Girlfriend of Boston mobster 'Whitey' Bulger indicted for contempt

By Richard Valdmanis

BOSTON (Reuters) - The girlfriend of convicted Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was indicted on Tuesday for contempt of court for refusing to testify about the couple's time in hiding, the Massachusetts District Attorney's office said.

Catherine Greig, 64, had been ordered by the U.S. District Court in Boston last year to answer questions before a grand jury about people who helped Bulger while he lived on the lam for 16 years to avoid arrest.

"Catherine Greig has yet again failed to do the right thing," said Boston FBI agent Joseph Bonavolonta in a press release. "Her refusal to testify has hindered the FBI's efforts to seek justice for the victims of (Bulger's) crimes."

Bulger, one of America's most notorious gangsters, was convicted in 2013 of charges including committing or ordering 11 murders in the 1970s and 1980s. His trial detailed his corrupt relationship with federal agents and prosecutors in Boston who turned a blind eye to his crimes in return for information they could use against the Italian mafia.

Bulger fled Boston in 1994 on a tip his arrest was imminent. He spent 16 years on the lam and was among the FBI's "Most Wanted" fugitives before his capture in California in 2011.

There is no maximum prison term for contempt of court, with sentences imposed at a judge's discretion. Greig is already serving an eight-year sentence for her 2012 conviction for identity fraud and harboring Bulger.

Her lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bulger has inspired several movies, including "The Departed" which won a 2006 best picture Academy Award, and the just-released "Black Mass," starring Johnny Depp.

(Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Eric Walsh)