Bulger brother may pay bail, legal fees

For a brief moment, they were reunited, exchanging smiles in a South Boston courtroom Friday: James "Whitey" Bulger, the city's most notorious alleged gangster -- now facing justice 16 years after he fled -- and his younger brother William, once considered one of the most powerful politicians in the state.

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CBS News Correspondent Elaine Quijano reported Monday that, in the working-class neighborhoods of South Boston, known as "Southie," both men are said to have ruled their respective worlds. "Whitey" was allegedly the king of organized crime as head of the fearsome Irish-American Winter Hill Gang. William rose to become president of the State Senate.

Bulger family friend Joe Oteri said of the brothers, "You are always loyal to your family and your friends; you never let them down. Without that, there's nothing."

But ultimately, that loyalty may have cost William his job. After his career in the legislature, William was forced out of his position as president of the University of Massachusetts in 2003 after being questioned during a congressional investigation.

In 1992, before "Whitey" disappeared, William professed his loyalty to his brother in a "60 Minutes" interview with Morley Safer.

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Safer asked in the report, "Some people might go to great pains to distance themselves, to disown, even, a brother who, you know. You have not done that?"

William Bulger replied, "No. He's my brother. I care about him."

Now, as "Whitey" Bulger faces numerous charges, including racketeering and 19 counts of murder, there are questions about whether William helped his brother while he was on the run.

But family friend Oteri dismisses that.

He told CBS News, "He didn't help his brother hide. He didn't give him money. He did nothing."

On "The Early Show," co-anchor Chris Wragge added that assistant U.S. attorney Brian Kelly says Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig, told court officials that William was prepared to help pay his brother's bail and legal tab.

William Bulger has not said much since his brother's arrest. In a written statement, he expressed his "sympathy to all the families hurt by the calamitous circumstances of this case."

Quijano remarked they're two brothers leading separate lives; yet both must live with the consequences.

Oteri said of the brothers, "It must be debilitating to read about it in the paper every day about this nonsense and have it spill over on you, as if you've done something wrong."