Sources: Whitey Bulger Checked Into Boston Hospital As "Perry Mason"
BOSTON (CBS) - Multiple sources tell WBZ-TV it was a brief, but very intense visit under tight security for 82-year-old Whitey Bulger at Boston Medical Center.
Bulger was rushed there late last week due to chest pains and was in the hospital for about 40 minutes before denying further care against medical advice.
Sources described an intense scene in the ER like they've never seen before. They told the I-Team that U.S. Marshals were heavily armed with guns at the ready inside the trauma room while Bulger was being checked out, and only a handful of medical personnel were allowed in the room at the time.
WBZ-TV's Kathy Curran reports.
Bulger has a history of heart problems and managed to get heart medicine even while he was living on the lam for 16 years. Prosecutors said surveillance video shows girlfriend Catherine Greig walked into a California drug store to buy medicine for Bulger using a fake ID.
Sources told the I-Team that typically, prisoners are handcuffed to the stretcher or bed while they receive care at Boston Medical.
The hospital won't confirm Bulger was there, but released this statement:
"When it comes to VIP customers, Boston Medical Center strives to provide excellent care without exception to all in need of care regardless of their status or ability to pay."
Sources also told the I-Team that Bulger was checked into the emergency room under the name of the old fictional defense attorney Perry Mason, which is interesting.
So, why didn't officials take Bulger to a local hospital on the South Shore? Doctors at Plymouth County Correctional Facility determine the hospital by medical necessity.
