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A Rat Cup and Other Bits of Whitey Bulger’s Life Up for Bid For Sale: Ordinary Objects Imbued With Whitey Bulger’s Notoriety
(about 11 hours later)
BOSTON — At 4:30 a.m. on June 22, 2011, James (Whitey) Bulger marked his calendar. A fitness enthusiast who worked out with barbells, he jotted down his vital signs: His blood pressure measured 110 over 63, his pulse 57.BOSTON — At 4:30 a.m. on June 22, 2011, James (Whitey) Bulger marked his calendar. A fitness enthusiast who worked out with barbells, he jotted down his vital signs: His blood pressure measured 110 over 63, his pulse 57.
It would be the last entry on his calendar. Later that day, law enforcement officers swooped down on his apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., and hauled Mr. Bulger, long one of the country’s 10 most-wanted fugitives, into custody. It would be the last entry on his calendar. Later that day, law enforcement officers swooped down on his apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., and hauled Mr. Bulger, long one of the country’s most-wanted fugitives, into custody.
Five years later, long after his conviction in federal court here on 11 murder charges, the detritus of Mr. Bulger’s life is going on the auction block. The auctioneers intend to recreate that Santa Monica apartment — which he shared with his girlfriend and fellow fugitive, Catherine Greig — at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a stone’s throw from Mr. Bulger’s old turf in South Boston, which he terrorized in the 1970s and ’80s. Five years later, after his conviction in federal court here on 11 murder charges, the detritus of Mr. Bulger’s life is going on the auction block. The idea is to raise money for some of his many victims.
A preview for the public will begin at 2 p.m. Friday. The auction starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. Bidders from around the world can join in through an online simulcast. A catalog of the auction, being held by the United States Marshals Service and Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers, is available at www.txauction.com. Almost all the contents of that Santa Monica apartment — which he shared with his girlfriend and fellow fugitive, Catherine Greig — are piled on tables and are on display at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a stone’s throw from Mr. Bulger’s old stomping grounds in South Boston, which he ruled and terrorized in the 1970s and ’80s.
It is not known whether Mr. Bulger, 86, will be watching from the federal penitentiary in Florida where he is to spend the rest of his life. Ms. Greig, 65, is serving 10 years in prison. A preview for the public began Friday. The auction starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. Bidders from around the world can join in through an online simulcast. A catalog of the auction, being held by the United States Marshals Service and Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers, is available at www.txauction.com.
Nor is it clear how much money the more than 100 bins of items could bring in. The proceeds, plus $822,000 in cash found stuffed in the apartment walls, are to be divided among the families of 20 people whom Mr. Bulger and his cronies murdered or extorted through their sprawling criminal enterprise over the decades. The 30 weapons that were also stuffed in those walls are not for sale. It is not known whether Mr. Bulger, 86, will be watching from the federal penitentiary in Florida that he is likely to call home for the rest of his life. Ms. Greig, 65, is serving 10 years in prison.
Nor is it clear how much money the more than 100 bins of items could bring in. The proceeds, plus $822,000 in cash found stuffed in the apartment walls, are to be divided among the families and estates of 20 people whom Mr. Bulger and his cronies murdered and three whom they extorted through their sprawling criminal enterprise over the decades.
Some of the items, like an outsize gold and diamond Claddagh ring, for which bidding starts at $11,370, could bring in thousands of dollars. Others, like that calendar, are basically worthless but offer a glimpse into Mr. Bulger’s 16 years on the lam. The calendar is largely blank, devoid of social engagements or to-do lists, reflecting the small, narrow world to which he had retreated.Some of the items, like an outsize gold and diamond Claddagh ring, for which bidding starts at $11,370, could bring in thousands of dollars. Others, like that calendar, are basically worthless but offer a glimpse into Mr. Bulger’s 16 years on the lam. The calendar is largely blank, devoid of social engagements or to-do lists, reflecting the small, narrow world to which he had retreated.
Other items include a weight bench and several dumbbells, a beat-up chest of drawers, a night stand that has lost its veneer, and 27 pairs of used women’s sunglasses. Also on the block are multiple pairs of white sneakers, size 9 ½, and a batch of T-shirts and Old Navy hoodies. Dozens of items, seemingly more suited to a low-end yard sale than an international auction, speak to the mundaneness of that everyday life — Christmas decorations, kitchen utensils, a beat-up chest of drawers, a night stand that has lost its veneer, 27 pairs of used women’s sunglasses, multiple pairs of white sneakers, size 9 ½, and a batch of T-shirts and Old Navy hoodies.
But ordinary as they are, the items are here for sale because of their provenance.
“There are certain things that obviously in and of themselves are not very valuable, but they take on a whole different value because of who they belonged to, who used them, whose home they were in,” said Carmen Ortiz, the United States Attorney in Boston whose office prosecuted Mr. Bulger. She spoke as she walked through the auction hall on Friday.
The goal, she said, was to raise as much money for the victims as possible. She said she had already come to terms with what a reporter called “the ick factor” of profiting from the personal belongings of a ruthless criminal. While distasteful, she said, the auction is unlikely to make Mr. Bulger any more notorious than he already is.
“As much as we don’t want to bring greater notoriety, there’s already been so much notoriety toward this individual, in terms of books and movies and writings, it’s hard to say how much more this is really bringing to it,” she said of the auction.
The sale does not include really personal items like Mr. Bulger’s underwear, socks, soap or boxes of tissues and toilet paper (a frugal man, he bought such items in bulk; they have been donated to the needy).
It also does not include the 30 weapons that Mr. Bulger had stuffed inside his apartment walls; Ms. Ortiz said the law prohibited the government from selling guns that could end up back on the street, though they might go on display at a law enforcement museum.
Nor does the auction offer up the manuscript Mr. Bulger had been writing; Ms. Ortiz said its many references to violent acts made it inappropriate for sale.
“There are people who may glamorize him and make him bigger than life, and they’re going to exist whether we do this auction or not,” Ms. Ortiz said. “At the end of the day, I think the whole purpose of it is to make this for the victims, and when I focus on that piece of it, it justifies it.”
Here are five picks among the items that drew our attention. Who will wind up with these Bulger keepsakes?Here are five picks among the items that drew our attention. Who will wind up with these Bulger keepsakes?
• A replica of a 1986 Stanley Cup championship ring set with 23 round diamonds, engraved inside with “Thanks Jim, Love Chris & Karen.” The ring, whose origin is unclear, was dear to Mr. Bulger. After he was captured in 2011, he agreed to give up virtually all of his possessions, but he fought to keep this ring; ultimately, he had to forfeit it. • A replica of the Canadiens’ 1986 Stanley Cup championship ring set with 23 round diamonds, engraved inside with “Thanks Jim, Love Chris & Karen.” The origin of the ring is unclear; it would seem to be a gift from Chris Nilen, a Canadiens player, who was the son-in-law of Teresa Stanley, another of Mr. Bulger’s paramours. But Mr. Nilen has said that he did not give Mr. Bulger the ring. In any case, it was dear to Mr. Bulger. After he was captured in 2011, he agreed to give up virtually all of his possessions, but he fought to keep this; ultimately, he had to forfeit it.
• “The Art of War,” the ancient classic of warfare attributed to the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. It is among dozens of military books collected by Mr. Bulger, who made handwritten notations in many of them and fancied himself something of a military strategist. • Mr. Bulger immersed himself in books about war, spies, military battles and the Holocaust, and wrote copious notes in their margins. On a heavily underlined page of “Into That Darkness” by Gitta Sereny, about the commandant of Treblinka, he scribbled: “I don’t agree. These Nazis enjoyed their work. The power of life and death over helpless victims. Fringe benefits of currency, gold and sex.”
• A sterling silver “Psycho Killer Skull” ring made by Crazy Pig Designs in England. According to The Boston Globe, Mr. Bulger put the ring, $50,000 cash and personal documents in a London safe deposit box two months before he became a fugitive in 1994. The F.B.I. and investigators from Scotland Yard discovered the deposit box in 2002, The Globe said, though it would be another nine years before they were in possession of Mr. Bulger.• A sterling silver “Psycho Killer Skull” ring made by Crazy Pig Designs in England. According to The Boston Globe, Mr. Bulger put the ring, $50,000 cash and personal documents in a London safe deposit box two months before he became a fugitive in 1994. The F.B.I. and investigators from Scotland Yard discovered the deposit box in 2002, The Globe said, though it would be another nine years before they were in possession of Mr. Bulger.
• A boxing torso with a wide-brimmed safari hat. Mr. Bulger put this dummy near his window in Santa Monica to give the impression of someone on watch.• A boxing torso with a wide-brimmed safari hat. Mr. Bulger put this dummy near his window in Santa Monica to give the impression of someone on watch.
• A ceramic cup inside a ceramic rat. If there was anything Mr. Bulger loathed, it was a rat: a snitch who could disrupt his criminal operation. And yet, his secret role with corrupt F.B.I. agents was exactly that. This rat cup, which Mr. Bulger used as a pencil holder, is likely to be one of the hottest items at the auction. Its starting price, $20, had already risen to more than $2,500 before the auction opened.• A ceramic cup inside a ceramic rat. If there was anything Mr. Bulger loathed, it was a rat: a snitch who could disrupt his criminal operation. And yet, his secret role with corrupt F.B.I. agents was exactly that. This rat cup, which Mr. Bulger used as a pencil holder, is likely to be one of the hottest items at the auction. Its starting price, $20, had already risen to more than $2,500 before the auction opened.