Chris Nilan: Whitey Bulger Didn't Get Stanley Cup Ring From Me
BOSTON (CBS) – Former NHL star and Boston native Chris Nilan says he doesn't know how Whitey Bulger got a Stanley Cup ring.
Bulger waived his right to have the jury decide whether he must forfeit the $822,000 in cash, guns and personal possessions found in his Santa Monica hideaway when he was captured in June 2011 after 16 years on the run.
But he's asked to keep one thing - a 1986 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup ring.
The ring was believed to have once belonged to Nilan, who was once married to the daughter of Bulger's late ex-girlfriend Teresa Stanley.
In an interview with his former agent Dan Rea on WBZ NewsRadio 1030's "Nightside" Monday night, Nilan said he gave his ring to his father.
WBZ's Dan Rea Interviews Chris Nilan
Chris Nilan Interview
"As soon as I was given that ring I reached out to my dad and I came to Boston and I told him I wanted him to have the ring because of all the things he did for me in my life."
Nilan said he had rings made for mother, his mother-in law and his wife Karen at his expense.
"I never had one made for Jim (Bulger)," Nilan said. "He didn't get it from me. He might have another friend in the NHL, I don't know."
Nilan said he was given a second ring by the Canadiens general manager at the time, Serge Savard. Nilan said he still has that ring.
Nilan told WBZ his mother still has her ring and Stanley, who died in 2012 from lung cancer, left hers to one of Nilan's daughters.
"All's I can think is that maybe Jim had one made," Nilan said, telling Rea that Bulger was a Canadiens fan and that "he was always good to me."
Nilan said Bulger is now paying for the crimes he committed.
Bulger's ring still remains in government possession and there's no guarantee he will get it back.
The ring falls into a category of property that gives the government the right to go after it to reimburse victims' families.
