ID Exclusive Q&A With FBI Special Agent: The Whitey Bulger Case
June 28, 2011
[Cynthia M. Deitle is the Supervisory Special Agent
at the Boston FBI Office. Read her Bio >> ]
Q: What was your or the Boston FBI office's involvement in this case?
A: The Boston FBI Office’s James Bulger Task Force has been responsible for searching for Mr. Bulger and Ms. Greig, and gathering evidence regarding their current whereabouts. My involvement has been quite minor and was limited to assisting FBI Boston’s Media Coordinator in the preparation and dissemination of the Public Service Announcement.
Q: How long has the FBI been searching for James“Whitey” Bulger and Catherine Greig?
A: The FBI has been searching for Mr. Bulger and Ms.Greig for the past 16 years after they fled Boston.
Q: How did or what led the FBI to getting tipped off as to where James “Whitey” Bulger and Catherine Greig were located?
A: On Tuesday, June, 21, 2011, just after 8:00 p.m. (PST), a tip was received by the FBI’s Los Angeles
office. The tip was generated as a result of the FBI’s unique publicity campaign organized by Boston’s
FBI office that began on Monday. As part of that campaign, the FBI paid for a Public Service
Announcement to run in 14 media markets across the country including in San Francisco and San
Diego. Those places were strategically chosen. Although Los Angeles was not one of the markets in
which the PSA ran, news coverage of the campaign aired in Los Angeles, on national news and cable
outlets, and the publicity saturated the Internet. The FBI had no knowledge of the whereabouts of
Ms. Greig and Mr. Bulger prior to the initiation of this campaign. Los Angeles agents immediately
relayed the tip to the FBI’s command post in Boston. The command post had been set up to quickly
and methodically analyze tips, and direct leads to FBI personnel around the country and world that
were expected to be generated by the PSA. FBI agents, analysts and other staff in Boston reviewed
the tip. They recognized that certain information appeared to be credible and promising. By
Wednesday at 10:50 a.m., (PST), at the direction of FBI Boston, members of FBI Los Angeles’ fugitive
task force were requested to conduct surveillance at the pertinent location. That task force
included FBI agents and members of the Los Angeles Police Department. Just after 4:00 p.m. (PST),
the task force members began conducting surveillance at the location. The task force concluded
that the tip was fruitful after observing two individuals who appeared to resemble the fugitives.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. (PST), using a ruse, agents and other task force members lured Mr. Bulger
out of his apartment. Agents determined that the individual was, in fact, Mr. Bulger. He was placed
under arrest without incident. Agents then went back to the apartment and arrested Ms. Greig
without incident.
Q: Would you consider this the most successful on-air PSA campaign in FBI history to find a fugitive?
A: The FBI has often used the media as well as electronic billboards and social media networking sites
including Facebook and Twitter to locate fugitives. This PSA, however, while not the first PSA
utilized by the Bureau, was innovative and creative in that we switched the public’s focus from
Mr. Bulger to Ms. Greig, by targeting women in certain cities who may have seen her. Considering that
the FBI located Mr. Bulger and Ms. Greig three days after the start of the campaign is a remarkable
testament to every member of the public who contacted the FBI to provide assistance in this
investigation.
Q: In the process of looking for a fugitive, when is an on-air campaign launched and what leads investigators to pursue this technique?
A: Every fugitive matter is handled on a case by case basis as no two criminal investigations are the
same or involve the same perpetrators or criminal activity. All logical investigative steps are taken
and all investigative strategies techniques are considered.
Q: What are some of the other public awareness campaigns or tactics the FBI pursues in order to enlist the help of the public?
A: In 2009, the FBI aired a PSA on the History Channel following the release of a documentary on a Civil Rights Era Cold Case. In the PSA, the FBI requested the public’s assistance to provide information on the murder of an African-American female, Johnnie Mae Chappell, in Jacksonville, Florida on March 23, 1964. The FBI also participated in “The Injustice Files” with Discovery ID in February 2011 to bring attention to three other racially-charged murders in the South in the hopes that public would
yet again call the FBI with information.
Q: It's been stated that "Bulger was next to Osama bin Laden on the list and had a $2 million reward on his head". Now that he's caught, who is next in line on the Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive list?
A: I cannot comment on who would be added to the list.
Q: If someone has a tip about a most wanted fugitive, where should they go to let the FBI know? What should they do?
A: Someone with information about a fugitive, or any other criminal activity, can contact their local FBI office, visit fbi.gov, or contact the FBI through Facebook or Twitter.
Related Links:
Top 10 FBI Cases
FBI: Criminal Pursuit
The Ten Most Wanted List
Got Info? Submit A Tip To The FBI











Ronald Joseph Dominique







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