Boston mob boss arrested after 16 years on run

BOSTON mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger has been captured near Los Angeles 16 years after his run from the law sparked an international manhunt and served as a major embarrassment to the FBI as their onetime informant eluded authorities.

The FBI finally caught the 81-year-old Bulger at a residence in Santa Monica along with his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, on Wednesday, just days after the government launched a publicity campaign to locate the fugitive mobster, said Steven Martinez, FBI’s assistant director in charge in Los Angeles. The arrest was based on a tip from the campaign, he said.

Bulger, who was an inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character in Martin Scorsese’s film, “The Departed,” is wanted for his alleged role in 19 murders. At one time, he provided information on a rival gang to the FBI, then fled in January 1995 when a former agent told him he was about to be indicted.