Ex FBI Agent Sentencing: Facing 30 years for Mobster Murder

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 12:20:35 PM EST
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Former Boston FBI Agent John Connolly, purportedly the inspiration for the Matt Damon character in The Departed, is in a federal courtroom in Miami today, being sentenced for a gangland murder. He faces 30 years to life.

Connolly told the judge today he didn't do it.

During testimony, jurors heard that Connolly was on the mob payroll, collecting $235,000 from Bulger and Flemmi while shielding his mob pals from prosecution and leaking the identities of informants.

The prosecution's star witnesses at the Miami trial were Flemmi, who is now in prison, and mob hit man John Martorano, who has admitted to 20 murders, served 12 years in prison and is now free.

Connolly was serving a 10 year sentence for racketeering when he was indicted for the mob hit.

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Ex FBI Agent Sentencing: Facing 30 years for Mobster Murder | 18 comments (18 topical)

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Which is worse (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by Mikeb302000 on Fri Dec 05, 2008 at 07:19:05 AM EST

On my blog we've discussed this case several times. One idea that came up is whether the mafia hit man is worse and should be punished more than the violent rapist/murderer. My idea is usually there are mitigating circumstances in the violent cases whereas with the cold-blooded hit man there aren't.

In this case the hit man did 12 years for a bunch of murders, the crooked FBI Agent who betrayed the public trust will probably do the rest of his life and while all this is going on, we're executing mentally ill bad boys all over the place.

The real question is (none / 0) (#1)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 12:27:43 PM EST

Does he know where Whitey is?

This is one criminal (none / 0) (#3)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 12:53:52 PM EST

I hope they throw the book at. It made a huge difference in the daily lives of a lot of people when the mob finally lost it's stranglehold on Boston.

Also - I'm pretty sure he did whatever they said he did and a whole lot more. Just ask anyone who grew up in Southie...


Or what happened... (none / 0) (#4)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:05:26 PM EST

...to Ben Afflacks career.


: Let's focus here: Jimmy Hoffa. (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:07:58 PM EST

: His accent (none / 0) (#16)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:53:30 PM EST

Apparently wasn't good enough :)
Although he is partially resposible for the rise of using Southie as a setting for movies.
Funny story - Southie is no longer "gritty enough" to be filmed as "Southie". Now when movies take place in Southie they film them in East Boston (Eastie) - which is still gritty.
Southie has become yuppie-town.

Does TL approve of the (none / 0) (#2)
by oculus on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 12:44:31 PM EST

prosecution's reliance on an informant in this case?

Reliance On Informants? (5.00 / 2) (#6)
by squeaky on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:21:37 PM EST

Connolly explained that rubbing elbows with killers and gangsters and winning their confidence was part of the job.
[..]
During the first two decades of his FBI career, Connolly won kudos in the bureau's Boston office, cultivating informants against New England mobsters. Prosecutors said Connolly was corrupted by his two highest-ranking snitches: Bulger and Stephen ''The Rifleman'' Flemmi.

Connolly was an informant, among other nasty things. Seems fitting that his dishonesty as both an informant and FBI agent, would come back to bite him in the a$$.


J adamantly opposes in other cases. (none / 0) (#7)
by oculus on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:23:53 PM EST

But I'm wondering if there is a law-enforcement-defendant exception.


Have To Say (none / 0) (#9)
by squeaky on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:30:18 PM EST

That if Connelly put many people away based on snitch testimony, he made his own bed and must lie in it. IOW, his hands are not clean and whether or not his top snitches lied on the stand during his trial or other trials, he got what he deserved.

That does not change the fact that snitch testimony is always bought and unfair for the defendant.


I sense moral outrage here. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by oculus on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:32:49 PM EST

Karma (none / 0) (#11)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:35:14 PM EST

It just feels good sometimes. This is one of them.


No (none / 0) (#12)
by squeaky on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:35:19 PM EST

Just cold logic.


: OK (none / 0) (#14)
by squeaky on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:42:23 PM EST

I do not like professional liars, be they law enforcement or snitches. Apart from my logical conclusion, I do think these types are highly immoral.

I just hope (none / 0) (#8)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:26:45 PM EST

They didn't cut Flemmi a deal in the process. That is one sick and twisted guy. Frankly, I'm not sure I would believe his testimony 100% though. I do wonder about the guy who wouldn't testify without "anonymity". Just shows the fear and power they still hold over people.

I wonder what other evidence was submitted in this case. I don't doubt his guilt in general, but I do doubt the solidity of this particular case. I know it is innocent until proven guilty - but I've heard too many stories to doubt that wherever the strain of truth may lie, it's pretty bad. Boston is the type of place where everyone knows everyone - and they'll say more over a pint than to the police.


: Flemmi et al. (5.00 / 3) (#17)
by txpublicdefender on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 03:11:45 PM EST

Flemmi is doing life, so if he got a deal at all, it was the removal of the death penalty.
This guy deserves to go down. The fact that he is doing so based on snitch testimony is a cruel irony for him. His whole career was based on cultivating snitches, and, in the case of Bulger and Flemmi, allowing them to get away with all sorts of criminal wrongdoing including numerous murders, in order to protect them as his informants. You lay down with dogs . . .

"The Departed" (none / 0) (#13)
by KD on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:36:46 PM EST

Since "The Departed" is a direct remake of the Hong Kong movie "Infernal Affairs," was Connolly the inspiration for that movie also?

: No (none / 0) (#15)
by CST on Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 01:43:05 PM EST

I think "Infernal Affairs" may have even been fiction (not sure) but it was based in Hong Kong with the Triads. I think the plotline just happened to fit a very real-life situation in Boston.