About book Black Mass: The True Story Of An Unholy Alliance Between The FBI And The Irish Mob (2001)
Black Mass lays out, in eminently readable and often shocking detail, the incredible story of how Bulger and Steve Flemmi co-opted the Boston FBI, using their role as informants against the Mafia to eliminate their rivals and evade other local and federal law enforcement agencies. They even "tipped off" the Feds to crimes they committed (or ordered), casting suspicion on players they would like out of play. I read the first chapter thinking Black Mass must be a glamorized and highly speculative account -- and then I reviewed Lehr and O'Neill's copious and rigorous notes on their sources, and revised my opinion. (This was a two-bookmark book for me: one for the body of the text, one for the endnotes.) In fact, Lehr and O'Neill, career journalists both, are studiously careful to avoid speculation (or any possible grounds for libel). They stop short, for instance, of suggesting that Bulger and Flemmi's "handler" at the FBI, John Connolly, or his boss John Morris, might literally be described as gangsters with deep cover as FBI agents. Lehr and O'Neill point out Connolly's boyhood in Bulger's turf, and the amazingly paltry quantity of established bribes to Morris, and leave the reader the option to make inferences. (Morris allegedly sold himself out for roughly 7 grand and some wine, which even in 80's dollars seems awfully cheap.) Lehr and O'Neill are likewise cautious in how they characterize Whitey Bulger's relationship with his brother, former President of the Massachusetts Senate, William Bulger. But they do ensure that I will never look at the State Street building quite the same way again.I did form some reservations as I read the book. First, the extent to which Connolly and Morris are demonized tends to largely exonerate others in the FBI. Second, many events presented as fact in the book are primarily sourced by sworn testimony from professional criminals -- individuals for whom lying effectively is an essential skill. (Lehr and O'Neill are careful to note when testimony disagrees, in fact, but almost always portray one version as authoritative in the main text. Finally, Lehr and O'Neill's role in shaping the story clearly renders them very much non-impartial: their own reportage helped focus public opinion and create pressure to prosecute Bulger and to examine his relationship with the FBI. So I'm not inclined to accept absolutely everything at face value; their are clearly agendas at work. But the preponderance of evidence that it's all mostly true seems overwhelming.
The scene is Boston, starting in the 1970s. The FBI has made it a top priority to clamp down on organized crime (in this case, the Mafia, populated by the Italians of North Boston). John Connolly, a very young FBI agent, is called to the Boston office to work in the Organized Crime unit. The idea was that if he could find someone to rat out the Italians, the FBI's job would be made much easier. Connolly begins to cultivate James (Whitey) Bulger, a former acquaintance from Connolly's old neighborhood in South Boston. Bulger was a career criminal, beginning his future occupation as a young boy, and he and one of his associates, Steve Flemmi, had ties to the Italian mob in Boston. Whitey was also part of a gang in Southie. He became an informant for the FBI, and in return, he was given protection by the FBI. His information was very helpful and did help to put away some of the Mafia guys, but in the meantime, he also gave info on anyone in South Boston that he considered might be standing in his own way as he rose up through the ranks of the criminal underworld. The authors, Lehr and O'Neill, used a variety of first-hand sources to not only write this book, but to break the entire story in the Boston Globe. What they examine here is basically the true cost of the information provided by Bulger. While he's giving them good information, he's also being allowed to literally get away with murder. I won't go further into this book, but I picked it up the other night and could hardly put it down once I started. I guarantee you that if you have an interest in organized crime, this is a no-miss story. I would like to say that I was appalled by the sheer abuse of power from members of an institution created to protect the American public, but frankly, it's getting harder and harder to be surprised any more. Very well written and very taut; I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in organized crime, the FBI, in the so-called Irish Mob in the United States or in true crime in general.
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The Black Mass by Dick Lehr is a story of an alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob. This novel recounts the alliance itself, the relationships between Mob bosses and FBI agents, and also with the Italian Mafia. Dick Lehr tells the story with exceptional details and first hand accounts of some of the most famous mobsters of all time. The novel is focuses on the two main figures of the alliance; former corrupt FBI agent John Connolly and James "Whitey" Bulger. The two grew up just doors down
—Michaela
If you've ever been curious about Whitey Bulger, the Winter Hill Gang, Southie politics or FBI corruption, this is an excellent primer. The Boston Globe investigative journalists who reported on Bulger for numerous years pulled together all their research and the trial transcripts to create this informative and unbelievable tale. At times I got a little bogged down keeping all of the people and stories straight because this is truly an example of fact being stranger than fiction. And my interest in the book started to the wane at the end but i'm not sure if it reflects any fault of the authors or just my interest in the subject just reached its natural limit. But it was a good read and helped me to better understand the legacy of Whitey Bulger that still looms so large in Boston.
—Jessica
Written by two Boston Globe reporters who covered the story for many years, the book details infamous mobster Whitey Bulger's decades-long deal with the FBI that allowed him to effectively rule Boston's underworld unchallenged.It's one of the those stories that's so crazy you can't believe it actually happened. Super ambitious and morally compromised FBI agents make a deal with up-and-coming Irish mobsters to exchange information about the Italian mob in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The Irish mobsters turn in all the other bad guys in town and are able to get away with their own loan sharking, extortion and murder plots due to FBI protection. Multiple indictments against them vaporize, confounding police and prosecutors. By the time the press and local cops finally figure out what's going on, Bulger has been tipped off and fled the area. The writers unravel the series of events that led to Bulger's ultimate escape from justice and it's pretty fascinating stuff. The narrative is clear and concise, filled with quotes, interviews, passages taken from police and FBI files, etc. It really gives you a sense of the various forces at work and the motivations on all sides of the situation. I found this to be very compelling non-fiction.
—Erin
