FBI Used Ruse to Lure 'Whitey' Bulger From Home

Federal agents said Thursday morning that their often-criticized 16-year manhunt for notorious Boston crime boss James J. "Whitey" Bulger came to an end after agents used a ruse from his Santa Monica home Wednesday.

The tip came in around 8 p.m. Tuesday and was the direct result of a recently launched media campaign.

"Although there are those who have doubted our resolve over the years, it has never wavered," Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston division, said to a room full of reporters in the U.S. Attorneys office at the John Joseph Moakley federal courthouse in Boston.

Bulger, 81, was arrested without incident around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday after federal agents lured him out of his Santa Monica home, where he had been living under the pseudonym Charles Gasko, DesLauriers said. Bulger's longtime companion, Catherine Greig, who was using the name Carol Gasko, was also arrested. Inside the home federal agents found guns and cash.

Bulger is scheduled to make an initial court appearance in California today at 2 p.m., Pacific time. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said that the date of Bulger's arraignment in Massachusetts will depend what happens in the California courtroom today. He is facing charges in connection with 19 murders, extortion, money laundering, conspiracy and other crimes. Greig will face at least one charge of harboring a fugitive, Ortiz said. 

DesLauriers praised the media for its help in giving the Bulger case exposure and said the tip was the "direct result of media initiatives." Those efforts included a recent media campaign in 14 cities looking for information about Bulger or Greig.

DesLauriers said that Bulger will be in Boston within 48 hours.

DesLauriers would not comment on whether the tip involved information about Bulger or about Greig; he would also not discuss the nature of the ruse agents used to nab him.

Authorities would not comment on whether the $2 million reward the FBI offered for Bulger's arrest would be collected. Greig's arrest carried a $100,000 reward. Authorities would not give out any information about the tipster.

This article was originally published on South End Patch.

Go to see a gallery of photos from the apartment complex where Bulger and Greig were arrested, and go to see images of Bulger from over the years.