The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century

I became a fan of Howie Carr after living in Boston and listening to his afternoon show on WRKO. While I don't agree with all of Howie's conservative views, I really enjoy his take-no-prisoners view of politics and his witty attacks on the Bay State's many inept politicians. After enjoying The Departed, I was intrigued by Carr's book on the Bulger brothers and picked up a used copy. I read through it in one day. The Brothers Bulger is a great read, and an almost unbelievable tale about how Whitey and Billy Bulger rose to complete power in Massachusetts crime and politics despite blatant evidence of their misdeeds. I was shocked by how both brothers were able to consolidate and maintain their power over two decades. In a clear, sharp narrative Carr maps out the lives of both brothers. Throughout the book, I was filled with mixed emotions of anger and hilarity. I was often furious at how dozens of police, FBI agents, and U.S. Attorneys looked the other way as Whitey Bulger murdered dozens of people. And many times I found myself laughing out loud at the ineptitude and corruption of nearly every person mentioned in the book. The world Carr describes is filled almost entirely with scoundrels and villains, and nearly no heroes. Because everybody had their hand out, Whitey and Billy were able to skate by time after time. Two things really struck me about the Bulgers' story. First is the magnitude of Whitey's crimes. Carr shows that to merely label Whitey Bulger a mobster is to understate his gross criminality; Whitey was a serial killer. I had no idea that Whitey was directly involved in dozens of brutal murders, all made to consolidate his criminal empire and eliminate his perceived enemies. Carr discussed Whitey's cruelty and threats to anyone who stood against him. Whitey Bulger was no ordinary mobster, he was a monster that was allowed to roam free for over 20 years before the powers that be finally decided to go after him. By that time, he had stolen nearly $50 million, and left hundreds of ruined lives in his wake. Carr's description of Whitey's crimes and the tales of his sadistic exploits are made all the more astonishing by the criminal behavior of the Boston FBI. It is almost impossible to believe the levels of corruption demonstrated by the top agents in the Boston FBI. The FBI used Whitey as an informant, but the relationship was one-sided from the start. Whitey fed them few valuable details, instead using the agents to settle scores with his enemies and other mob rivals he wanted out of the picture. Whitey also bribed dozens of them with cash, jewelry and other items. In return, many of the corrupt agents, headed by John "Zip" Connolly, shielded Whitey for years from any potentially damaging investigations and did everything they could make sure Whitey stayed on the street and continued his reign of terror on Boston, even obstructing justice. Amazingly, Whitey would have dinner and hang out with agents as if they were friends. Whitey and Zip Connolly even vacationed together! Their corruption was aided by indifferent federal prosecutors and Billy Bulger, who, as the state Senate Majority Leader used the FBI to protect Whitey. This went on for years. Along the way, many of these agents collected bribes, retired to cushy positions, and even helped conspire to murder enemies of Whitey. Sadly, many of the book's main villains did not meet justice. Whitey was tipped to his eventual indictment by Zip Connolly and hasn't been seen since, Billy fell into disgrace but never faced a trial for his corruption, and even Connolly, despite being convicted under RICO, got a mere 10 year sentence in federal prison. I would have preferred all of them spent their rest of their lives in prison. I was somewhat disappointed that Howie didn't analyze the Bulgers and how they corrupted the Bay State for so long. But in many ways he doesn't have to. Howie is a superb storyteller, and the evidence he dishes out throughout his tale is so overwhelming and stunning that it speaks for itself. As it turns out, The Departed wasn't all that far-fetched.

I read this book after enjoying the movie, "The Departed." Howie Carr has certainly mastered the art of delivering a fast paced story, one that wraps inuendo around facts, dates, and personalities. He knows his subject matter, the Bulger Brothers, like a butcher knows a steer, and, he carves it up to a fare-the-well. The narrative opens with Billy, the politician brother, testifying before a congressional committee where he doesn't come off well taking the 5th. His brother Whitey, meanwhile, tops the FBI list of America's most wanted criminals spawning a cottage industry of global Whitey spottings over the last decade. Howie Carr clearly doesn't think much of Billy's lifetime of political fixings and seeks to tie him to his psycho criminal brother in the Bostonian version of a politico-fandango, true or otherwise. It's in a way too bad as Billy has risen from the shanty Irish mean streets of "southie" to be president of the state senate followed by a stint as president of UMass. Alas, his life of political corruption, shades of J.M. Curley's era, catches up to him, but not before he receives a handsome pension to ease his retiring years. Whitey, on the other hand, comes across for what he apparently is which is a pretty scary guy. He murders well over 50 people after getting out of Alcatraz in his early 20's. Carr leads the reader thru the various killings and maimings with the added feature of FBI corruption thrown in. Whitey was an FBI informant which made for a bad ending if you were his competitor in crime, and this is where Carr ties Billy to Whitey with the corrupted FBI agent fitting neatly into the mix, all a part of an all-star criminal class out of the southie end of Boston. And what a story it is as it reads like an endlessly repeating drive-by killing spree all juxtaposed with Billy's political operations shades of the Kennedy machine - ipso the Irish mob of Nicholson in the Departed marries the life of Danial Drew, he of Days of Erie fame. Nothing has changed, just the names. I'd recommend a book entitled, "the Bosses" to frame out the Billy side and perhaps Vinnie Teresa's, "My life in the mob" for the Whitey side. In any event it's a page turner which I looked forward to reading again after each time I had to put it down. All the Mass-politico names are there including Barney, Ted and J.F. Kerry. What a bunch!

I have read many accounts of the Burger brothers and this book was the best. Having lived through the years of this book I wonder what similar crimes and political activities are occurring within our nation today.

I thought I would buy this book after Whitey was killed in prison to understand the biggest name in Boston crime and politics in the past last couple of decades. Not only did it reinforce what a ruthless and heartless family the Bulgers were but I learned many things I did not realize that had happened even though I grew up in Massachusetts. Howie does a great job detailing the paths of both brothers with a lot of detail. A good read and you will be astonished at what you learn. Highly recommended!!!!

Terrific book from a reporter who covered this crazier than fiction story in real time. This and Black Mass are great books on this subject.

Far too much emphasis on the state senate & the story jumps wildly between that & the mafia, so hard to keep track of the story as well.