Reputed Mass. mobster girlfriend rethinking plea

(AP) BOSTON - The brother of one of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's alleged murder victims says he's been told by a representative for federal prosecutors in Boston that Bulger's girlfriend Catherine Greig is considering pleading guilty to a charge of helping Bulger evade capture.

Steven Davis told The Boston Globe a federal victim advocate told him Friday that Greig's lawyers indicated she's considering pleading guilty without a plea bargain and prosecutors asked victims' relatives to meet with them Monday.

WCVB-TV in Boston first reported Davis' comments that Greig was considering a plea deal.

Messages were left Friday for Greig's attorney, the U.S. attorney's office, and Davis.

Greig has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. Prosecutors said last fall they were considering filing additional charges against her. She has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Her trial is scheduled for May 7.

Bulger and Greig were captured in June in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. He has pleaded not guilty in connection with 19 killings.

Bulger headed Boston's Winter Hill Gang and was an FBI informant against the rival New England Mafia. Bulger's former FBI handler, John Connolly Jr., was convicted of racketeering for warning Bulger that he was about to be indicted just before Bulger fled Boston in late 1994.