William Michael Bulger (born February 2, 1934) is an American former
Democratic politician, lawyer, and educator from
South Boston, Massachusetts
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...
. His eighteen-year tenure as
President of the Massachusetts Senate
The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ''ex officio'' president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of ...
is the longest in history. He then became president of the
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...
.
Bulger came from Old Harbor Village Housing Development (now more commonly known as the Mary Ellen McCormick Housing Development). He graduated from
Boston College High School
, motto_translation = ''So they may know You.''
, address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard
, city = Boston
, state = Massachusetts
, zipcode = 02125
, country ...
in 1952, then from Boston College in Classics, then from
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
With approximately 800 stud ...
.
Despite his brother's infamy as the convicted
mob boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss typically has absolute or near ...
James "Whitey" Bulger
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (; September 3, 1929 – October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Bos ...
, who led the
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent.
The organization itself derives its ...
, investigators have never uncovered any evidence that the two brothers colluded. In 2003 he testified in a
congressional hearing
A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure unique ...
about communications he had with his then-fugitive brother.
Due to the negative publicity, he was forced to resign from the presidency of the University of Massachusetts. Bulger went on to teach as a visiting scholar at Suffolk University, but has since removed himself from public life.
Bulger is now retired and lives in South Boston's City Point section.
Early life
William Bulger's father, James Joseph Bulger Sr., was from
Harbour Grace
Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America.
It is located about northwest of ...
,
Newfoundland. After settling in
Everett,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, James Sr. married Jane Veronica "Jean" McCarthy, a first-generation
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrant. William Bulger was born in
Dorchester, Massachusetts, and is the third of six children in the family, and younger brother of former
mob boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss typically has absolute or near ...
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (1929–2018).
Bulger's father worked as a union laborer and occasional
longshoreman
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
; he lost his arm in an industrial accident and the family was reduced to poverty. In May 1938, When Bulger was four years old, the family moved to South Boston's
Old Harbor Village housing project, soon after it opened. He grew up there and has maintained lifelong friendships with many of those who were his former neighbors, including best friend,
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
Marine
P.O.W.
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
and
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
recipient Fred L. Toomey. The late Congressman
Joe Moakley
John Joseph Moakley (April 27, 1927 – May 28, 2001) was an American politician who served as the United States representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district from 1973 until his death in 2001. Moakley won the seat from incumbent L ...
(1927–2001) was also a close childhood neighbor.
Although the Bulger family was poor, William matriculated into
Boston College High School
, motto_translation = ''So they may know You.''
, address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard
, city = Boston
, state = Massachusetts
, zipcode = 02125
, country ...
. He enrolled at
Boston College in 1952, but his undergraduate career was interrupted when he joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. He served from September 1953 to November 1955, then returned to Boston College, completing his undergraduate degree in English Literature with the help of the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
. He attended
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
With approximately 800 stud ...
, from which he received his
Doctor of Jurisprudence
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree in 1961.
He is also the recipient of over 20 honorary degrees from a variety of academic institutions.
Political career
Bulger became interested in politics in 1959 and was first elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
in 1960. After serving five terms, Bulger was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1970 representing the
First Suffolk District. In 1973 he was named Second Assistant Floor Majority Leader. After
Joseph DiCarlo's conviction for extortion in 1977, Bulger succeeded him as Senate Majority Leader. Bulger was elected President of the
Massachusetts State Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
in 1978 and was re-elected every two years to 1996, making his time as State Senate president the longest
tenure
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
in Massachusetts history.
Like other Massachusetts politicians who were elected leaders of their legislative chambers, Bulger was frequently pilloried in the media, but remained very popular in his district. He won his district election every two years from 1961 to 1994 without ever facing a challenge more serious than he faced in the Democratic primary in 1988, when Stephen Holt, a neophyte liberal activist and bookstore owner from Dorchester won 31 out of 60 precincts, only to lose the district by a landslide due to the huge turnout of Bulger supporters in South Boston.
For many years, Bulger hosted the annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast in South Boston. This is a "
roast
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
" of politicians.
Political milestones
![Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and Massachusetts Senate President William M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Boston_Mayor_Ray_Flynn_and_Massachusetts_Senate_President_William_M._Bulger.jpg)
Bulger was a leading opponent of the desegregation of Boston schools achieved through
desegregation busing
Race-integration busing in the United States (also known simply as busing, Integrated busing or by its critics as forced busing) was the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools within or outside their local school districts in ...
. During one protest he called the police who were arresting protestors to desegregation "the gestapo".
During the 1960s, he led efforts to write the first
child abuse reporting laws in the state. He was supportive of
environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
legislation.
Bulger was among the first advocates of
charter schools and
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
choice. During the 1980s, he advocated funding of
public libraries, the expansion of childhood nutrition services and fuel assistance programs. As Senate president, Bulger led the debate on
welfare reform in the early 1990s, with the resulting legislation becoming the model for a national law.
President of the University of Massachusetts system
Bulger was appointed president of the
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...
by the board of trustees on November 28, 1995. His candidacy for the UMass position was supported by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
William Weld. The appointment was controversial in academic circles, as Bulger had no prior experience in higher education, and lacked the academic doctoral degree usually required for the presidency of a major state university system.
On August 6, 2003, Bulger announced that he would resign as president of the system effective September 1, 2003. His resignation came due to pressure from Governor
Mitt Romney after Bulger had refused to cooperate with authorities who were searching for Bulger's brother, the notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.
Extortion investigation
In 1989, a close associate of Bulger, Thomas Finnerty, was accused of extorting $500,000 from a real estate developer, Harold Brown. Bulger received $240,000 of the payment. Both men maintained that it was a loan from Brown. However, after an investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan, no charges against Bulger were pressed claiming that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a crime.
Controversy over brother
Bulger's older brother James "Whitey" Bulger Jr. was a convicted crime boss and multiple murderer and the former boss of the
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent.
The organization itself derives its ...
. Whitey was a fugitive from 1995 until his arrest in June 2011.
In 1999, Whitey's longtime aide,
Kevin Weeks
Kevin Weeks (born March 21, 1956) is an American former mobster and longtime friend and mob lieutenant to Whitey Bulger, the infamous boss of the Winter Hill Gang, a crime family based in the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville, Massachuset ...
, pleaded guilty to a number of charges related to Whitey's crime spree and became a cooperating witness. Weeks revealed that in 1995, William talked to Whitey during an arranged phone conversation just two weeks after Whitey fled a pending
racketeering indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of a ...
. When William testified before a grand jury in 2001, a federal prosecutor pressed him without success for information on his brother:
So just to be clear, you felt more loyalty to your brother than you did to the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? I never thought about it that way, Bulger replied. But I do have an honest loyalty to my brother, and I care about him (…) It’s my hope that I'm never helpful to anyone against him (…) I don't have an obligation to help everyone catch him.
When asked why he didn't urge Whitey to turn himself in, William replied that he didn't feel it was in his brother's best interest to give himself up at the time.
After portions of Bulger's testimony were published in ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
,'' he testified to a
Congressional committee about the incident on June 19, 2003, after being granted
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
from prosecution for
obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
. Bulger revealed that he went to an arranged location in 1995 to take a call from his fugitive brother, apparently to avoid electronic eavesdropping. He claimed that not notifying authorities about the call was "in no way inconsistent with my devotion to my own responsibilities, my public responsibilities" as state senate president.
[Edward Achorn,"The Anti-Brahmins: Not Every Massachusetts Dynasty Is Great," book review of The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston For a Quarter Century, by ]Howie Carr
Howard Louis Carr Jr. (born January 17, 1952) is an American conservative radio talk-show host, political author, news reporter and award-winning writer.
He hosts ''The Howie Carr Show'' originating from his studios in Wellesley, MA and broad ...
, ''The Weekly Standard
''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...
'' magazine, July 24, 2006.
During the hearing, when asked what he thought James (Whitey) did for a living, William Bulger said:
I had the feeling that he was in the business of gaming and ... whatever. It was vague to me but I didn't think, for a long while he had some jobs but ultimately it was clear that he was not being, you know, he wasn't doing what I'd like him to do.
He added that he loved his brother and hoped that the most brutal rumors concerning him would be proven false.
Bulger came under harsh criticism for his apparent evasiveness, and
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Mitt Romney, among others, demanded his resignation as president of the University of Massachusetts. Under pressure from all quarters, Bulger resigned in the fall of 2003.
Bulger also testified that the FBI never asked if he knew of Whitey's location. Those remarks were disputed by a former FBI agent who claimed Bulger declined to submit to an interview with the FBI.
[Fox Butterfield, "F.B.I. Used Killers as Informants, Report Says," ''New York Times'', November 21, 2003, accessed September 10, 2006] Months later, the committee report found Bulger's testimony "inconsistent" about whether the FBI had contacted him in its search for his fugitive brother.
Upon Whitey's arrest in California in June 2011, William Bulger issued a statement expressing his "sympathies to the families hurt" in the case, and asking for privacy for his family.
Active retirement and family
Bulger is a past president of the
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...
and past member of the board of trustees. He is also overseer emeritus of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he is a former member of the
Massachusetts General Hospital board of trustees,
Museum of Fine Arts board of trustees, and
McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital () (formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum) is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and neuroscience research and is also known for the large number of ...
board of trustees. He joined the faculties of
Boston College and
Suffolk University as a lecturer of
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
in 2004. Bulger lived in
South Boston
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...
with Mary Foley (1935–2020), his wife whom he married in 1960 until her death on June 7, 2020. Bulger and his wife have nine children and 33 grandchildren. According to the Massachusetts Open Checkbook list of state pensions, Bulger's pension from Massachusetts for his position as University of Massachusetts president ranged from $198,926 to $201,266 for the years 2011 to 2019.
See also
*
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 5th Suffolk district
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 5th Suffolk district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of the city of Boston in Suffolk County. Democr ...
*
1961–1962 Massachusetts legislature
The 162nd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1961 and 1962 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of John Volpe. John E. Powers served as Presiden ...
*
1963–1964 Massachusetts legislature
The 163rd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1963 and 1964 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Endicott Peabody. John E. Powers served as Pr ...
*
1965–1966 Massachusetts legislature
*
1967–1968 Massachusetts legislature
The 165th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1967 and 1968 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of John Volpe. Maurice A. Donahue served as Pres ...
*
1969–1970 Massachusetts legislature
The 166th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1969 and 1970 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Maurice A. Donahue served as ...
*
1971–1972 Massachusetts legislature
The 167th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1971 and 1972 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...
*
1973–1974 Massachusetts legislature
The 168th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1973 and 1974 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...
*
1975–1976 Massachusetts legislature
The 169th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1975 and 1976 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Michael Dukakis. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...
*
1977–1978 Massachusetts legislature
The 170th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1977 and 1978 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Michael Dukakis. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...
*
1979–1980 Massachusetts legislature
The 171st Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1979 and 1980 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Edward J. King. William Bulger served as Pres ...
*
1981–1982 Massachusetts legislature
The 172nd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1981 and 1982 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Edward J. King. William Bulger served as Pres ...
*
1983–1984 Massachusetts legislature
The 173rd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1983 and 1984 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and T ...
*
1985–1986 Massachusetts legislature
The 174th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1985 and 1986 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and ...
*
1987–1988 Massachusetts legislature
The 175th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1987 and 1988 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as Pre ...
*
1989–1990 Massachusetts legislature
The 176th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1989 and 1990 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as Pre ...
*
1991–1992 Massachusetts legislature
The 177th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1991 and 1992 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Bill Weld. William Bulger served as President ...
*
1993–1994 Massachusetts legislature
The 178th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1993 and 1994 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Bill Weld. William Bulger served as President ...
*
1995–1996 Massachusetts legislature
The 179th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1995 and 1996 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Bill Weld. William Bulger served as President ...
Biographical works
* Bulger, William M. ''While the Music Lasts: My Life in Politics''. New York:
Houghton Mifflin
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
, 1996. .
* Bulger, William M. ''James Michael Curley: A Short Biography with Personal Reminiscences by William M. Bulger''. Beverly, Massachusetts: Commonwealth Editions, 2009. .
* Burke, John J. ''A Profile in Political Power'', a 2010 documentary produced by JAMAR Productions, highlights the political career of William M. Bulger.
"A Profile in Political Power"
Jamar Productions, 2010
References
External links
* Gitell, Seth.
''Boston Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' an ...
'' December 12, 2002. Accessed September 11, 2006.
Billy Bulger
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulger, William M.
1934 births
Living people
American people of Irish descent
American political bosses
Boston College faculty
Boston College High School alumni
Boston College Law School alumni
Boston College alumni
Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators
Politicians from Boston
Presidents of the Massachusetts Senate
University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
United States Army soldiers
Military personnel from Massachusetts
Presidents of the University of Massachusetts system
Suffolk University faculty
Lawyers from Boston
People from South Boston
Writers from Boston
Massachusetts General Hospital people
McLean Hospital people