Mobster with ties to Tulsa testifies
BOSTON — A New England mobster who is central to a decades-old Tulsa homicide described his long tenure as an FBI informant Thursday during testimony in lawsuits by mob victims’ families.
They claim that the agency failed to control Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, who testified Thursday, and fugitive gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
Flemmi, 75, also calmly described why he and Bulger killed Flemmi’s 26-year-old girlfriend, whose family is among the plaintiffs.
He said Bulger resented the amount of time Flemmi was spending with Debra Davis and became angry when Flemmi shirked his responsibilities with their criminal syndicate so he could be with her.
“It kind of strained our relationship,” Flemmi said.
After Bulger learned that Flemmi had told Davis that they were both working as FBI informants, Bulger “wanted me to bring her down and set her up so he could kill her,” Flemmi said.
The trial ended for the day before Flemmi could testify about how Davis was killed. He is set to continue his testimony Friday.
He previously admitted luring Davis to a South Boston home in September 1981 and watching as Bulger strangled her. He also has admitted helping bury her body.
The families of Davis, Deborah Hussey and Louis Litif say the FBI is responsible for their deaths because it protected Flemmi and Bulger and allowed them to avoid prosecution for their crimes.
When the three were killed in the 1980s, Bulger and Flemmi ran the Winter Hill Gang and acted as informants who provided the FBI with information on the Mafia.
Flemmi, who is serving a life sentence for his role in 10 murders, including that of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler, has admitted participating in the killings of Davis, whom he began dating when she was 17 and he was in his late 30s, and Hussey, the daughter of his common-law wife.
The Justice Department claims that the FBI did not know that Bulger and Flemmi planned the killings and cannot be held liable for their deaths.
At least 17 lawsuits have been filed against the government by alleged Winter Hill Gang victims. Ten — including one by Wheeler’s family — were dismissed because they were filed too late.
Flemmi pleaded guilty in 2004 to first-degree murder for the execution-style slaying of Wheeler, who was 55 when he was killed in Tulsa in 1981. Wheeler, chairman of the Tulsa-based Telex Corp., was shot once in the head as he sat in his car after playing golf at Southern Hills Country Club.
Investigators theorized that the killing was ordered by Winter Hill Gang leaders and was linked to Wheeler’s 1978 purchase of World Jai Alai — a sport on which bets are placed — and his suspicion that money was being skimmed from the company.
Charges were not filed until 20 years after the slaying, when Flemmi, Bulger and hit man John Martorano were charged with murder and conspiracy. Martorano pleaded guilty in 2001 to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Bulger is wanted in connection with 19 murders and is on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list.
Source: tulsaworld
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