(AP) BOSTON - Former FBI Agent John Morris appeared sheepish when he admitted under questioning from a prosecutor that he accepted $7, in cash and two cases of wine from James "Whitey" Bulger at a time when authorities say Bulger was both a feared gangster and a prized FBI informant.
PICTURES: Guns and Money: Whitey Bulger evidencePICTURES: James "Whitey" Bulger through the years
His embarrassment is likely to deepen when he is cross-examined by Bulger's lawyer.
Morris began testifying Thursday in Bulger's racketeering trial. Bulger attorney Hank Brennan began his cross-examination late in the day, so Morris was certain to face more questions Friday.
Bulger, 83, is charged with playing a role in 19 killings during the s and `80s while allegedly leading the Winter Hill Gang.
Bulger stared intently at Morris as he testified. At one point, he called Morris "a (expletive) liar under his breath, according to prosecutor Brian Kelly, who complained to Judge Denise Casper and asked her to admonish Bulger. The judge instructed Bulger to let his lawyers speak for him.
Morris said he helped protect Bulger and his partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, from prosecution at the req
'Whitey' Bulger Trial Details FBI Corruption
BOSTON June 27, &#; -- Former FBI supervisor John Morris thought he had left his sordid relationship with James "Whitey" Bulger back in Boston along with the envelopes of money, the cases of expensive wine, the home-cooked meals he had prepared for the accused mob boss.
"I wanted to break as many ties as I could with Boston," Morris told a federal court in Boston today. He transferred to FBI headquarters at Quantico, Va., and thought it was over.
Then the phone rang one night when Morris was working late. It was and Bulger had become a fugitive from justice, tipped off to a pending indictment by Morris' FBI underling, special agent John Connolly, who was also his best friend.
In the days before he picked up the phone, Morris testified, he had received messages from a "Mr. White." But Morris never thought he would hear the voice of the accused assassin.
But it was Bulger on the phone. And he was livid. A Boston newspaper had reported that Bulger was a longtime FBI informant, and Bulger wanted Morris to have the story retracted.
"He told me he wanted me to use my Machiavellian mind to
Ex-FBI agent admits taking gift from mobsters
Alison Fitzgerald, Associated Press writer | Standard-Times
BOSTON -- It was in the early s that three FBI agents got together for dinner with two mob informants.
The dinner was at Special Agent John M. Morris's suburban Lexington home. FBI agents John Connolly and Dennis Condon attended.
James J. Whitey Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi came, ate and brought loads of wine. They left the extra bottles behind.
Morris, testifying under immunity in federal court yesterday, said that was just the first time he accepted gifts from his mob informants.
Morris said that between and he met socially with Bulger and Flemmi several times and accepted thousands of dollars in cash and gifts.
The first gifts were subtle, the extra bottles of wine -- a particular interest of Morris. But soon they got bigger, he said.
Morris was testifying at pretrial hearings in a racketeering case against Bulger, Flemmi, Francis J. "Cadillac Frank" Salemme and two other alleged New England mob figures.
Defense lawyers are trying to get the charges dismissed, arguing the FBI gave Bulger and Flemmi immunity while they acted as informan
Whitey Bulger had to be 'comfortable,' ex-agent says
G. Jeffrey MacDonald | Special for USA TODAY
BOSTON — A former FBI supervisor explained in court Thursday how his agency played a role in three murders that involved James "Whitey" Bulger, a Boston gangster who allegedly showered agents with bribes and information during the s and '80s.
John Morris, testifying in the 12th day of Bulger's count racketeering trial, described Bulger's relationship with him and fellow agent John Connolly as primarily "social." But he said he received gifts, ranging from a case of wine to $5, cash, with expectations that he and others would help protect Bulger, and they did.
Connolly "wanted Mr. Bulger to be comfortable," Morris recalled. "He wanted him handled in a manner in which informants typically aren't handled."
In one instance, Morris updated Connolly about a bank robber and Bulger associate, Brian Halloran, whose luck had run out. He was preparing to testify against his partners in crime. Halloran could have been a prime witness in the murder of Roger Wheeler because, according to Morris, he had been Bulger's first choice to do the killing. John Martorano testified las
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