One important purpose that Bulger’s federal trial has served, beyond seeking justice for his alleged victims, is giving the public a reality check. Over the past few weeks, prosecutors and defenders have laid out a stunning, sad portrait of Bulger and his associates: not a romantic saga of urban anti-heroes, but a disgusting tale of sociopaths. This week’s testimony of Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi — himself serving a life sentence for the murder of 10 people — may have been a low point: accounts of sexual abuse, murder, the destruction of human bodies, and an utter lack of remorse.
Many trial followers were shocked by the story of Deborah Hussey, whom Flemmi raised like a daughter, then drew into a sexual relationship — and who was allegedly strangled at age 26 by Bulger, as Flemmi watched. Equally appalling was the story of murder victim Arthur “Bucky” Barrett, whose teeth Flemmi removed with pliers that Bulger had received as a gift from his dental-hygienist girlfriend. Reduced to bare facts, committed by real people, these crimes aren’t entertaining in the least.
There are moments when the Bulger trial feels like a circus — the teeming crowds, the courtroom outbursts, the profanity-laden exchanges. But the real reason to follow the proceedings is to remind ourselves what was truly happening in Boston when Whitey Bulger roamed free. Anti-heroes will always have their place in books and on screens, but there was nothing heroic about Bulger and his cronies. They were purveyors of urban terror, no more and no less.