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This sad story reminds me of the many tragedies that were played out around the Boston area during the 1970 and '80s. The FBI agents in charge of investigating organized crime in the area ended up being close personal friends with Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi--two of the most violent mob bosses in the city. They protected Bulger and Flemmi from all harm while occasionally taking down low-level players that the two mob bosses would set up. In all, I think Bulger's Irish mob murdered around 30 or more people during the period while the FBI made big headlines by taking down mob killers of 2 or 3 people. FBI special agents even tipped off Flemmi and Bulger whenever a mob rat surfaced who started talking about them. Sure enough, in each case, the rat was soon missing.
The only people actively prosecuted by the FBI "organized crime" unit in Boston were whistleblowers and rivals of the favored informant bosses. One innocent couple who had suffered from Bulger's extortion were prosecuted for perjury for falsely stating that Bulger had not stolen their liquor store from them, when in fact he had.
--Roger Roots
