They’ve done this before.
You may vaguely remember the name of James “Whitey” Bulger, who headed up a crime syndicate called the Winter Hill Gang in the Boston area and who — at the same time — was a full-time informant for the FBI.
Whitey was a killer.
The FBI knew that.
Yet, one rogue FBI agent protected the mob boss even after finding proof of new murders committed by his “informant.”
So, before we connect presidential son Hunter Biden with Whitey, let’s review the sordid connection between FBI agent John Connolly and Mr. Bulger.
Mr. Bulger and Mr. Connolly not only grew up in the same neighborhood (they were “Southies” and lived in a South Boston housing project), but 19-year-old Whitey had at one time saved 8-year-old Connolly from being beaten up.
They were 11 years apart in age so they weren’t really “pals,” but their families were friendly. The two boys took two completely different career paths. Mr. Bulger opted for a life of crime, for which he spent time in various prisons, including a stint in Alcatraz. Mr. Connolly opted for a life in law enforcement and became a highly effective FBI agent.
Whitey’s brother, William Bulger, coincidentally, rose to become president of the Massachusetts Senate and served as one of the state’s most powerful politicians. William (“Billy”) Bulger was credited with convincing John Connolly to attend Boston College and helped him become an FBI agent.
The Bulgers and the Connollys remained on friendly terms even though on opposite sides of the law. Whitey and John would meet on occasion and Mr. Connolly would try to entice Mr. Bulger to become an informant, but Mr. Bulger resisted.
Whitey did finally agree, not to “inform” but to “strategize” with Mr. Connolly and help bring down the Italian mob who’d moved into Whitey’s South Boston territory.
The relationship worked out well for both men. Mr. Connolly was recognized as one of the FBI’s most effective agents, and Irish-bred Bulger moved into all the territories the Italian Mafia had to give up once they were convicted and jailed.
Whitey would tip off the FBI to what the Mafia had done, and Mr. Connolly kept Mr. Bulger — busy with gambling, loansharking, drug-dealing and other facets of his business — out of jail and out of the spotlight.
At one point (and this is likely what precipitated his personal downfall), Mr. Connolly let Mr. Bulger know that there were informers in his operation and named them. Mr. Bulger acted quickly by luring the informers to a secluded spot, whereupon he tied them to a chair, shot them in the head and buried their bodies.
In 1995, Mr. Bulger went on the lam after Mr. Connolly informed him that he was about to be arrested on a federal racketeering charge. Mr. Bulger remained “lost” for the next 16 years until his arrest in 2011 in Santa Monica.
The 89-year-old Bulger was finally tried and convicted of various charges and, shortly after being placed in a federal facility, was beaten to death by other convicts.
Nobody likes a rat, apparently even an old rat.
In 1999, Mr. Connolly was tried and convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and murder and had been sent to prison long before Whitey was captured. Mr. Connolly’s prosecutor was none other than former U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John H. Durham, who currently serves as special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice and who has been sorting through the Trump-era Russiagate files for the past six years.
It’s commonly known that law enforcement officers are often required to make deals with liars, pimps, thieves and other unsavory types, including killers, with the goal of bringing down a bigger fish or even a criminal syndicate.
It’s a distasteful business but probably necessary.
So enter Hunter Biden, the ne’er-do-well son of a famous and powerful politician. His Laptop from Hell, revealed by New York Post reporter Miranda Devine in the waning days of the 2020 election and suppressed by virtually the entire news and media establishment other than Fox News Channel and of course the New York Post. The laptop, left by Hunter at a computer repair shop and then forgotten, contains videos and photos of a naked Hunter cavorting with prostitutes, smoking crack and participating in sundry, dubious activities.
Hunter had already made a name for himself as the man who famously “earned” $1 million a year (for five years!) by sitting on the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian oil-and-gas holding company. Hunter had no knowledge of or experience with energy production of any kind. But he was the son of a sitting vice president: Joe Biden.
I’m not an investigative reporter and have no connections to law enforcement authorities who would lead me to know anything more than what has already been made public.
But what has been made public is damning.
However, what seems like an open-and-shut case of influence peddling and money laundering can easily be disguised as an international CIA or FBI undercover operation set up to expose and bring down powerful criminal elements.
And, truth be told, there could be some factual basis for that.
In any case, those who expect Joe Biden, or James Biden, or Hunter Biden or even Jill Biden, to be indicted and or convicted of anything should put aside those foolish fantasies.
Just as Dr. Anthony Fauci has recently opined that “Perhaps we’ll never know” how COVID-19 was initially spread (though most of us who’ve followed the trail already know), I do believe neither the Chinese government nor the U.S. government will ever reveal all the details behind the advent and spread of COVID-19. Mainly because both governments are culpable. I also believe we’ll probably never know the full truth behind Hunter Biden’s or the Biden family’s business dealings.
Whitey Bulger was a stone-cold killer protected by an ultimately corrupted FBI agent.
Joe Biden is simply one in a long line of slick politicians with ready smiles and hearty handshakes (though not so hearty anymore), eager and willing to skirt the rules, pad the payroll, and make big bucks through their public trust.
Joe Biden types are a dime a dozen. He joins a long and undistinguished procession of self-serving men and women who’ve taken full advantage of their exalted post for personal benefit. His son, Hunter, and his brother James are just incidental but useful sycophants bound together by an unworthy bloodline.
The Whitey Bulger/John Connolly story is a cautionary tale of how just one bad agent can corrupt an entire law enforcement agency.
Though I’d like to see a different outcome, odds are they’ll all escape any serious consequences, and the public is unlikely to learn much for a very long time. After all, 60 years have passed since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and many of the files and autopsy photos and reports remain “secret” at the behest of various governmental agencies, including the FBI.
Keeping that in mind, how long do you think the Biden papers will be kept under wraps?
James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.
