Whitey Bulger trial begins in Boston

BOSTON -- Reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was a "hands-on killer" responsible for "murder and mayhem" in Boston for almost 30 years, a federal prosecutor told a jury yesterday as Bulger's highly anticipated racketeering trial began.

Bulger's lawyer acknowledged that Bulger made millions through drugs, illegal gambling and loan-sharking, but told the jury that three ex-mobsters who have pinned murders on Bulger cannot be believed. Each of the men received "extraordinary" deals from prosecutors for their cooperation, defense attorney J.W. Carney Jr. said.

Bulger, now 83, was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives when he fled Boston in 1994 after receiving a tip that he was about to be indicted. He was captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif.

The defense went after the three once-loyal Bulger cohorts who are expected to be the prosecution's star witnesses: convicted hit man John Martorano, former Bulger partner Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi and former Bulger lieutenant Kevin Weeks.

Carney said Martorano, who served 12 years in prison after admitting to killing 20 people, was able to dictate the terms of his deal with prosecutors.

"The federal government was so desperate to have John Martorano testify . . . they basically put their hands up in the air and said, 'Take anything you want,' " Carney said.

Prosecutor Brian Kelly said Bulger headed the Winter Hill Gang, a violent group that "ran amok" in Boston for three decades, killing 19 people, extorting millions of dollars from drug dealers and other criminals, and corrupting police and FBI agents.

"At the center of all this murder and mayhem is one man -- the defendant in this case, James Bulger," Kelly said.

Testimony was set to resume today.