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Catherine Greig, James "Whitey" Bulger's girlfriend, faces sentencing in Massachusetts
Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger
/ AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, FilePictures: Guns and Money: Whitey Bulger evidence
Bulger and Greig were captured nearly a year ago at a Santa Monica, Calif., apartment where they spend most of those years in hiding. The now 82-year-old Bulger awaits trial this fall on charges he participated in 19 murders.
Greig's attorney says she fell in love with a "Robin Hood like" figure, never believing that her outlaw boyfriend was a murderer.
Kevin Reddington has appealed for leniency for his 61-year-old client, asking a federal judge to give her 27 months in prison at Tuesday's hearing.
"Why people fall in love has been debated since before Shakespeare's sonnets," Reddington wrote. "Many times people fall in love and their family or loved ones do not approve or condone the relationship. The truth of the matter is that she was and remained in love with Mr. Bulger."
Greig faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, but probation officials recommended 27 to 33 months, according to the defense's sentencing memo.
The government has asked for a 10-year prison sentence, following Greig's guilty plea in March to charges of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
Prosecutors have called Greig's conduct the most extreme case of harboring a criminal they've seen. They said the former dental hygienist and dog groomer got money from Bulger to pay their rent and other bills, did all of their shopping and helped him get medical and dental care while on the run.
Prosecutors said Greig also traveled through multiple states with him, taking on multiple fraudulent identities to help him stay on the run. They say the pair posed as married retirees from Chicago and had a stash of more than $800,000 in cash and 30 weapons in their Santa Monica apartment, most of them hidden in the walls.
Bulger headed the notorious Winter Hill Gang and also was a longtime FBI informant who gave the agency information on the rival New England Mafia. Bulger's former FBI handler, John Connolly Jr., was convicted of warning him that he was about to be indicted, prompting him to flee Boston in late 1994.
Complete coverage of Whitey Bulger on Crimesider
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