, Catherine Greig—who for more than decade eluded authorities with reputed Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger while living in Santa Monica—has filed a notice reserving her right to appeal the sentence.
The one-paragraph claim was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by her defense attorney Kevin Reddington and is considered a safeguard. After the sentencing Tuesday, Reddington told news outlets that Judge Douglas Woodlock's sentence was fair.
Bulger, who prosecutors say ran the Winter Hill gang in South Boston, is awaiting trial on charges stemming from 19 murders committed in the 1970s and 80s.
A former member of the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted, Bulger and Greig were last June. Under the aliases of Charles and Carl Gasko, they had lived just a few blocks from the beach, at
In March, Greig signed a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
It's common for defense attorneys to file notices, because it keeps their clients' "later options open, if for whatever reason, they choose to pursue an appeal," Boston defense attorney Martin G. Weinberg told a news blog of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Under federal appellate procedures, defendants are required to file the notice within 14 days of sentencing.
The blog reported:
An appeal here would likely be limited to the question of whether U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock committed any errors of law in calculating the sentencing guidelines.
Reddington . He said Greig was in love with and charmed by Bulger, and believed him to be "totally incapable of the things that were being said about him."
In a letter to the judge, Greig's 61-year-old twin sister Margaret McCusker painted a similar picture. "Cathy never possessed an evil bone in her body and was never involved in Bulger's activities," she wrote.
But victims' families blamed Greig for their suffering. Greig reportedly ran his errands and paid their bills. Without her, Bulger might have faced trial sooner, they said.
Steven Davis—brother of 26-year-old murder victim Debra Davis—said Greig was a willing partner and a co-conspirator of Bulger's. "She did everything in her power to insure that these victims' families never saw justice done," Davis said in an impact statement.
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