John Connolly (FBI)
John J. Connolly, Jr. (born August 1, 1940) is a former FBI agent, who was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from his relationship with James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang. Connolly was released from federal prison June 28, 2011, and was transferred to Massachusetts state prison to serve the remainder of his sentence for his 2008 second degree murder conviction.
State police and other federal officers had been trying to imprison Whitey Bulger for years, but Bulger evaded capture until 2011. As the FBI handler for Bulger and Flemmi, Connolly (who had grown up in the Old Harbor Housing Project with Bulger) had been protecting them from prosecution by feeding Bulger information about possible attempts to catch them.
Connolly was indicted on December 22, 1999 on charges of alerting Bulger and Flemmi to investigations, falsifying FBI reports to cover their crimes, and accepting bribes. In 2000, he was charged with additional racketeering related offenses. He was convicted on the racketeering charges in 2002 and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Read more about John Connolly (FBI): Biography, Education, FBI Career, Married Life, Meeting Flemmi and Bulger, Murder Trial, Conviction and Sentencing
Famous quotes containing the word connolly:
“When writers meet they are truculent, indifferent, or over-polite. Then comes the inevitable moment. A shows B that he has read something of B’s. Will B show A? If not, then A hates B, if yes, then all is well. The only other way for writers to meet is to share a quick pee over a common lamp-post.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)