Columnist Credits former 'Hitman' John Martorano with Bulger Verdict

Howie Carr, a columnist for the Boston Herald, wrote Tuesday that it was the decision of former Whitey Bulger 'Hitman' John Martorano to talk about the killings that started the sequence of events that led to Bulger's conviction Monday.

Martorano testified for several days in the two-month trial, which concluded at U.S. District Court Monday after a jury found Bulger responsible for 11 murders, and also convicted him of racketeering. Martorano has confessed to 20 murders, which he said he did on behalf of Bulger's former Winter Hill Gang.

Martorano broke his silence in 1998. And he was interviewed at length by 60 Minutes, a move that Carr said infuriated Bulger. Carr wrote a book on Martorano, "Hitman."

Martorano, released from federal prison after 12 years, now lives in a condo in Milford.