Whitey Bulger's Girlfriend Pleads Not Guilty To Contempt Charge
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The longtime girlfriend and fugitive companion of James "Whitey" Bulger appeared briefly in federal court to face a contempt charge for refusing to tell whether other people helped the Boston mobster during his 16 years on the run.
Wearing handcuffs, Catherine Greig pleaded not guilty to the new charge Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court. She is due back in court November 19.
Greig, 64, already is serving an eight-year sentence for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
The indictment alleges that from December 2014 until last month, Greig disobeyed a judge's order to testify before a grand jury in an investigation into "third parties" who assisted and harbored Bulger.
Bulger, now 86, fled Boston just before being indicted in early 1995. He was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. He and Greig had been living together in a rent-controlled apartment.
When Greig was sentenced on the original charges in 2012, her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said Greig was in love with Bulger when she fled with him and did not believe that Bulger was capable of murder.
In 2013, Bulger was convicted of playing a role in 11 murders and other charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment.
Prosecutors said Greig had numerous opportunities to leave Bulger during their time on the run. Instead, they said she helped him remain a fugitive by using false identities and posing as his wife so she could pick up his prescriptions.
The couple posed as married retirees from Chicago. After they were captured, authorities found a stash of more than $800,000 in cash and 30 weapons in their apartment.
Greig's twin sister, Margaret McCusker, was in court for the brief arraignment. She left without speaking.
Steven Davis, brother of Debbie Davis, was also in court. He says it makes him sick to his stomach and thinks he knows why Greig won't speak up.
"Like they say, there is a price on everything," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker. "She must have been paid a lot of money to keep her mouth shut."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports
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