Bulger Trial Completes First Week of Testimony

By Chris Orchard | Somerville Patch

Jurors in the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger heard testimony from former law enforcement officials and bookmakers on Thursday and Friday, capping the first week of the trial.

Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica before being brought to trial in Boston, which kicked off with opening statements Wednesday.

On Thursday, retired Massachusetts State Police Colonel Thomas J. Foley testified that his efforts to target Bulger were regularly thwarted by FBI agents, according to Boston.com.

Bulger's defense argued the FBI was so corrupt it lied about Bulger being an informant for the bureau.

On Friday, former bookie James Katz told the jury he paid $1,000 a month in "rent" to Bulger during the NFL season and $500 a month during the rest of the year, according to BostonHerald.com.

Katz told the jury "you could end up in the hospital" if you disobeyed Bulger, according to the newspaper's website.

The jury also heard from Richard O'Brien, another bookie, who said he paid rent to Bulger for 14 years, according to WBUR.

WBUR says that in the 1970s Bulger told O'Brien to "forget the North End, if you want to be in business, you're with us," the former bookie testified. The North End is a reference to the Italian mafia that was based in that neighborhood of Boston.