Black Mass: The Irish Mob, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal

by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill

Book Overview

When the FBI turned an Irish mobster into an informant, they corrupted the entire judicial system and sanctioned the worst crime spree Boston has ever seen. This is the true story behind the major... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891620401
• ISBN13: 9781891620409
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Could not put it down.

10/10 would recommend. Some of the things written about are so unbelievable - I bought two more books to read even more. I am hooked!

Running in circles

The same government we are now entrusting broad wiretapping, electronic surveillance, roving warrants and the like to is the same one we criticize so sternly in this case. Once we further empower such forces, can we ever go back the freedom we have enjoyed?Does the government itself construct events to further its own quest for greater control and power? I know someone who has provided extensive information in this case to the authorities and all that has happened is that person has been targeted by the authorities. This shows that confidentiality cannot be maintained by government or law enforcement personnel nor so called "confidential" tip sources as tv law enforcement shows. Will Dan Burton and others objectively and fully investigate how leads in this case have been handled? And who can stand up to the harassment which is brought to bear on any who try to discern the truth in this case?

In the beginning

It seems possible Flemmi and Bulger were swindled by the government but that the FBI might not be to blame. Here's why..There is an individual i know who was abandoned about the time Flemmi came on the scene as an infant. The person was raised with little knowledge of their family and not long before Whitey disappeared the individual worked for a defense contractor with a security clearance. About the time Bulger disappeared this person was fired.Not long before a meeting with an alleged government official resulted in intimidation of this individual. Many strange things happened to this person before and even moreso after Bulger disappeared. Some have suggested heavy DoD activity before and following the unravelling of this case. Before one jumps all over the FBI , Congress might want to investigate all agencies in the region and specifically defense-industrial ties. The FBI might be the whipping boy for other agencies.

It can't be true

This book rips the door off its hinges on the back-room deals struck by the FBI's John Connolly and Whitey Bulger. The great lengths that Connolly went to cover Whitey's track will make your stomach turn. The writers capture that sense, back it up with hard evidence, and invite the reader into that dark place where the line between good and evil merge. O'Neill and Lehr have beaten everyone to the punch on a story that has never been told and will shock the senses. Black Mass is destined for greatness and is a book that was made for the big screen.

Master reporters reveal FBI's dirty deal with Irish mob

At first it seems like pure fiction: One of Boston's most notorious mobsters, who also happens to be the brother of one of Massachusetts' most powerful politicians, spends more than a decade as a secret informant for the FBI. And, using his informant status as a shield, he grows his criminal empire and commits just about every crime on the books, including murder. As incredible as it sounds, it's all true and it's all here, and it's better than fiction. This is a powerfully written narrative by two prize-winning investigative reporters who covered the story and revealed some of its most dramatic elements. By combining their powerful reporting skills with rich writing flair, Lehr and O'Neill bring readers into the heart of darkness. They show how a relationship that began among children in the housing projects of South Boston evolved into a corrupt deal among dangerous adults that ultimately humiliated the nation's top law-enforcement agency and extended the reign of some of the very mobsters the FBI was supposed to eradicate. The book moves seamlessly from the streets and storerooms of Boston, to the corridors of political power, to the ornate federal courthouse where the deal comes crashing down.