Bulger Accuses Prosecutors of Trying to Dodge Judge

James “Whitey” Bulger’s attorney says prosecutors are trying to dodge a judge that previously raised “difficult questions” by attempting to dismiss charges against his client.

Bulger has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a litany of charges in two cases – A 1994 case based on alleged racketeering, and one from 1999 that connects Bulger to 19 murders through the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The 1994 case is handled by Judge Mark Wolf, while the 1999 case is overseen by Judge Richard Stearns.

Wolf previously asked “difficult questions” during hearings involving other defendants in the racketeering case in the mid-90s, attorney Peter Krupp wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.

“Having encountered difficult questions from this Court in lengthy hearings in the late 1990s, rather than have the newest allegations included in a Fifth Superseding Indictment in this case, the government chose to have the newest allegations returned in a separate indictment, so that it might be assigned a different docket and drawn to a different judge,” Krupp wrote.

Prosecutors chose to drop the racketeering case because they believe the murder case is stronger, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz argued in a motion Tuesday. Focusing on the murder charges would also provide a better chance for Bulger, 81, to be prosecuted on the most serious allegations before the end of his natural life, Ortiz said in a filing.

But Krupp called the request “forum shopping” and said the murder cases should be consolidated into the racketeering case before being dropped. By doing so, all the charges would be overseen by Wolf.

“To avoid the forum shopping issue, the Court should first act on this motion to consolidate, and only thereafter act on the dismissal filed by the government on June 28, 2011,” Krupp wrote. “Consolidation would eliminate the forum shopping problem.”

The motion was filed in the case overseen by Wolf. In an order Wednesday, he called for prosecutors to respond to the defense's motion and scheduled a hearing for Thursday.