A new book co-written by Boston crime reporter Bob Ward has brought fresh attention to the only known law-enforcement interview with James “Whitey” Bulger, conducted after the notorious fugitive was arrested in California.
Face to Face with Whitey Bulger, written by Ward and retired FBI supervisory special agent Rich Teahan, recounts the six-hour debriefing carried out aboard a US Department of Justice aircraft as Bulger was flown from Los Angeles to Boston in June 2011.
Ward discussed the book in a live interview with KTVU, explaining how Teahan came to be sitting beside the former America’s Most Wanted fugitive after years spent leading the FBI’s hunt for him.
Bulger had been on the run for 16 years after fleeing Boston in 1995. He was captured with his long-time companion, Catherine Greig, at an apartment in Santa Monica on June 22, 2011, following a tip from a woman who recognised the couple from a television report.
Justice Department records show that Bulger was advised of his rights during the flight and agreed to answer questions. Teahan and another FBI agent then prepared an FD-302 report recording the interview.
According to the authors, the agents initially intended to focus on how Bulger had evaded capture and whether anyone had helped him while he was a fugitive. Instead, the conversation developed into a wide-ranging account of his years in hiding, with Bulger repeatedly attempting to control the direction of the questioning.
Teahan has said that Bulger spoke for almost six hours without taking a break. The former FBI agent described the exchange as a rare opportunity to question the man whose disappearance had become one of the bureau’s most persistent and controversial cases.
The book also explores the moment Bulger learned that FBI records had formally identified him as an informant. The authors say he had believed former agent John Connolly and FBI supervisor John Morris were providing him with information, without understanding that details connected to him had also been recorded in bureau files.
Bulger continued to deny being an informant during his later trial. A federal jury in Boston convicted him in 2013 of involvement in a criminal enterprise that included 11 murders, as well as racketeering and other offences.
Ward, who has covered Bulger and organised crime in New England for decades, met Teahan while reporting on the trial. The pair later worked together to reconstruct the fugitive investigation and the post-arrest interview at the centre of Face to Face with Whitey Bulger.
