Whitey Bulger Captured!

Top Ten fugitive James “Whitey” Bulger was arrested thanks to a tip from the public—just days after a new media campaign was announced to help locate the gangster who had been on the run for 16 years.

Bulger, who once ran South Boston’s violent Winter Hill Gang and was wanted for his role in 19 murders, was arrested with his longtime companion Catherine Greig Wednesday night in Santa Monica, California, by agents on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force.

“Although there are those who doubted our resolve, it never wavered," said Boston Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers. "We followed every lead, we explored every possibility, and when those leads ran out we did not sit back and wait for the phone to ring. The result is we have captured one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, a man notorious in Boston and around the world for the very serious crimes he is alleged to have committed."

The FBI has always relied on cooperation from the public to help capture fugitives and solve crimes. The new media campaign regarding Bulger was designed to draw attention to Greig, who fled with Bulger in 1995. A 30-second public service announcement (PSA) produced by the Bureau began airing Tuesday in 10 states where it was believed Bulger had resided or still had contacts. California was one of those states.

The PSA focused on the 60-year-old Greig’s physical appearance, habits, and personality traits and was directed specifically at women who might come in contact with her at places such as the beauty parlor or doctor’s office. After the PSA began to air, hundreds of tips flowed into the FBI, and one of them led to the arrest Wednesday night in a residence near Los Angeles.

“We were trying to reach a different audience to produce new leads in the case,” said Richard Teahan, a special agent in our Boston office who leads a task force that has searched for Bulger around the world. “We believed that locating Greig would lead us to Bulger. And that’s exactly what happened.”

The PSA included pictures of Greig after her pre-fugitive plastic surgeries and other details including her love of animals and the reward of up to $100,000 for her capture. Although she was not implicated in Bulger’s crimes, Greig was federally charged in 1997 for harboring a fugitive. The reward for Bulger is up to $2 million—the largest the FBI has ever offered for a Top Ten domestic fugitive.

Bulger, 81, who is known for his violent temper, was arrested without incident and was scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles court later today.

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Did Jerry Scalise Target Oscar D'Angelo?

Mobbed-up thief Joseph Jerry “The Monk” Scalise allegedly targeted Daley mayoral pal and controversial lobbyist Oscar D’Angelo for a robbery and corresponded with imprisoned Chicago cop William Hanhardt, writing that “Oft times, defendants forget that they DID do the crime,” according to a federal court document filed Tuesday.

Scalise, who is in his early 70s, has a storied criminal career that most recently found him charged last year with two alleged accomplices with conspiring to knock off an armored car at a La Grange bank and rob the home of the late, brutal Chicago mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra.

The court document, filed by federal prosecutors, lays out the case against Scalise and two other senior citizens, Arthur “The Genius” Rachel and Robert Pullia. The men go to trial next month.

Scalise stole the 45-carat Marlborough diamond in London in 1980, was a reputed member of an Outfit crew of killers called “The Wild Bunch” and more recently was a consultant to famed Hollywood director Michael Mann on his film “Public Enemies.”

The court document is heavily redacted in parts and does not reveal any detail about the men allegedly conspiring to rob D’Angelo, but the criminal deed was never done. D’Angelo, who was involved in scandals in the Richard M. Daley administration, is expected to be called as a prosecution witness at trial against the three men.

The court document does quote at length a letter that Scalise allegedly sent to Hanhardt after Scalise was arrested last year. Federal prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu contends in the government filing that Scalise admits his guilt in the letter.

Hanhardt, a former Chicago chief of detectives, was sentenced to nearly 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty in 2001 to running a sophisticated theft ring that stole more than $5 million in diamonds and gems from jewelry salesmen across the country. The FBI has contended that Hanhardt was on the take from the mob early in his police career.

“Since I am soon to be out of time (but with, maybe a lot of ‘time’) I am getting as much done . . . while I am out (on bond),” Scalise writes in one letter to Hanhardt, according to the court filing.

“I am finally going through everything with a fine tooth comb and conferring with Eddie G. on a plan of attack,” Scalise wrote, apparently referring to his legendary defense attorney, Edward Genson.

“Oft times, defendants forget that they DID do the crime. So, what do we do to mitigate the charges? The only approach I can see is to attempt to move the goal posts — to make something else the issue. My contention is that the ‘evidence’ is just not good enough. Yes, these culprits were up to something, but the ‘problem’ is in the technological evidence.”

Hanhardt is listed as a prosecution witness. Genson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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Father Eugene Klein Pleads Not Guilty

Former prison chaplain Eugene Klein has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he plotted with convicted Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. to recover a violin reportedly hidden in a hit man's Wisconsin house.

Authorities say Klein, 62, of Springfield, Mo., was released on $20,000 bond after he appeared in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Wednesday.

Klein administered daily communion to Calabrese at the Missouri prison where he's serving a life sentence for 13 murders. He's accused of passing messages with Calabrese and conspiring with two others to try to steal the violin the mobster believed was a Stradivarius worth millions of dollars.

Defense attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin says the case against his client is "preposterous."

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Chicago's Violent Crime Task Force - Partnerships Key to Success

As a chilly spring drizzle fell in one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, FBI agents and Chicago Police Department officers on the joint Violent Crimes Task Force gathered on a rooftop parking garage for a last-minute briefing before executing a search warrant nearby involving a recently paroled felon.

Members of the task force donned bullet-proof vests and finalized their operational plan. The felon in question was believed to be violating his parole by carrying a sawed-off shotgun, and every safety precaution needed to be taken.

Established in 1989, Chicago’s Violent Crimes Task Force is one of the oldest continuing task force operations in the FBI. The squad, known as VC1, consists of agents and members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Cook County Sheriff’s Office who work side by side and are on call around the clock.

“If something happens,” said Special Agent Mark Quinn, who joined the squad in 1994 and has supervised it since 2006, “we respond. Our first priority is public safety.”

The task force handles a variety of violent crimes such as extortion and murder for hire, but the “big three” offenses it investigates are kidnappings, bank robberies, and fugitive matters.

VC1 is staffed by seasoned investigators like Quinn and CPD’s Sgt. Warren Richards—who was leading the search warrant operation—and young agents learning the ropes and getting valuable street experience.

Special Agent Joe Raschke, an 11-year veteran of the squad, remembers that when he first came to the Chicago Field Office, “VC1 was the squad to be on."

"As a young agent you get great experience,” Raschke said, “not just making arrests but interviewing subjects and victims and learning how to deal with a variety of people and situations.”

Sgt. Richards, CPD’s commanding officer on the task force, added, “I like bringing fugitives to justice and locking up bad guys. On this squad I get to do that almost every day.”

On this particular day, however, there would be no arrest. The team moved into place in unmarked vehicles, setting up to cover the front and back of the house where the felon was living. But when the search warrant was executed, the only people in the residence were a woman and her young daughter. The search did turn up the shotgun, under the felon’s mattress. He was now a fugitive, and would eventually be arrested.

Quinn noted that despite the different law enforcement organizations they belong to, there is a strong bond among VC1 members. “The task force setting breaks down barriers between agencies,” he said. “Everyone works together as a team.”

That teamwork pays dividends beyond the task force, too. Relationships have expanded over time so that agents and detectives working all kinds of cases can pick up the phone and get help from their local and federal partners. “Agents and detectives all over the city have each other on speed dial,” Sgt. Richards said.

And members of the task force are always ready to respond, Quinn said. “Whenever there is a murder, kidnapping, or multiple bank robberies and a call goes out for volunteers, even on weekends and evenings, we always get more people than we need.” He added, “If someone is looking for a 9-to-5 type of job in law enforcement, VC1 is definitely not for them.”

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America's Most Wanted Signs Off Due to Cost Cutting by Fox, John Walsh Vows to be Backing Fighting Injustice

John Walsh has said goodbye and thanked viewers of "America's Most Wanted" for helping bring almost 1,200 fugitives to justice over more than two decades.

Walsh told his audience in brief farewell remarks: "You've saved lives and gotten people justice."

The series aired its last weekly episode on Fox on Saturday. Fox has cited high production costs for pulling the plug on the series, which premiered in 1988. But Walsh vows he'll return to television.

He said earlier this week he has heard from other networks, including Fox News Channel. A decision on a new TV home could be announced within two weeks, he said.

Walsh, 65, launched his crime-busting crusade in the aftermath of the abduction and murder of his 6-year-old son Adam in 1981.

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