"Whitey" Bulger pleads not guilty to 19 murders
(CBS/AP) - Former reputed crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger has pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a racketeering indictment that accuses him of participating in 19 murders.
Pictures: Whitey Bulger arrested
The plea in a federal court in Boston comes 16 years after the former FBI informant fled following a federal agent's warning on a separate, pending indictment.
Bulger escaped prosecution for those 16 years before he was finally captured in Santa Monica, Calif. two weeks ago.
Before the trial, Bulger's court appointed attorney asked a judge to appoint his law partner to help him defend the 81-year-old.
J.W. Carney Jr. was appointed last week after a magistrate judge found Bulger to be indigent. Carney is asking that attorney Janice Bassil be appointed to help him with a case he says has a "host of complex legal issues."
Bulger, nicknamed "Whitey" for his shock of bright platinum hair, grew up in a South Boston housing project and went on to become Boston's most notorious gangster.