"Whitey" Bulger Trial: Judge rejects request to sequester jurors in racketeering trial of reputed mob boss

(AP) BOSTON - A federal judge has rejected a bid by reputed Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger to sequester jurors while they deliberate racketeering charges against him, including his alleged participation in 19 killings.

PICTURES: Guns and Money: Whitey Bulger evidencePICTURES: James "Whitey" Bulger through the years

Judge Denise Casper denied the request Tuesday shortly before the first defense witness was scheduled to resume testifying.

Former FBI supervisor Robert Fitzpatrick testified Monday that he was blocked in his effort to terminate Bulger as an FBI informant.

Fitzpatrick said he recommended to FBI higher-ups that Bulger be shut down as an informant in 1981 after Bulger was uncooperative and, at one point, denied being an informant.

Complete coverage of the Whitey Bulger case on Crimesider