The judge presiding over the Whitey Bulger case ordered prosecutors and Bulger's temporary lawyer to reach an agreement on whether Bulger will get a court-appointed attorney to defend him against charges that he had a role in 19 murders.
By DENISE LAVOIE, AP Legal Affairs Writer
BOSTON (AP) — The judge who will preside over the case against Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger has ordered prosecutors and Bulger's temporary lawyer to try to reach an agreement on whether Bulger will get a court-appointed attorney to defend him against charges that he had a role in 19 murders.
Prosecutors object to Bulger receiving a taxpayer-funded attorney. Authorities found $800,000 in cash in the California apartment where Bulger was arrested last week after 16 years as a fugitive, prosecutor Brian Kelly said in court. Kelly suggested Bulger has additional hidden assets and might be able to get financial help from his brother, former Massachusetts Senate president William Bulger.
Prosecutors and Bulger's provisional attorney should confer to determine whether they can reach an agreement, U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf told them in an order filed Sunday.
Prosecutors plan to seek forfeiture of the $800,000 found in Bulger's apartment, Kelly said in court Friday. Money that is earned illegally is subject to forfeiture to the government.
In his order, Wolf said the determination on whether a defendant is entitled to a public defender is made on the basis of income and assets available to the defendant.
"Assets that have been seized or restrained pending possible forfeiture are not considered to be available to retain counsel," Wolf wrote.
Wolf has a long history with Bulger's case. In the 1990s, he held hearings that publicly exposed the relationship between Bulger, an FBI informant, and his former FBI handler, John Connolly Jr., who was convicted in 2002 of protecting Bulger and looking the other way while he committed crimes.
In his order, Wolf cited a ruling he made in 1997, when he found that three former codefendants of Bulger's — Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme and Robert DeLuca — were financially unable to retain private lawyers and were entitled to public defenders.
"This case has been pending for 16 years," Wolf wrote. "It is important that the issue of Bulger's eligibility for the appointment of counsel be decided as promptly as possible to permit the case to proceed."
Bulger's lawyer, Peter Krupp, has filed a financial affidavit for Bulger, which is sealed from public view. Krupp and prosecutors were both expected to submit written arguments Monday to Wolf on whether Bulger should be granted a public defender. A hearing on Bulger's request is scheduled for Tuesday.
Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig, who was arrested with him last week after spending 16 years on the run with him, has withdrawn her request for a public defender and hired Kevin Reddington, a high-profile criminal defense lawyer from Brockton. Greig, who is charged with harboring a fugitive, has a detention hearing scheduled in federal court Thursday.
Although prosecutors have made it clear they will seek forfeiture of Bulger's assets, a lawyer for one of Bulger's victims has won a lien on the $800,000 in cash authorities found in Bulger's Santa Monica, Calif., apartment.
U.S. District Judge William Young issued an order Friday placing a lien on the money, which means the cash will be frozen for now.
A judge will decide later whether the victim, Julie Dammers, or the government will get the $800,000, said Boston attorney Anthony Cardinale, who represents Dammers. Dammers and her ex-husband, Stephen Rakes, say they were forced at gunpoint to sell their liquor store to Bulger. The lien was requested by Dammers and the bankruptcy trustee for Rakes.
Cardinale said the money should be used to help pay off an unpaid civil judgment Rakes and her ex-husband received. The 2005 judgment, including interest, is now up to about $31.5 million, Cardinale said.
"My argument is that the superior right to the money is the victims', not the government," Cardinale said.