Judge to weigh mobster Whitey Bulger's bid for a public defender
(CBS/AP) BOSTON - Prosecutors are expected to argue in court Tuesday that mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger is not entitled to a taxpayer-funded attorney.
Pictures: Whitey Bulger arrested
Prosecutors have cited more than $800,000 in cash they found in Bulger's apartment in Santa Monica, Calif. Bulger, who is charged in connection with 19 murders, was captured there last week after spending 16 years as a fugitive.
Prosecutors who object to a public defense say Bulger may have access to "family resources," including from his brother, former Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger.
The lawyer who represented Bulger at his initial appearance last week said no one in Bulger's family has offered to help him pay for his defense.
CNN reports that according to a filing by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, after waiving his Miranda rights, the Boston mobster told police he was living a life of leisure, and taking numerous gambling trips to Las Vegas to play the slots, where he claimed to win more than he lost.
Investigators say Bulger and his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle while on the lam for 16 years.
At a hearing last week, Bulger told the judge that he could afford a lawyer "if they would give me my money back."
Meanwhile, Bulger's 60-year-old girlfriend has obtained a defender - high-profile Boston-area attorney Kevin Reddington. If convicted, Greig faces five years in prison for harboring the 81-year-old Bulger.