How It All Goes Down
Gang of Two?
- It's 1980 and Bulger and Flemmi are at their new haunt: Lancaster Foreign Car Service, run by fellow gangster George Kaufman.
- Nick Femia, an "enforcer with a reputation as a killer" is also there, being his usual sunny self (2.6.2).
- Bulger has been tearing his way through the Boston underworld.
- The only dark spot is the death of his mother on New Year's Day.
- To comfort himself, he spends his days either with his long-term lady friend Teresa Stanley or his backup lady friend Catherine Greig.
- Guy's got options.
- At the same time, Billy Bulger is becoming quite powerful himself, having become senate president in 1978.
- Those Bulger boys are off the charts.
- Unbeknownst to Bulger and crew, however, they're being watched by the Massachusetts State Police.
- The police have been monitoring the garage for months since stumbling upon it in April.
- It's hard work, but they get some amazing insight into the tight relationship between Bulger and the mob.
- Led by Sergeant Bob Long, the police bring their intel to Jeremiah T. O'Sullivan (remember him?) to get federal funding in to wiretap the garage.
- Wiretapping is pretty hard as it turns out.
- The troopers first try to sneak in microphones inside a car, but that plan crashes and burns.
- They nail it on their second try, however, using trucks to block the garage from sight and breaking in under the cover of night.
- As soon as the mics are up and running, however, Bulger and Flemmi suddenly stop talking.
- In fact, they avoid going into the office altogether.
- Suspicious, right? Even more suspicious is that John Morris sidles up to a Boston police officer at a party on night and implies that he knows about their bugging operation.
- This causes a big snafu between the Boston Police and the FBI, and the two agencies hold a big conference to make peace.
- The meeting only stokes the fires further, with the FBI claiming that they have evidence that the State Police is responsible for the bug being leaked.
- And who's making this "new juicy intelligence claim" (2.6.65)? Mr. John Connolly.
- The troopers try again, tailing Bulger and Flemmi as they drive between pay phones and installing bugs at their favorite stops. Once again the gangsters change their habits as soon as the bugs are planted.
- They launch their boldest plan yet in 1981: install a bug in Bulger's famous "black Chevy" (2.6.77).
- Flemmi is driving the Chevy alone one day, so they pull him over and claim that the car is stolen. They'll then tow the car away, plant the bug, and give it back. Easy-peasy, right?
- As soon as they pull over the Chevy, however, Flemmi calls out several troopers by name and loudly announces that he knows about the bug.
- These suckers are crafty.