FBI'S GLITCHES WITH SNITCHES IN BOSTON

Was the bureau too nice to the wrong guys?

BOSTON-Cops don't ordinarily solve crimes by schmoozing with clergy or
choirboys. But even by accepted snitch standards, cozying up this close to
James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi seemed a tad risky.
Cops say the duo virtually ran South Boston's Irish Mob. They were leg
breakers and loan sharks, who scared drug dealers into paying "rent" and
threatened to kill anyone who got in their way.

But did these government informants make good on some of those death threats
at the same time they were dining with FBI agents? Earlier this month, three
bodies were unearthed near some railroad tracks. And the cops say Bulger and
Flemmi-now under indictment on lesser charges-may have put them there.

South Boston is a heavily Irish enclave where familial ties and neighborhood
bonds are paramount, where cops and robbers grow up on the same block, where
silence is golden. It's also become a place where the age-old use of
informants has been called into question-an inquiry that reaches all the way
to Washington, where a Justice Department task force is re-examining the
feds' policy toward snitches.

Before that's done, though, the FBI has explaining to do in Beantown. John
J. Connolly, the former Boston bureau agent who worked with Bulger and
Flemmi, is now awaiting trial on racketeering charges. Another Boston-based
FBI agent is under pressure to resign after allegedly lying under oath to
protect Connolly. And the family of John McIntyre, whose body is thought to
be among those exhumed, intends to sue the bureau. The McIntyre family
alleges that Connolly-already charged with tipping off his top-shelf
informers in other probes-told Bulger and Flemmi that McIntyre had dropped a
dime on them to local cops as part of a separate investigation. Federal
Judge Mark L. Wolf said the family's concerns were reasonable; the family
contends that Connolly cost McIntyre his life. Connolly denies revealing
informants and claims all of his dealings with Bulger and Flemmi were
encouraged by superiors. "What's happening now," he says, is "Operation
Scapegoat."

No "clipping." Agent Connolly's Faustian bargain looked better before the
ink dried. Back in the 1970s, a Cosa Nostra was enemy No. 1 in Boston, and
Connolly, a Southie native, was doing his part to wipe it out. Enter his old
neighborhood pal, Bulger, and his sidekick, Flemmi. Connolly has said the
deal was this: Bulger's Winter Hill gang got to keep loan-sharking, and
Connolly got the skinny needed to bring down Bulger's rivals in the Italian
mob. Connolly's boss, John Morris-who received immunity for testifying
before Judge Wolf–reportedly assured Flemmi and Bulger they'd be spared
legal woes as long as they didn't "clip" anyone. The deal seemed to work for
more than 20 years. "We put a stake in the heart of the Mafia," claims
Connolly.

But at what price? Bulger and his buddies took more territory. And with
Connolly or Morris allegedly running interference, other law enforcers
trying to bust Bulger or Flemmi always came up empty. When a federal grand
jury began asking questions, prosecutors believe Bulger was somehow tipped
off and disappeared, reportedly with a platinum-blond woman from the old
neighborhood by his side. They've been spotted in West Palm Beach, Fla., and
Chicago.

In yet another bizarre twist, it turns out the key to their capture may well
be two pooches, poodles, to be precise, which Bulger's girlfriend left
behind with her sister in Boston. When America's Most Wanted runs a segment
on Bulger later this month, the host is expected to reveal that the sister
put those pups to "sleep." The hope is the sad news just might bring Bulger
and his grieving companion back to town. Flemmi-now in jail-has claimed that
FBI promises of protection should spare him from prosecution. His lawyer has
declined comment on the recently unearthed bodies.

Meanwhile, a Justice Department task force has been working for months to
tighten rules on handling informants. Among the proposals: that agents
consult with prosecutors before cutting any deals with informants, and that
prosecutors be notified if snitches commit unauthorized crimes. New ground
rules might help–in the future. But "as far as what happened in Boston,"
says one law enforcement official, "we already have laws against that."