University President Given Immunity
Lawmakers tried to boost their two-year investigation into the FBI's ties
to mob informants by granting immunity yesterday to University of Massachusetts President William Bulger and a former New
England crime boss in exchange for their congressional testimony.
Members of the House Government Reform Committee said they hope to use
the testimony from Mr. Bulger, brother of a fugitive mobster, and Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme to improve whistle-blower
protections and address how FBI agents use confidential informants.
Mr. Bulger has maintained an eight-year silence on what he knows about
the whereabouts and FBI ties of his brother, James "Whitey" Bulger, who has been linked to 21 slayings. He fled in 1995 to
avoid prosecution.
Lawmakers are hoping William Bulger, 68, will provide information about
whether FBI agents obstructed homicide cases to protect his older brother, and whether the agents stalled efforts to find
him.
"We have FBI employees who were working for organized crime," said Rep.
Christopher Shays, Connecticut Republican. "We want the truth. If you have people in your law enforcement that are corrupt,
you need to root it out."
