FBI insiders jittery on capture of mob boss

James "Whitey" Bulger's capture could cause a world of trouble inside the FBI. The ruthless Boston crime boss who spent 16 years in hiding is said to have boasted that he corrupted six FBI agents and more than 20 police officers. If he decides to talk, some of them could rue the day he was caught. "They are holding their breath, wondering what he could say," said Robert Fitzpatrick, the former second-in-command of the Boston FBI office. The 81-year-old gangster was captured on Wednesday in Santa Monica, California, where he apparently had been living for most of the time he was a fugitive. He appeared on Friday afternoon inside a heavily guarded federal courthouse in Boston to answer for his role in 19 murders. Bulger, wearing jeans and a white shirt, looked tan and fit and walked with a slight hunch at back-to-back hearings on two indictments. He asked that a public defender be appointed to represent him, but the government objected, citing the $800,000 (Dh2.9 million) seized from his Southern California apartment and his "family resources". "We think he has access to more cash," said prosecutor Brian Kelly. The FBI says agents found $800,000 in cash during a search of Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger's Santa Monica apartment following his arrest. Steven Martinez, FBI assistant director in-charge in Los Angeles, said at a news conference that agents also found more than 30 firearms, including pistols, rifles and shotguns, several types of knives and several pieces of false identification. From / Gulf News