海角大神

For nearly two decades, the face of alleged Boston mobster James 鈥淲hitey鈥� Bulger was splashed across billboards and posters across the country, a larger-than-life character second only to Osama bin Laden on the FBI鈥檚 Most Wanted List.

But the 83-year-old looked much smaller on Monday as he sat hunched beside his lawyers in Boston鈥檚 federal courthouse, scribbling furiously into a notebook as the prosecuting attorney laid out in gruesome detail the specifics of Mr. Bulger鈥檚 alleged crimes 鈥� including his participation in 19 murders 鈥� in the closing argument of his murder and racketeering trial.

Almost 19 years after Bulger was first indicted and fled Boston 鈥� two years after he was finally captured in California and eight weeks after his long-awaited trial convened 鈥� Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak summed up the government鈥檚 sprawling case against the long-feared figure.

He was 鈥渙ne of the most vicious, violent, and calculating criminals ever to walk the streets of Boston,鈥� Mr. Wyshak told the members of the jury, who have spent the past two months listening to the testimony of more than 70 witnesses, including Bulger鈥檚 alleged former criminal partners, bookies, drug dealers, former FBI agents, and families of the聽victims.

One by one, Wyshak wound through the 32 counts of the indictment against Bulger, which span the alleged gangster鈥檚 reign as the head of Boston鈥檚聽Winter Hill gang in the 1970s and '80s, and include charges of murder, money laundering, extortion, and gun hoarding.

But even as Wyshak outlined the voluminous evidence against Bulger, he spent much of his three-hour closing argument cautioning jurors to ignore what he called a raft of 鈥渋rrelevant issues鈥� and evidence that the defense has attempted to draw into the case.

In particular, at issue throughout the long trial has been Bulger鈥檚 status as an informant for the聽Boston office of the FBI 鈥� an allegation he has repeatedly denied.聽

鈥淚n the final analysis, ladies and gentlemen, you don鈥檛 have to decide whether Mr. Bulger was an informant or not,鈥� Wyshak said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 an element of any of these crimes. So why has it been so hotly contested in this trial? Because Mr. Bulger cares more about his reputation as an FBI informant than he does about his reputation as a murderous thug.鈥�

Putting it even more succinctly at another point, he told jurors, 鈥渨hether he鈥檚 an informant or not, he鈥檚 a murderer.鈥�

Much of the evidence the government brought against Bulger throughout the trial came in the form of testimony by former criminal gang members, several of whom brokered deals in their own cases in return for testifying against their former boss.

During his closing argument Wyshak urged the jurors not to allow the questionable character of those mobsters affect how they interpreted the testimonies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not whether you like the witness,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody likes these men.鈥�

Instead, he said, the jury was obligated simply to consider the facts 鈥� many of them brutal and damning. During the trial, several of Bulger鈥檚 closest former associates, including his business partner, Stephen 鈥淭he Rifleman鈥� Flemmi, hit man John Martorano, and one-time Bulger prot茅g茅 Kevin Weeks, repeatedly testified to either witnessing or directly participating in execution-style murders directed by Bulger 鈥� hits against rivals, bystanders, and others who threatened the gang鈥檚 ability to run their South Boston criminal world.

Over the course of the trial, the prosecution called 63 witnesses, and the defense 10 (Mr. Martorano was called by both sides). But Bulger himself was not among them. The defendant announced Friday that he would not testify in his own defense, claiming a now-deceased federal prosecutor had previously promised him immunity and that his entire trial had been a farce.

鈥淎s far as I鈥檓 concerned, I didn鈥檛 get a fair trial and this is a sham,鈥� he spat at the judge. 鈥淒o what yous want with me. That鈥檚 it. That鈥檚 my final word.鈥�

鈥淵ou鈥檙e a coward!鈥� a woman yelled back from the spectator gallery. It was Patricia Donahue, whose late husband is among Bulger鈥檚 alleged victims.

On Monday, Bulger once again sat quietly at the defense table, listening to Wyshak鈥檚 hurried version of the epic story that had made him one of America鈥檚 most watched gangsters.

At one point, the prosecutor described the day in 1981 when Bulger lured a young woman named Debbie Davis, then Mr. Flemmi鈥檚 girlfriend, to a South Boston house. There, he said, Flemmi and Bulger strangled Ms. Davis to death, stripped her body and pulled out her teeth with a pair of pliers, then buried her under the house.聽

It was 鈥渁 horrific murder,鈥� Wyshak said simply.

Bulger didn鈥檛 even look up.