Whitey Bulger Trial: Jury goes home for the weekend without verdict; deliberations to enter second week
(CBS) BOSTON -- Deliberations in the trial of reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger will enter a second week. Jurors went home for the weekend Friday without reaching a verdict and will return on Monday, CBS Boston reports via Twitter.
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The case was turned over to the jury shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday after more than seven weeks of testimony. Friday marked their fourth day of deliberations.
The alleged former leader of South Boston's notorious Winter Hill crime gang is charged in a broad 32-count indictment that accuses him of raking in millions from drug trafficking and extortion. One of the counts, a federal racketeering charge, covers 33 criminal acts including 19 murders, six extortions, and conspiracy to sell drugs, Boston.com reported.
During the week, the jury asked several questions of the judge, including whether jurors must be unanimous in finding the government didn't prove its case against Bulger on any particular racketeering charge. A judge responded they must be unanimous in any decision they make, and to try to reach verdicts on each count.
Thursday, the jury asked to examine a submachine gun entered into evidence.
Bulger is charged with orchestrating or committing the killings during the 1970s and '80s while he allegedly led the notorious Winter Hill Gang, a crew of mostly Irish-American gangsters.
Bulger was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives after he fled Boston in 1994 ahead of an indictment. During his 16 years on the run, his secret relationship with the FBI as an informant was revealed, embarrassing the FBI and exposing corruption within the bureau.
Bulger, now 83, was finally captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011, where he had been living in a rent-controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend.
Bulger's lawyers strongly denied that Bulger was ever an informant and told jurors the government's three main witnesses - all once-loyal Bulger cohorts - were pathological liars who blamed Bulger for crimes they committed so they could get reduced sentences.
Deliberations are expected to resume Monday morning.
Complete coverage of the Whitey Bulger case on Crimesider
