Watchdog finds many failures before Whitey Bulger’s killing

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s inspector general has found a series of missteps by federal Bureau of Prisons officials preceded the October 2018 beating death of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger. The watchdog is recommending at least six Bureau of Prisons workers be disciplined. The watchdog’s report Wednesday finds that the Bureau of Prisons officials had shared information about Bulger’s transfer widely, that officials had tried several times to downgrade his medical status, meaning he could be moved to other prisons, and then moved him from being housed alone at a prison in Florida to being housed in general population at the West Virginia prison. The BOP hasn’t responded to an email seeking comment.