Key witness in 'Whitey' Bulger gangster trial found dead

[h=2]A friend says Stephen Rakes was looking forward to testifying against the South Boston gangster.[/h]
A body found near Lincoln, Mass., has been identified as Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, who was to be a key witness in the trial of notorious South Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger.



Rakes was scheduled to testify that he was forced at gunpoint to turn over his liquor store to Bulger 29 years ago.

A law enforcement official confirming Rakes death to USA TODAY says authorities are investigating that he may have died of natural causes. The body of Rakes, 59, was found Wednesday afternoon.


The official said there is "no obvious sign'' that he was murdered. ABC News reported that police told Rakes' family that the death appeared to be a suicide. No phone or wallet was found on the body.


A close friend of Rakes, Steve Davis, tells ABC News, however, that he would not have killed himself and "was looking forward to taking the stand." Davis said Rakes had planned to deliver a "big bombshell" on the witness stand.


Rakes has been attending Bulger's federal racketeering trial in South Boston regularly over the past six weeks.
ABC says that Rakes was a particularly angry and determined victim of Bulger's gangland tactics.



He was apparently supposed to testify that Bulger, 83, and a member of his Winter Hill gang, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, threatened his daughter at gunpoint and forced him to turn over his South Boston liquor store. The building later became Bulger's headquarters.


Bulger, a much-feared South Boston gangster for decades, fled the city in 1994 ahead of his arrest. He was captured in California two years ago after 16 years on the run.



Bulger has pleaded not guilty to 48 charges, including 19 counts of murder, extortion, money laundering, obstruction of justice, perjury, narcotics distribution, and weapons violations.

He must have shot himself in the back of the head. A simple case of "suicide"! RIGHT!!!

Rakes was actually told on Tuesday he was not going to testify. That pissed him off because he was going to refute a lot of what Kevin weeks (Bulgers right hand man) said about him.
Medical examiners apparently are saying it was of natural causes but who knows until the autopsy is done.

Hell of a coincidence either way.

His nickname should be Lucky Bulger.

Rakes testimony wasn't going to be needed to convict bulger he was even removed from witness list and its not like bulger has any hitters left on the streets. I mean maybe a theory of weeks whacking this guy not to contradict him but even that is a real stretch. Likely a case of suicide after losing his chance to testify against bulger.

In the summer of 1991, Bulger and three friends came into possession of the winning Massachusetts Lottery ticket, which had been bought at a store he owned. The four men shared a prize of around $69 million....... puff_>>


It is anticipated by many, and feared by some, that Bulger will have a lot to say to authorities about the corruption on the local, state, and federal levels, which enabled him to operate his criminal enterprise for so long, and that such disclosures may earn Bulger some special treatment in sentencing

BOSTON, Jan. 15—2000 Helped by a tip, investigators unearthed the skeletal remains of two men and a woman who they believe were killed by two mobsters, Stephen Flemmi and James Bulger. ¶ The authorities believe the woman was Deborah Hussey, the 26-year-old daughter of Mr. Flemmi's common-law wife. Ms. Hussey had been about to expose an affair with Mr. Flemmi when she disappeared in 1984, The Boston Globe reported. The identities of the other bodies were uncertain.

¶ Mr. Flemmi, who was jailed in 1995 on racketeering charges, worked as an F.B.I. informant for decades while conducting mob business. Mr. Bulger is a fugitive from a racketeering indictment.

Bulger asked. what Horse Track is easy to fix, Pocono @)

[h=1]Potential witness in Whitey Bulger trial was poisoned, authorities say[/h]

• 
  
  
  

A potential witness in the James "Whitey" Bulger trial whose body was found in the woods of a Boston suburb last month was poisoned, authorities said Friday.
William Camuti, 69, was charged with attempted murder in the death of Stephen Rakes, who reportedly owed him money.
When asked if the alleged murder was linked to the Bulger case, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said, “our investigation indicates that Mr. Camuti acted alone.”
A statement from Ryan’s office said Rakes and Camuti met for coffee at a McDonalds in Waltham on July 16 and Camuti purchased two iced coffees, one of which he allegedly laced with two teaspoons of potassium cyanide before giving it to Rakes to drink.
He then allegedly drove around with Rakes in his car before dumping the body in a wooded area of Lincoln, where it was found by joggers the next day.
A murder charge has not been filed because the medical examiner is still waiting on test results.
Prosecutors say Rakes and his former wife were forced to sell Bulger their South Boston liquor store in 1984 to use as a headquarters for his gang.
Rakes had looked forward to testifying but learned the day before his body was found that prosecutors wouldn't call him.
Earlier Friday Bulger revealed he won't testify in his own defense at his racketeering trial and called the trial a "sham."
Defense attorney J.W. Carney Jr. met with Bulger on Friday morning and returned to the courtroom to tell Judge Denise Casper that he had finished presenting witnesses.
Bulger then told the judge, without the jury present, that he had "involuntarily" decided not to testify.
"I feel that I've been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial. This is a sham."
He railed about the judge's decision prohibiting his lawyers from using an immunity defense. Bulger has claimed he received immunity from a now-deceased federal prosecutor. Casper ruled before trial that that was not a legal defense to crimes including murder.
Bulger has claimed he received immunity from a now-deceased federal prosecutor, Jeremiah O'Sullivan.
"For my protection of his life, in return, he promised to give me immunity," Bulger told the judge.
Casper ruled before trial that the supposed immunity was not a legal defense to crimes including murder.
"I understand, sir, if you disagree with it, OK," Casper replied.
O'Sullivan, who died in 2009, headed the New England Organized Crime Strike Force and was known for his aggressive pursuit of cases against local Mafia leaders, Bulger's rivals.
Outside the courthouse, Carney said Bulger was describing an agreement he claims he had with O'Sullivan under which "in return for assuring that Jeremiah O'Sullivan would not be killed, O'Sullivan promised him that he would not be prosecuted for as long as O'Sullivan was head of the strike force."
Carney did not elaborate, but Bulger seemed to be implying that O'Sullivan's life was in danger because of his pursuit of the Mafia.
Family members of Bulger's alleged murder victims looked dejected over his decision. Patricia Donahue, the widow of one alleged victim, yelled "you're a coward!" while Bulger was speaking.
"If you think you had an unfair trial, then get up there and tell all," she said outside the courtroom afterward. "I am so disappointed in this whole trial. I thought that at least he would be man enough to get up there."
Bulger, 83, is on trial in a broad racketeering indictment that accuses him of participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and `80s as leader of the Winter Hill Gang. He has pleaded not guilty.
Bulger told the judge he has decided not to testify, but "involuntarily." He also says he didn't get a fair trial and that he "been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense."
Earlier Friday Bulger's lawyers said he wants the $822,000 in cash seized from his apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., to go to relatives of victims who won monetary judgement in lawsuits but then saw those awards overturned on appeal.
Defense attorney J.W. Carney Jr. told Judge Denise Casper that Bulger made the request while lawyers were discussing whether the seized cash should be put in the jury room during deliberations.
Carney said Bulger wants the money to go to families who had civil judgments overturned by a federal appeals court because the statute of limitations had expired.
It appears that two families fall into that category: Relatives of Michael Donahue and Edward "Brian" Halloran. In 2011, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision that ruled the two families didn't file their lawsuits against the FBI in time.
Other victims' families have had their lawsuits tossed before trial and some have won judgments against the government, but Carney specifically cited those who judgement were thrown out by the 1st Circuit.
Prosecutor Brian kelly said it has always been the intention of the government to give Bulger's seized assets to victims' families, but he said he isn't sure Bulger "can dictate which ones get" money.
If he's convicted, Bulger would have to give up his assets anyway. It is routine for the government to seek forfeiture of assets acquired through illegal activities.
Bulger has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He fled Boston in 1994 and remained one of the nation's most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, Calif. in 2011