Jan 23, 2008 11:29 pm US/Eastern
Investigators Release Whitey Bulger Audio Tapes
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The task force searching for James "Whitey" Bulger released audio recordings of the fugitive mobster Wednesday afternoon, hoping to generate new leads in the case.
The recordings are not new. Investigators say they were taken by the FBI before Bulger fled 13 years ago.
Agents hope international exposure of the recordings of what they say are "the unique sounds of Bulger's voice" may reach someone who may have come in contact with him while he's been on the run.
The last suspected sighting of Bulger was in Sicily last April.
In September, the bureau released photos and a video of an unknown couple that was taken in Taormina, Sicily. They show a man and a woman the FBI believes resembles Bulger, 78, and his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, 56.
Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, has been on the run since January 1995, when he was tipped off by FBI agent John Connolly that he was about to be indicted on racketeering charges.
Bulger, who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, is also wanted for 19 murders in and around Boston during the 1970s and 1980s.
Radio talk show host Howie Carr has written a book about Bulger and his brother. On his show, Wednesday night, Carr poked fun at the audio tapes.
"It would have been nice to have this stuff released in 1995," he said. "(Bulger) hasn't been seen in the country since 1995."
There is currently a $1 million reward for Bulger's capture.
"As I said in my book, (the Bulger brothers) corrupted and terrorized Boston for a quarter century, and he's gotten away with it," Carr said. "He's now 78 years old. He's been on the lamb for more than a dozen years and nobody has seen him."
The FBI has also offered up photos of what Whitey Bulger may look like today.
"Too much time has gone by," Carr said. "I mean, you give someone a year and a half or two head start, and they have $40 million stashed outside the country, they're probably not going to get caught."
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Transcripts of the Bulger Audio Tapes
Listen To The Released Audio Tapes
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