Family of mob boss Whitey Bulger to file wrongful death claim against prison for 'deliberately placing him in harm's way' before he was beaten to death by inmates within hours of arrival at new jail
- Questions remain unanswered about mobster's death, family says
- Family want to know why the 89-year-old inmate was transferred to a federal prison in West Virginia and put in the facility’s general population
- He was pronounced dead at 8.21am on October 30, 2018 less than 24 hours after he had moved to U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton facility
- James 'Whitey' Bulger's cause of death was 'blunt force injuries to the head'
- Death Certificate says he died minutes after he was attacked by inmates
- He was brutally beaten to death with a padlock in a sock and officers found his body 12 hours later wrapped in a sheet
- Eleven months after his death, no one has been charged
The family of slain Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger is filing a wrongful death claim against the federal government following his death in prison last year
The family of slain Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger is filing a wrongful death claim against the federal government following his death in prison last year.
The Wall Street Journal reports the family is seeking $200 million in damages in the forthcoming claim.
They say Bulger was 'deliberately placed in harm's way' when he was transferred to a West Virginia prison and placed in the general inmate population hours before his death.
Bulger's death certificate reveals that he died from blunt force injuries to the head in a gruesome prison attack.
The 89-year-old died within minutes of being attacked by inmates. No charges have been filed, but officials have said two Massachusetts mobsters are suspects.
Federal prosecutors said last year they were investigating Bulger’s death as a homicide.
'We believe that James Bulger was deliberately placed in harm's way,' the Bulger family said in a statement. 'There is simply no other explanation for the transfer of someone in his condition and inmate status to be placed in the general population of one of the country's most violent federal penitentiaries.'
The notorious mob boss died minutes after he was attacked by inmates at USP Hazelton in West Virginia and was pronounced dead at 8.21am on October 30, 2018
William Bulger, Whitey's brother, is part of the members of the Bulger family who are filing a lawsuit
The claim seeks $200 million in damages, however the family said it would not benefit financially because any award could be subject to civil judgments and restitution orders against the mobster.
Attorneys for the family said they hope to shed light on Bulger’s transfer and death by unearthing documents and deposing government officials
The federal Bureau of Prisons didn't respond to an email seeking comment on Friday. Bulger's lawyer also didn't respond.
Bulger was sentenced to life in prison for his role in 11 gangland killings. He'd also been an FBI informant.
Bulger was brutally beaten to death by inmates in his cell at U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia less than 24 hours after he was transferred to the facility.
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He was killed less than 24 hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton from a Florida prison. Pictured above being transferred to Hazelton
They brutally attacked the wheelchair-bound Bulger, beat him with a lock in a sock, tried to gouge out the mobster's eyes with a shiv and attempted to cut out his tongue.
His body was found wrapped in a sheet 12 hours later by prison officers, who said the gangster was hardly recognizable.
He was killed less than 24 hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton from a Florida prison.
Although an official motive has not been released, prison officials believe mob retaliation was behind the attack because Bulger turned into an informant and ratted out other mobsters.
Six months after Bulger's murder, no one has been charged in connection with his death at USP Hazelton (above) in West Virginia
A potential suspect is Fotios 'Freddy' Geas, a Massachusetts hitman who hates 'rats'.
Bulger was the notorious head of the Irish mob who led a decades-long reign of terror in south Boston from the 70s to 90s.
He on American's Most Wanted fugitive for years as he was on the run, until he was finally captured in 2011 living in Santa Monica.
In 2013 he was convicted for a slew of crimes including at least 11 murders and was sentenced to life behind bars.
His attorney J.W. Carney Jr blamed his death on prison officials.
He said Bulger 'was sentenced to life in prison, but as a result of decisions by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that sentence has been changed to the death penalty.'
In November 2018 he was buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Boston.
Bulger was the notorious head of the Irish mob who led a decades-long reign of terror in south Boston from the 70s to 90s
Bulger was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in the West Roxbury area of Boston in November'18
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