Brutal_ The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob - Kevin Weeks [136]
Lindsay ordered the federal government to pay $3 million to McIntyre’s mother for the conscious suffering he endured before his murder, $100,000 for the loss of her son’s company, and $1,876 for funeral and burial costs. Emily McIntyre said she was thankful for the judge’s ruling but was not yet satisfied. She would still like to see others whom she considers responsible for her son’s death brought to justice.
Of course, the government appealed the decision and the case is still ongoing. It could be years before the appeals process runs its course and the McIntyre family gets the money. And if the government is successful in its appeal, it could have the award thrown out and a new trial begun. Their lawyer did say that the McIntyre family plans to ask a jury to decide additional claims against Connolly and five other FBI agents. Although they were allowed only a trial in front of a judge for this claim against the government, they can also seek jury trials in their claims against the agents.
60 MINUTES INTERVIEW
I was surprised when my editor called to inform me that 60 Minutes was interested in doing a piece on myself and this book. The actual interview with Ed Bradley in March 2006 went well. Ed and I spent one day driving and walking through Southie, along with a camera crew that filmed us as we walked and talked. During our walk, I pointed out places of interest in the book, such as where I grew up in the Old Colony projects, Castle Island, South Boston High School, the liquor store, Triple O’s, and the gravesites over by Florian Hall and down by the Neponsett Bridge.
That day, while we were filming up at South Boston Heights, a cop pulled up in a car. He told Ed he looked familiar and asked him if he was Morley Safer from 60 Minutes. Ed reminded the cop that Morley was a white man and he was a tall black man. The cop brushed that info aside and asked him what he was doing there. Ed told him he was filming a segment about Whitey Bulger and Kevin Weeks. While I stood silently beside Ed, the cop said, “Well, if you see those two bastards, let us know.”
Ed turned to me and laughed. I said, “Now do you understand why they can’t catch Whitey? They don’t even know what I look like and I’ve been all over the news.”
Our final sit down interview took place a day later at Felt, an upscale club on Washington Street in downtown Boston. It lasted a couple of hours. I could see from the questions that Ed Bradley asked that morning, as well as the discussions we had off-camera and while we were walking around Southie, that he and his producer had taken a lot of time to research and read the book. He was particularly well versed in the history of Boston and busing. I also think, judging from the way he conducted the sit-down interview, that he was unbiased and attempting to provide his viewers with a complete and honest picture of the Whitey Bulger story.
On the air, when Ed listed all the crimes in which I had been involved and questioned such a “resume,” the only response I could offer was, “It’s the business we were in.” The business of organized crime. When he asked me what my job was working for Bulger, I answered, “Anything he asked me to do.” When he asked me about Jimmy, I told him, “He stabbed people. He beat people with bats. He shot people. Strangled people. Ran ’em over with cars.” Later, I added, “Ninety-eight percent of his waking hours were dedicated to crime, 2 percent to pleasure. He was very disciplined. Had no bad habits. He didn’t drink. He didn’t gamble. Didn’t do drugs.” I told him that Jimmy had been creating new identities and stashing millions of dollars in safe deposit boxes around the world, saying, “He was probably worth thirty to fifty million.”
Ed discussed the fact that Jimmy had been a top-level FBI informant since 1975, asking me how I felt learning that fact after Jimmy was on the run. “He betrayed me,” I told him. “He betrayed