Whitey Bulger Trial: Reputed mob boss' alleged role as FBI informant debated

(AP) BOSTON - James "Whitey" Bulger's alleged role as an FBI informant has sparked heated arguments between prosecutors and Bulger's lawyers.

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James Marra, a special agent for the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, on Monday read excerpts from Bulger's 700-page file.

Prosecutors say Bulger was an informant from 1975 to 1990, providing information mainly on the New England Mafia, rivals to his Winter Hill Gang.

But Bulger's lawyers insist that he was never an informant. Instead, the defense says he paid certain FBI agents to give him information on investigations or indictments of him and his gang. The defense says Bulger did not provide information in return.

The 83-year-old Bulger is charged with participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and `80s.

Former FBI Agent John Morris, who acknowledged taking money from Bulger, could testify as early as Tuesday.

Complete coverage of the Whitey Bulger case on Crimesider