Whitey Bulger due in court in Boston for 2 hearings
(CBS/WBZ/AP) BOSTON - Reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger is expected in court as he seeks a taxpayer-funded attorney and fights a move by prosecutors to dismiss an old racketeering indictment in favor of a later case charging him with participating in 19 murders.
Pictures: Whitey Bulger arrested
Bulger has back-to-back hearings scheduled Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. He was arrested last week at his Santa Monica, Calif. residence with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig, after spending the last 16 years on the run during an epic manhunt that was a major embarrassment to the FBI.
His provisional attorney, Peter Krupp, is challenging an attempt by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz to dismiss a 1994 indictment and focus on a more serious 1999 indictment in which he is accused of killing 19 people. Krupp wants the two cases consolidated and has accused prosecutors of trying to judge shop by trying to drop the older case.
Prosecutors said Tuesday they want to get Whitey Bulger on trial "as soon as possible," stating the families of the 19 people he is accused of killing deserve justice, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Former federal prosecutor Michael Fee, says the feds will win this one. "The United States makes a compelling argument however, that it has the choice being the sovereign that brought the original case, the racketeering case based on the extortion and gambling and such. And it has the option to drop it whenever it wants," Fee told CBS station WBZ.
Prosecutors have also objected to Bulger's request for a court-appointed attorney.