diabolical," says the actor. ''My character runs the neighborhood. I'm in charge."
''Quiet!" a nearby crew member yells as Chapman chats away. ''We're shooting."
On the set today, Gomez -- not Chapman -- is in charge. And the birthday party is over. ''We're moving on," Gomez announces, signaling to the crew to set up for the next scene.
It's Showtime's hope that viewers will move along with him.
Thanks to Suzanne C. Ryan
It's not ''The Sopranos," but it promises to be just as gritty. Yet on the cramped living-room set of ''Brotherhood," a TV series about the mob shooting in Providence for the cable network Showtime, the characters are making nice. It's the birthday of mobster protagonist Michael Caffee, who has just stepped into his mother's home with a female companion, unaware of pending events.
''Surprise!
" people shout as Caffee (played by Jason Isaacs) opens the front door.Caffee, it appears, doesn't like surprises, especially when he's in the company of a woman everyone knows is married to someone else. The set is as silent as a tomb.
''Look what the cat dragged in," his mother, Rose (Fionnula Flanagan), says quietly.
''Ma," says Caffee in a warning tone. ''You remember Kath McCarthy, she's . . . a friend of mine?"
''How could I not?" Rose says. ''Happy birthday, Michael."
''Cut!" director Nick Gomez announces.
With just five months to go until the highly anticipated sixth season of HBO's ''Sopranos," Showtime is hustling to produce its own mob story. But executives don't want to stress the comparison. The network, in mobspeak, plans to come heavy with its own thing.
''Brotherhood" will follow the lives of an Irish mobster in Providence and his brother, a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives who is under a lot of pressure from his sibling's associates to bend the rules. The series, which is loaded with racial and socio-economic tensions, is inspired by the real-life brotherhood of Boston's William Bulger, the former state senator and university president, and James ''Whitey" Bulger, one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives. But the program, which was originally set in Boston and called ''Southie," is not biographical, its creator insists. ''I didn't want to do their story," says Blake Masters, executive producer, in an interview in his office here. ''The idea of telling a story through two brothers is just an interesting dynamic."
Clearly, the Caffee brothers are not the Bulgers, most notably because they live in Providence and aren't nearly as powerful in their respective circles as the Bulgers were. Michael Caffee was once in line to run the show locally but fell out of favor with the reigning crime boss because of an unauthorized killing. After seven years on the run for the murder, he's back in Providence to reclaim his territory. Tommy Caffee (Australian actor Jason Clarke) is his younger brother, a rising star in the state house whose link to Michael makes his professional life murky as underworld types lean on him for state-sponsored favors. Masters says he moved the series to Rhode Island because, in the wake of the Boston-based feature films ''Mystic River" and ''The Departed," Providence is ''less explored" terrain.
Now 29 years old, Showtime has struggled to define itself in the changing television landscape. Although it recently won its first Emmy (a supporting actress nod for Blythe Danner in ''Huff"), the network's original programming has been heavily niche-oriented (the African-American drama ''Soul Food," the gay-themed ''Queer as Folk") or has fizzled after early buzz (the comedy ''Fat Actress").
Now, though, Showtime may have momentum. ''Huff" will return next year as will ''Weeds," a comedy about a pot-dealing suburban widow, which has become the network's highest-rated show. In December, Showtime will premiere ''Sleeper Cell," a miniseries about a Muslim, African-American FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist cell in Los Angeles.
''Brotherhood" is expected to premiere in May or June.
''We are focused on critical acclaim and buzz and awards, more than on how many people are watching," says Robert Greenblatt, president of entertainment for Showtime, which has 13 million subscribers (HBO has 30 million). ''We want to air controversial, edgy subject matter and flawed characters that aren't allowed on broadcast television," he says. ''We only do a handful of shows a year, so each one has to be something you'd write home about."
The challenge for Showtime is getting viewers not to view the show as a takeoff on ''The Sopranos." ''It will never compare," Greenblatt says. ''We are in Mafia territory, but it's not the mainstay of the show. What's more interesting is to see a family where there are two brothers who have chosen very different paths. The good brother is in a business that is inherently bad [politics]. He has to do things for the greater good that aren't always completely upstanding. Conversely, the guy who wears the black hat [the mobster] actually does some incredibly benevolent things. It's the gray area of all of that that's most interesting."
Here on the set, which includes a nonworking kitchen with real canned beef stew on the stove, as well as faux marble hallways replicating the State House, playfulness is in the air. Idle crew members are hitting a ball with a bat in one corner of the warehouse while others are hovering around buffet tables loaded with cookies, cakes, and brownies.
''Jason! They have your [character's] business card in here with an address and everything," says Isaacs, 42, who is lounging in Tommy Caffee's state house office.
Clarke, who broke into Hollywood three years ago with ''Rabbit-Proof Fence," pops his head inside the office to glance at the cards before returning to business. The 36-year-old actor has been doing extensive research on the Bulgers and Rhode Island politics to prepare for his role. He met with a number of legislators, including the real-life Rhode Island Speaker of the House William Murphy. Clarke also sat in on a few House committee meetings.
''I know every politician in the state," he brags. Murphy has even advised Clarke on what to wear to church in the series. ''They wanted me to wear a suit, but Bill said that's too dressy. A sweater and khakis pants is better," Clarke says.
True to his character, Clarke, who says he was apathetic growing up in Australia, is conflicted about the gray nature of politics in his scripts. ''I'm always thinking, 'This is really dodgy mate. Is this right or wrong?' "
British-born Isaacs, who stopped production briefly in September after his wife gave birth to their second child here, is less concerned about Michael's soul. ''What's criminal?" he says. ''In England, you can bet on when the queen is going to die and that's perfectly legal. . . . If you think the whole system is corrupt, then living outside of it makes perfect sense."
Upstairs in his office, Masters is tinkering with his story lines as he prepares for a read-through of the next day's script with the cast. Greenblatt will listen in via telephone from Los Angeles. For the 34-year-old producer, this show is more than just entertainment. It's a chance to look at a bygone era when ward-style politics dominated immigrant neighborhoods in cities such as Chicago and New York and corruption was king.
''Although those cities have rooted out a lot of the bad, there were good things that were lost too," he says. ''We lost a personal connection to our local politicians. The idea that when a family member died, your politician would come by the house and make sure that you had money for the funeral."
Masters calls that political behavior ''ancient history" in Boston. Rhode Island, he adds, is a different story. ''Rhode Island is referred to as the world's biggest high school . . . Many of the cops, criminals, priests, and lawyers all went to the same schools, they attend the same churches, their wives exchange recipes. I want to explore the contradictions in those relationships -- the idea that the guy who played softball with you in high school is the guy responsible for arresting you today."
As a backdrop, Masters will portray the angst of lower-middle class Irish ''getting squeezed" by the influx of Southeast Asians, Latinos, and yuppies bent on gentrification. Reacting to racial stereotypes and economic pressures, some of his Irish characters will lash out in ugly ways, he says. ''I want your skin to crawl. I want you to be repelled by it. We want you to be horrified by these nice, sweet people who are nice one day, talking about baseball. Then they bash someone's head in and then go back to talking about baseball."
Kevin Chapman, who grew up in Dorchester, is all for the bashing scenes. Just back from filming Clint Eastwood's film ''Flags of Our Fathers," the actor is excited to play the cocky and portly mob boss Freddie Cork . ''It's fun to get dark and almost diabolical," says the actor. ''My character runs the neighborhood. I'm in charge."
''Quiet!" a nearby crew member yells as Chapman chats away. ''We're shooting."
On the set today, Gomez -- not Chapman -- is in charge. And the birthday party is over. ''We're moving on," Gomez announces, signaling to the crew to set up for the next scene.
It's Showtime's hope that viewers will move along with him.
Thanks to Suzanne C. Ryan
Friday, November 21, 2003
Former FBI Agent Arrested in Mob Hit
A former FBI agent who handled high-ranking mob informants was arrested Thursday and charged with murder for allegedly helping to set up a 1981 mob hit on an Oklahoma businessman.
H. Paul Rico, 78, was arrested at his home near Miami in the slaying of 55-year-old Roger Wheeler, who was shot in the head at a Tulsa, Okla., country club after a round of golf.
Rico's arrest was the latest turn in a long-running scandal over the cozy relationship between the Boston FBI and its underworld informants. Last year, a former FBI agent was convicted of protecting gangsters, including James “Whitey” Bulger, who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
Investigators said Wheeler's slaying was linked to his purchase of World Jai Alai and his suspicion that money was being skimmed from the Florida company. At the time, Rico was retired from the FBI and was the head of security for World Jai Alai.
Investigators said Rico provided John Martorano, a hit man for Boston's Winter Hill Gang, with information on Wheeler's schedule so he could be killed. Martorano admitted pulling the trigger and is awaiting sentencing.
The New York Times reported that Rico asked Martorano to carry out the hit because gang members believed Wheeler had learned $1 million a year was being skimmed from the jai alai operation.
Rico “flat-out categorically denies this,” said his attorney, William Cagney III. “He never assisted the Winter Hill Gang in trying to get inside information so they could ... do away with people.”
Rico was jailed in Florida. Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the Boston FBI, declined to comment. Rico spent 24 years with the FBI, specializing in organized crime cases in Boston in the 1960s and '70s. He cultivated mobster Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi and others as informants.
Bulger, the boss of the Winter Hill Gang, Flemmi and Martorano were all charged in Wheeler's murder in 2001 by Oklahoma prosecutors. District Attorney Tim Harris of Tulsa has said he planned to seek the death penalty against Bulger and Flemmi.
Prosecutors in Florida followed with an indictment charging all three in the 1982 slaying of World Jai Alai executive John “Jack” Callahan in Miami. Investigators said they believe Callahan was killed to keep him from telling authorities about links between World Jai Alai and the mob.
A congressional panel is investigating the Boston FBI office's ties to its mob informants, including Bulger, who fled in 1995 after being tipped off by then-agent John J. Connolly Jr. that he was about to be indicted on federal racketeering charges.
During Connolly's trial, prosecutors said Bulger and Flemmi were left untouched by law enforcement for decades because they were informing for the FBI on the New England Mafia, which is separate from the Winter Hill Gang. Connolly is serving a 10-year prison sentence.
In 2001, Rico testified about another case before a congressional committee. He denied that he and his partner helped framed an innocent man for a 1965 gangland slaying, but acknowledged that Joseph Salvati wrongly spent 30 years in prison for the crime.
Republican Rep. Christopher Shays accused Rico of feeling no remorse for his role in the conviction of four innocent men in that case. Rico replied, “What do you want, tears?"
Salvati's lawyer, Victor Garo, predicted that Rico's arrest will split the Boston FBI scandal wide open, exposing more government wrongdoing in Boston and Washington. "He was the inside man of the Boston office of the FBI in dealing with informants like Steve Flemmi and others,” Garo said. “I would imagine that right now many people are concerned about what he knows and what he will say. ... He knows about all the skeletons in the closet.”
Wheeler's son said he was pleased with Rico's arrest. “It's something I've wanted for years,” said Larry Wheeler, who said he believes Rico played a role in his father's murder.
The ongoing scandal has also damaged the career of one of the state's most legendary politicians, former state Senate president William Bulger, who is the brother of Whitey Bulger. Bulger resigned as president of the University of Massachusetts in August, following months of mounting pressure over his role in the federal investigation of his fugitive brother.
The departure came just two months after UMass trustees expressed confidence in Bulger even as a storm of protest swirled around him and his testimony before a congressional committee investigating the FBI's ties to its mob informants.
He testified under immunity before the panel in June about brother Whitey. While admitting he had spoken to his brother once since he fled, Bulger said he has no idea of his whereabouts and said there is little he could have done to steer him from a life of crime. William Bulger also said he thought the FBI investigators were trying to get his brother killed when they leaked to the media the fact that Whitey Bulger had been an informant.
Bulger's critics said his testimony was evasive and questioned how he could be so ignorant of his brother's criminal activities.
H. Paul Rico, 78, was arrested at his home near Miami in the slaying of 55-year-old Roger Wheeler, who was shot in the head at a Tulsa, Okla., country club after a round of golf.
Rico's arrest was the latest turn in a long-running scandal over the cozy relationship between the Boston FBI and its underworld informants. Last year, a former FBI agent was convicted of protecting gangsters, including James “Whitey” Bulger, who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
Investigators said Wheeler's slaying was linked to his purchase of World Jai Alai and his suspicion that money was being skimmed from the Florida company. At the time, Rico was retired from the FBI and was the head of security for World Jai Alai.
Investigators said Rico provided John Martorano, a hit man for Boston's Winter Hill Gang, with information on Wheeler's schedule so he could be killed. Martorano admitted pulling the trigger and is awaiting sentencing.
The New York Times reported that Rico asked Martorano to carry out the hit because gang members believed Wheeler had learned $1 million a year was being skimmed from the jai alai operation.
Rico “flat-out categorically denies this,” said his attorney, William Cagney III. “He never assisted the Winter Hill Gang in trying to get inside information so they could ... do away with people.”
Rico was jailed in Florida. Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the Boston FBI, declined to comment. Rico spent 24 years with the FBI, specializing in organized crime cases in Boston in the 1960s and '70s. He cultivated mobster Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi and others as informants.
Bulger, the boss of the Winter Hill Gang, Flemmi and Martorano were all charged in Wheeler's murder in 2001 by Oklahoma prosecutors. District Attorney Tim Harris of Tulsa has said he planned to seek the death penalty against Bulger and Flemmi.
Prosecutors in Florida followed with an indictment charging all three in the 1982 slaying of World Jai Alai executive John “Jack” Callahan in Miami. Investigators said they believe Callahan was killed to keep him from telling authorities about links between World Jai Alai and the mob.
A congressional panel is investigating the Boston FBI office's ties to its mob informants, including Bulger, who fled in 1995 after being tipped off by then-agent John J. Connolly Jr. that he was about to be indicted on federal racketeering charges.
During Connolly's trial, prosecutors said Bulger and Flemmi were left untouched by law enforcement for decades because they were informing for the FBI on the New England Mafia, which is separate from the Winter Hill Gang. Connolly is serving a 10-year prison sentence.
In 2001, Rico testified about another case before a congressional committee. He denied that he and his partner helped framed an innocent man for a 1965 gangland slaying, but acknowledged that Joseph Salvati wrongly spent 30 years in prison for the crime.
Republican Rep. Christopher Shays accused Rico of feeling no remorse for his role in the conviction of four innocent men in that case. Rico replied, “What do you want, tears?"
Salvati's lawyer, Victor Garo, predicted that Rico's arrest will split the Boston FBI scandal wide open, exposing more government wrongdoing in Boston and Washington. "He was the inside man of the Boston office of the FBI in dealing with informants like Steve Flemmi and others,” Garo said. “I would imagine that right now many people are concerned about what he knows and what he will say. ... He knows about all the skeletons in the closet.”
Wheeler's son said he was pleased with Rico's arrest. “It's something I've wanted for years,” said Larry Wheeler, who said he believes Rico played a role in his father's murder.
The ongoing scandal has also damaged the career of one of the state's most legendary politicians, former state Senate president William Bulger, who is the brother of Whitey Bulger. Bulger resigned as president of the University of Massachusetts in August, following months of mounting pressure over his role in the federal investigation of his fugitive brother.
The departure came just two months after UMass trustees expressed confidence in Bulger even as a storm of protest swirled around him and his testimony before a congressional committee investigating the FBI's ties to its mob informants.
He testified under immunity before the panel in June about brother Whitey. While admitting he had spoken to his brother once since he fled, Bulger said he has no idea of his whereabouts and said there is little he could have done to steer him from a life of crime. William Bulger also said he thought the FBI investigators were trying to get his brother killed when they leaked to the media the fact that Whitey Bulger had been an informant.
Bulger's critics said his testimony was evasive and questioned how he could be so ignorant of his brother's criminal activities.
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