FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys are drawing on statements from a handwritten manuscript by the late mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in an effort to overturn a former FBI agent's murder conviction, saying the crime boss’s own words show that the agent was framed.
Lawyers for former FBI agent John Connolly filed a motion in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Monday seeking to vacate his conviction, citing what they describe as newly discovered evidence
that prosecutors failed to disclose for years.
The material includes FBI reports documenting Bulger’s statements and the unfinished handwritten manuscript the FBI seized during a search of Bulger’s apartment after his 2011 arrest.
In their filing, Connolly's lawyers say Bulger, who led Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, asserted in the documents that Connolly didn't leak information to him that was used in the 1982 killing of businessman John Callahan in Miami, contradicting the prosecution’s case against Connolly. Instead, Bulger identified another FBI agent, John Morris, as his mole, and described Connolly as a “sacrificial lamb,” according to the filing.
Connolly, now 85, was convicted in Florida of second-degree murder and racketeering.
In the manuscript, Bulger wrote that he was a “criminal almost all of my life," and described using inside tips to stay ahead of the law.
“I never thought the day would come that I’d be writing a story about my criminal activity,” Bulger wrote.
The attorneys claim Bulger was writing the manuscript to help clear Connolly's name.
They also say Bulger's writings and FBI statements made after the mobster's arrest weren't previously disclosed to the defense.
The material came to light after a longtime prosecutor involved in the Connolly case resigned from the Miami-Dade state attorney's office following reports of misconduct that included granting favors to witnesses and coordinating witness testimony.
In 2024, Connolly's lawyers received a letter from Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Jose Arrojo informing them that a sealed envelope labeled “confidential” contained the Bulger manuscript and his statements to the FBI.
In their filing, Connolly's lawyers accuse prosecutors of a general pattern of misconduct, arguing that they withheld evidence favorable to the defense in violation of constitutional requirements. Courts have previously found that some evidence in the case was improperly withheld, though they ruled it was not material enough to overturn the conviction.
Connolly’s attorneys say the newly surfaced material goes further, creating reasonable doubt about his guilt.
Connolly, who had been serving a 40-year sentence, was granted compassionate release in 2021 after a judge cited his terminal illness and the risks of COVID-19.
Connolly was a special agent with the FBI in Boston in July 1982 when mob hitman John Martorano shot Callahan in the back of the head and left his body in the trunk of a car at Miami International Airport.
Connolly was indicted on a first-degree murder charge 21 years later. At the time, prosecutors claimed Bulger and Stephen Flemmi ordered Callahan's killing after Connolly told them the FBI was investigating Callahan's ties to Bulger and his gang for the 1981 killing of Roger Wheeler, who owned World Jai Alai.
But in the manuscript and post-arrest FBI statements, Connolly's lawyers claim Bulger stated that Connolly was framed by Morris, who was Connolly's FBI supervisor.
“I am sure everyone close to me thought all the information I had came from (Connolly), Bulger wrote. “I didn’t discourage that thought — sadly for Connolly, he took the heat for warning me to take off and other things that had come from (Morris).”
Bulger accused Morris of becoming a “star witness” against Connolly to save himself. Morris testified against Connolly as part of a cooperation agreement that granted him immunity from prosecution.
While leading his gang, Bulger, who inspired Jack Nicholson’s character in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie “The Departed” and was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2015 gangster drama “Black Mass,” also served as an FBI informant against the Mafia. Bulger denied that claim.
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Willingham reported from Boston. Associated Press reporter Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.
