[h=1]Dana White had his own 'Black Mass' experience with Whitey Bulger[/h]
2:58a ET
[h=3]Posted by Damon Martin[/h]
Dana White owed money to Whitey Bulger - 'The Herd'
[h=1]Dana White owed money to Whitey Bulger - 'The Herd'[/h]
SEP 09 2015 1:33PM ET
Dana White tells Colin Cowherd the story of how the mob forced him out of Boston and how he ended up buying the UFC for two million dollars.
If not for legendary Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, the UFC as we know it today may not exist.
Bulger -- who is the subject of the new film "Black Mass," set to release in theaters on Sept. 18 starring Johnny Depp in the lead role -- was a mainstay in the organized crime scene around Boston, and his gang actually had a run-in with UFC president Dana White long before he was a successful mixed martial arts promoter.
White has previously told the story about Boston mobsters forcing him to flee town and move to Las Vegas after being told he had to begin paying them to operate in their neighborhood or else.
On Wednesday while appearing on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd on FS1, White said it was actually Bulger's top man who came to see him on that fateful day that eventually led to him moving to Las Vegas, where he reconnected with old friends Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
"My partner and I, Peter (Welch), we ran a 'get kids off the street' program back there and we used to teach boxing classes, however we could make money, we made money. So one day I was teaching a class in one of the big clubs in South Boston and these two guys walked into the class and said, 'Hey, we need to talk to you.' At first I'm thinking, 'Does this guy own the club?' and when he asked me, 'Do you know who I am?' that was when I realized what was going on," White said.
"He basically said, 'You owe us money'. It was like $2,500, which was like $25,000 to me back then, and said, 'You owe us money.' It was actually a guy named Kevin Weeks, who if you saw the trial he's Whitey's right-hand man. I'm sure he's very prominent in the movie, but yeah basically said I owed him some money, and I didn't pay him. This went on for a while and one day I was at my place and I got a call and they said, 'You owe us the money tomorrow by 1 o'clock'. I literally hung up the phone, picked up the phone and called Delta and bought a ticket to Vegas."
In the upcoming film, "Breaking Bad" star Jesse Plemons actually plays Weeks in the movie opposite Depp as Bulger.
<iframe width="100%" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R_F-lVhSfx8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
White says his lone run-in with The Winter Hill Gang was enough for him to get out of Boston, move to Las Vegas and never look back.
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"I literally left everything there. I packed a bag and left all my stuff in Boston," White said.
A few years later, White teamed up with the Fertitta brothers to buy the UFC for a total price of $2 million and the rest is history.
Bulger is serving out two life sentences after being convicted in 2013 on charges including racketeering and murder.
2:58a ET
[h=3]Posted by Damon Martin[/h]
Dana White owed money to Whitey Bulger - 'The Herd'
[h=1]Dana White owed money to Whitey Bulger - 'The Herd'[/h]
SEP 09 2015 1:33PM ET
Dana White tells Colin Cowherd the story of how the mob forced him out of Boston and how he ended up buying the UFC for two million dollars.
If not for legendary Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, the UFC as we know it today may not exist.
Bulger -- who is the subject of the new film "Black Mass," set to release in theaters on Sept. 18 starring Johnny Depp in the lead role -- was a mainstay in the organized crime scene around Boston, and his gang actually had a run-in with UFC president Dana White long before he was a successful mixed martial arts promoter.
White has previously told the story about Boston mobsters forcing him to flee town and move to Las Vegas after being told he had to begin paying them to operate in their neighborhood or else.
On Wednesday while appearing on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd on FS1, White said it was actually Bulger's top man who came to see him on that fateful day that eventually led to him moving to Las Vegas, where he reconnected with old friends Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
"My partner and I, Peter (Welch), we ran a 'get kids off the street' program back there and we used to teach boxing classes, however we could make money, we made money. So one day I was teaching a class in one of the big clubs in South Boston and these two guys walked into the class and said, 'Hey, we need to talk to you.' At first I'm thinking, 'Does this guy own the club?' and when he asked me, 'Do you know who I am?' that was when I realized what was going on," White said.
"He basically said, 'You owe us money'. It was like $2,500, which was like $25,000 to me back then, and said, 'You owe us money.' It was actually a guy named Kevin Weeks, who if you saw the trial he's Whitey's right-hand man. I'm sure he's very prominent in the movie, but yeah basically said I owed him some money, and I didn't pay him. This went on for a while and one day I was at my place and I got a call and they said, 'You owe us the money tomorrow by 1 o'clock'. I literally hung up the phone, picked up the phone and called Delta and bought a ticket to Vegas."
In the upcoming film, "Breaking Bad" star Jesse Plemons actually plays Weeks in the movie opposite Depp as Bulger.
<iframe width="100%" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R_F-lVhSfx8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
White says his lone run-in with The Winter Hill Gang was enough for him to get out of Boston, move to Las Vegas and never look back.
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"I literally left everything there. I packed a bag and left all my stuff in Boston," White said.
A few years later, White teamed up with the Fertitta brothers to buy the UFC for a total price of $2 million and the rest is history.
Bulger is serving out two life sentences after being convicted in 2013 on charges including racketeering and murder.
Seen a few shows on Bulger & the agent that worked with him......this new movie with Depp looks really good & looks to be accurate.
Although "The Departed" was based a bit on Bulger, & it was a great movie, there wasn't much accuracy on what Bulger was exactly involved in.
I'm debating if I should go watch it at the theatre or wait for PPV.......because now a days, it comes out on PPV pretty fast after being released in theatres.
Haven't been to a theatre in over 5 years.......
Although "The Departed" was based a bit on Bulger, & it was a great movie, there wasn't much accuracy on what Bulger was exactly involved in.
I'm debating if I should go watch it at the theatre or wait for PPV.......because now a days, it comes out on PPV pretty fast after being released in theatres.
Haven't been to a theatre in over 5 years.......
Yeah I'll go see this and I never see movies in the theatre. I hope it is accurate because Bulger never ratted like people want to believe he did. Yo said, "we pay not say." He had some fbi and Boston police on the payroll and they did favors for eachother but he neber ratted.
Heard johnny depp say he hates watchin movies. Wont even watch himself. Only watches documentaries.
Heard johnny depp say he hates watchin movies. Wont even watch himself. Only watches documentaries.
Lol the whole attraction to the case was the question and debate whether he was or wasn't. I watched the documentary on him and the whole documentary is about the fbi saying he is. ....and attorneys displaying evidence that he isn't. The only thing that is fact is that he had a relationship with the fbi and boston police. Doesn't mean he was ratting. They aren't going to make a movie and glorify a rat. The documentary pretty much proves he wasn't an informant
Yeah I'm sure he wasn't giving up rival crime syndicates or anything, just good ol fashion bribery.
When you're working with local police that might be a possibility, but the FBI obviously was getting something from their relationship with him.
Cmon Freeway, you think they were just talking the Sox over coffee at the local deli?
When you're working with local police that might be a possibility, but the FBI obviously was getting something from their relationship with him.
Cmon Freeway, you think they were just talking the Sox over coffee at the local deli?
I hear what you're saying but you're making my point for me. Whitey bulger was a criminal way before boston police and the fbi were involved with him. Whitey Bulger was originally muscle for the mob...once the head of the mob got pinched...the power was Whitey Bulger. The dirty fbi agents wanted everyone to believe he was a rat because it would explain why he is walking free and it would explain their meetings. Except the FBI doing survalence didn't know their was a dirty fbi agent. They thought Whitey was a rat and thats why they were meeting.
I'd check out the documentary before seeing the movie. Netflix
They say an informant should have around 5,000-7,000 pages of information. Bulgers file had 700. And about all of it was hearsay or the fbi left off something on the paper to mislead and make their case look stronger. The reason the fbi will never admit that he wasn't an informant. Is because whatever people they say he ratted on would be appealing and the fbis credibility would be shot.
