Whitey Bulger's Girlfriend Asks For 2+ Years In Prison
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Lawyers for Whitey Bulger's girlfriend are asking for a prison sentence of a little more than two years, it was revealed Monday.
Read: Greig Sentencing Memorandum (.pdf)
That's a far cry from the ten years federal prosecutors want for Catherine Greig.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
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Greig will appear before a federal judge in Boston on Tuesday, when she will be sentenced before an expected crowd of relatives of people allegedly killed by Bulger.
The 82-year-old former leader of the Winter Hill Gang and FBI informant is awaiting trial on charges he participated in 19 murders.
Greig faces a maximum of 15 years — 5 years on each of three charges: conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
Federal prosecutors told family members in March that she could get as little as 32 months under federal sentencing guidelines.
But on Friday, they filed a sentencing memo in court saying she deserves a much longer punishment. They asked the judge to sentence her to 10 years in prison.
In their sentencing memorandum filed Monday, Greig's attorneys asked for a 27-month sentence.
They also oppose allowing the families to speak at Tuesday's sentencing.
"The individuals who seek to be heard are not 'victims' of the crimes Catherine Greig is to be sentenced for," attorney Kevin Reddington wrote in Grieg's filing.
Read: Opposition To "Victims" (.pdf)
Reddington also suggested that the government was trying to "rectify the bungling" of their investigation and redeem themselves from bad publicity.
He said the government struck a plea deal with Greig, then faced criticism in the media from family members of those whom prosecutors say Bulger killed.
"It is understandable that some type of payback is desired but it is not in the interest of justice to try to redeem such misconduct by crushing Ms. (Greig) with an excessive sentence."
Steve Davis, whose 26-year-old sister, Debra Davis, was allegedly killed by Bulger in 1981, said he still plans to address the court Tuesday.
"I'm going to speak either way. One way or another I'm speaking tomorrow," he told WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson Monday.
"If I am not heard, there will be fireworks. Fourth of July will come early at Federal Court."
Greig, 61, pleaded guilty in March.
She admitted she used aliases, unlawfully obtained identification documents and repeatedly helped Bulger get prescription medication from a pharmacy by claiming to be his wife.
Patricia Donahue, the widow of a man who died in a hail of bullets after prosecutors say Bulger opened fire on someone else in 1982, called the defense's request for 27 months in prison for Greig "a joke" that would encourage other people to harbor criminals.
Donahue, of Boston, also said she was hoping to speak at Greig's sentencing.
"How are we not victims of the crime if she spent 16 years with the man responsible for my husband's death?" Donahue said.
Authorities captured the couple in Santa Monica, Calif., last June after the FBI launched a publicity campaign focused on Greig.
They were posing as retirees from Chicago and renting an apartment where authorities said they found a stash of more than $800,000 cash and 30 weapons.
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