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Whitey Bulger Update: Dispute over which victims relatives should be allowed to speak at sentencing

Courtroom sketches of Boston reputed mob leader James "Whitey" Bulger on Aug. 12, 2013, as a jury finds him guilty of racketeering charges. Christine Cornell

(CBS/AP) BOSTON - Federal prosecutors say relatives of all 19 people reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger was charged with killing should be allowed to speak at his sentencing hearing next month.

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Bulger was convicted in August of participating in 11 of 19 killingscited in his racketeering indictment. The jury found that prosecutors had not proven he participated in seven of the killings and made no finding in one slaying.

He was also found guilty of acts of extortion, money laundering, narcotics distribution conspiracy, and illegal firearms charges.

Bulger's lawyers have argued that only relatives of the 11 victims should be allowed to make impact statements at next month's sentencing hearing.

But prosecutors argued Friday that Bulger was convicted of two racketeering charges that required the jury to find that he was part of a criminal enterprise responsible for the murders of all the victims, regardless of whether he was the actual killer.

Complete coverage of the Whitey Bulger case on Crimesider


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