Customer Reviews

Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(109)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At first it seems like pure fiction: One of Boston's most notorious mobsters, who also happens to be the brother of one of Massachusetts' most powerful politicians, spends more than a decade as a secret informant for the FBI. And, using his informant status as a shield, he grows his criminal empire and commits just about every crime on the books, including murder. As incredible as it sounds, it's all true and it's all here, and it's better than fiction. This is a powerfully written narrative by two prize-winning investigative reporters who covered the story and revealed some of its most dramatic elements. By combining their powerful reporting skills with rich writing flair, Lehr and O'Neill bring readers into the heart of darkness. They show how a relationship that began among children in the housing projects of South Boston evolved into a corrupt deal among dangerous adults that ultimately humiliated the nation's top law-enforcement agency and extended the reign of some of the very mobsters the FBI was supposed to eradicate. The book moves seamlessly from the streets and storerooms of Boston, to the corridors of political power, to the ornate federal courthouse where the deal comes crashing down.

"Black Mass" is the chilling account of how two killers from South Boston were able to manipulate the FBI for a period of decades. James"Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi were legendary wiseguys in Boston during the 1970s. John Connolly a childhood acquaintance of Bulger's who made good and joined the Boston FBI. When Connolly hooked up with the tough guy from his old neighborhood things began to go awry.

Connolly was awed by his friendship with Bulger and used his contact in the underworld as proof of his prowess as an agent. For their part Bulger and Flemmi were able to pass along innocuous mob gossip to the Feds in exchange for protection form local law enforcement. Carefully placed tidbits of information helped the FBI to arrest enemies of the Bulger gang. With each arrest Whitey and Flemmi were able to expand their own power base. Those people who complained to the police were inevitably redirected to the FBI. Once the bureau had its hands on a case, the stonewalling began. This was a cycle that continued from the late 60s up until the mid 90s. During this period the `invaluable informants' provided little of substance to their `handlers'. However the agents were able to cook the reports and win commendations and promotions for themselves. At the same time, over a dozen murders are directly attributed to the pair.

If there is honor among thieves you can't prove it from this book. "Black Mass" is a shocking story of deceit and corruption within Boston law enforcement, politics and organized crime. It is almost impossible to describe the level of hubris on the part of the crooks who were protected by the FBI and those very agents who cosseted the killers in order to advance their own careers. If they are lucky, the crooks end up behind bars, but many meet their fate in the trunk of a car.

No small part of this seems to flow from good old-fashioned insularity, the "Us vs. Them" mentality so prevalent in South Boston. The area was still reeling throughout the 1970s from the forced bussing earlier in the decade. To many Bulger, was a mythic Robin Hood figure. He might be a crook but he was Southie's crook and a damned good one at that. With a cunning that allowed him to outwit the police at every turn, it was a blow for hometown pride that the Italian Mafia was failing while the Irish mob was waxing in power. This was the myth that the Bulger gang worked to promote while at the same time Whitey was murdering and extorting from the citizens of his old neighborhood. His cunning ability to outwit the police boiled down to being an informant for the FBI and his concern for the streets he grew up on is evident by how he promoted the use of drugs to the people in Southie.

This account is a sad story of how the best intentions (Like the FBI informant program) can have the worst results.

The plot of "Black Mass" revolves around a fateful decision by the Boston FBI concerning the so-called Irish Mafia of South Boston and its infamous boss-the notorious James "Whitey" Bulger. The FBI was so eager to break up the local Italian Mafia that, for years it used Whitey as a confidential informant. Was there a payback? There certainly was: Whitey was allowed to run his bookmaking, loan sharking, shake downs and other criminal activities without serious interference from law enforcement. Were there "complications"? There certainly were: Apart from obvious slippery morality behind the FBI operation, certain local agents get "slightly too cozy" with Whitey and his right hand man, Stevie "The Rifleman" Flemmi. There is a great nickname! I won't divulge what happens but suffice it to say that a sharp eyed-or was it sharp eared? -Defense attorney unravels the deal. Is justice ultimately done? The reader will just have to find out by him or herself! Fair warning: the epilogue fails to tie up all loose ends. BM reads as if it were two stories. The early going is uneven, choppy and routine. Then BM finds its' stride and develops into fine true crime reading. Perhaps that was due to dual authorship or dual editing. The end result is ultimately satisfying. BM is an excellent example of the dangers of good intentions (stopping the Italian Mafia) unraveling into a its' own sinister crisis and creating its' own maelstrom of crime. BM is a 5 star work, but with one star subtracted for the weaker early stages. Boston residents can quite easily add back the 5th star. True crime devotees living in eastern Massachusetts should love this one.

This book rips the door off its hinges on the back-room deals struck by the FBI's John Connolly and Whitey Bulger. The great lengths that Connolly went to cover Whitey's track will make your stomach turn. The writers capture that sense, back it up with hard evidence, and invite the reader into that dark place where the line between good and evil merge.

O'Neill and Lehr have beaten everyone to the punch on a story that has never been told and will shock the senses. Black Mass is destined for greatness and is a book that was made for the big screen.

Have leads that could help or exonerate Bulger and Flemmi been disregarded in the investigation?

Is the FBI making facts fit the profile by which this messy case can be cleaned up by blaming everything on Flemmi and Bulger? Does our nation have a history of doing this? Sacco and Vanzetti?

Has organized crime in some form infiltrated nearly every facet of American government and are whole families bridges between government and organized crime? What is the relationship between government and organized crime?

Will Dan Burton call the CIA up to detail the nature of its relationship with Bulger?

Would the President himself get involved in a case like this?

This book is a good intro but leaves out any detail about the agents involved or the prosecutors.It does not address early concerns in the case,such as how the FBI is alleged to be involved with such things as pornography as well.It also treats this case as an anomaly, but as Congressman James Trafficante of Ohio noted on the news show "Nightline", FBI agents have been alleged to have a similar arrangement there in Ohio. It seems as if the real 'Mafia' is actually a conglomeration of gangsters and govt employees from many branches of govt ,and not just the FBI.Once into this network, you have the protection of being the police while the underground connections for cleverly concealing your activities.

Here is one of those stories that on the surface seems to practically write itself. The tale of, as the subtitle suggests "an unholy alliance" between mobsters and FBI agents. A story replete with larger than life killers such as Whitey Bulger, heinous crimes, cover ups, betrayals, and victims both innocent and deserving. The writing duo of Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill benefit from having unknowingly started work on the book years years in advance as reporters. They ultimately had access to volumes of interviews, background material to go along with their many first hand encounters the leading players of the story. Their intimate knowledge of the people, places and events made them naturals to tell the wider story and they came through with flying colors. The writing combines the best features of investigative reporting and dramatic non fiction.
At the heart of the story are FBI agents John Connolly and Dick Morris who started off using notorious gangsters Bulger (whose very different brother has served as a Massachusetts state senator and university president) and Steve "The Rifleman" Flemmi as informants to help bring down the Boston area Mafia. In large part they succeeded but at what a price! The agents crossed the line -- more liked leaped over it -- and befriended the pair, literally letting the two get away with murder (along with other felonies) in the process. Bulger and Flemmi would dine and exchange gifts with the agents one day and go about extorting, drug tracking, loan sharking and killing the next.
"Black Mass" is at times heart breaking, infuriating and fascinating. In it we see much of the underbelly of human behavior and the degree to which people in the public trust can be co-opted. Herein is my only quibble with the authors, as I would have liked more of an analysis of what made the agents, Connolly in particular, "go bad."
The authors are nonetheless to be lauded for a commendable job. "Black Mass" is a great read.

If you research the history of Massachusetts you will find that the early to mid 1960s was a frenzy of projects and activity during the height of Kennedy power and influence. In Middlesex County Congressman F. Bradford Morse represented a district that even included Lawrence,Mass. In Middlesex County the space and military sectors flourished with projects as Apollo in Bedford, Voyager in Wilmington,a NIKE missile base in Burlington, the Boston Navy Yard, and such music greats as Bob Dylan,Joan Baez, and Muddy Waters playing at Club 47 in Cambridge. JFK, before he was assassinated, endorsed Woburn as the future site of the Johnson Space Center.One of the most constructive things which can come out of this case is to understand precisely the politics and sociological events in the wake of JFK's assassination and economic intrigues in the region as a precipitator of the violence that is tragically the focus of this book and case. In the 1960s a minimum of 24 organized crime families prospered nationwide. Hollywood portrays such groups as unsophisticated, but when one considers the nature of the beast, each organized crime family might be viewed as a clan of varying size and influence through all strata of government which forms the 'informal government'. To those not involved such groups a lot of things must seem like random events but not so to those involved.By understanding the dynamics involved we gain a better understanding of how events are orchestrated by the subtle interplay of cooperating and sometimes competing groups.

This work is quite interesting but one thing i am concerned about is that there has not been hard proof that Whitey Bulger and Steve Flemmi actually performed any murders or organized them. Much of the case against Bulger and Flemmi seem to stem from testimony by persons trying to get out of serious culpability for what transpired.Kevin Weeks for example, who was groomed by Bulger and now is looking at serious prison time is cooperating with federal authorities in laying all the blame at Bulger and Flemmi's feet.We don't know right now who is actually responsible for what and it may be premature to pass judgement on Connolly,Bulger and Flemmi until all the facts,if ever,are in.

In following this case i don't know what to think.

The recent admission of a number of women now full-grown admitting to being targeted by Flemmi and Bulger for sex and porno films and the way it is described is quite believable. I know someone quite well who has had seen this sort of thing happen and with individuals associated with other branches of the government as well. Teen boys are often targeted by homosexual and bisexual predators and this person knew of some businessmen that targeted in particular kids in foster care or kids from dysfunctional families. These individuals got away with it because they had close ties, often family members, linked to high level government positions that could come to their aid if any local law enforcement action was taken. In the case of this person mentioned, teen boys were targeted and bribed with money or gifts or favors for sex or if that didn't work, their 'connections' were mentioned as a potential threat.One man in particular hinted at violence as well.

What might be coming out in this case is that there is a whole economy based on a confluence of drugs,prostitution,pornography, blackmail and extortion of which the government itself has a strong financial interest in perpetuating. Vulnerable teenagers from broken homes or without homes may be a prime choice of recruiting for these economic sectors and people like Flemmi and Bulger are relatively small with respect to this whole underground economy which is global in nature. The women who have come forth do sound quite believable in describing what went on but the question in all of this remains: did Flemmi and Bulger voluntarily choose this or were they pushed into it,only later to adapt or accept that lifestyle? In other words, will locking up Flemmi and Bulger and 'throwing the key away' do anything to change future exploitation of unwilling girls and boys? Would we feel differently if individuals choose this lifestyle after they have become adults?