SERIOUS QUESTIONS about Coia's prosecution or lack thereof:

Jack Keeney negotiated the deal with Coia's personal attorney, Brendan Sullivan, that allowed Coia to remain as General President of the Laborers International Union while posing as a reformer.. in the first day's hearings of the Coia disciplinary matter, GEB  Attorney Robert Luskin says that Brendan Sullivan (Williams & Connolly )is in essence lying when he claims never to have represented  an organized crime figure (LCN) i.e. Coia.

Question 1: why wasn't Steve Flemmi, head of organized crime in Boston-Providence after Patriarca, jr. called as a witness against Coia? see Salemme case on how FBI in Boston aided and abetted criminal activity of Bulger and Flemmi. Does Jack Keeney have a desire to cover up his participation in the FBI handling of Joseph Murray, who was later murdered  by Bulger

Crime Dawg

25. Joseph Murray

In 1988, Joseph Murray, who was then in federal prison, alleged, among other things, that Connolly and Newton were selling information to Bulger and Flemmi concerning electronic surveillance. The FBI assumed responsibility for investigating Murray's charges. Although Murray was interviewed by agents in the FBI's Boston office, he was either not asked about his claim that Connolly and Newton had tipped Bulger and Flemmi off to electronic surveillance or the information that he provided was not included in the 302 of his interview. Nevertheless, the Boston office characterized that charge as "unsubstantiated" and the administrative inquiry of Connolly and Newton was quickly terminated. The evidence presented in the instant case, however, demonstrates that Murray's claim was correct.

More particularly, beginning in January 1988, Weld's secretary at the Department of Justice received a series of increasingly specific telephone calls from an individual, who asked that the information being provided not be passed on to Boston authorities because of the people involved. Ex. 148; Weld May 26, 1998 Tr. at 78-115. The caller initially claimed that Connolly and Boston Police Deputy Ed Walsh "sell information to Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi -- and that's how they find wiretaps." Ex. 147. See also Ex. 148. The source later alleged that Newton was "another agent besides John Connolly who fed Bulger, Flemmi, Nee and Weeks information." Ex. 160.

Weld took these allegations seriously. Weld May 26, 1998 Tr. at 93. Based on his knowledge and experience in Boston, he felt there might be a "weak link" between Connolly and Bulger. Id. at 94. Initially, he referred the matter to his Deputy, Jack Keeney, with a note saying "I know all this. So this [source] is on the up and up." Id. at 92; Ex. 147.

The source also claimed to have information that Bulger and Pat Nee had murdered Halloran and Bucky Barrett. Exs. 149, 150. The source subsequently said that there was an eyewitness to the Halloran shooting who might come forward, and elaborated that: "there is a person named John, who claims he talked to Whitey and Nee as they sat in the car waiting for Halloran on Northern Avenue. He sits in a bar and talks about it. He saw the whole operation." Exs. 149, 152. The source added that the person providing the information to the source "will be willing to talk to you (authorities) soon." Ex. 152. On February 3, 1988, Weld directed Keeney to have the information that he had received sent to the United States Attorney in Boston, Frank McNamara, and to the Strike Force Chief, O'Sullivan. Ex. 151. Weld added that: "Both O'Sullivan and [Assistant United States Attorney] Bob Mueller are well aware of the history, and the information sounds good." Id.

At some point, it was determined that the ultimate source of the information being communicated to Weld was Joseph Murray, who was then in federal prison. Ex. 156. His allegations were referred to the Boston office of the FBI. Ex. 156; Clark June 3, 1998 Tr. at 28. These allegations included the claim that "FBI Agents John Connolly, Jr. and John Newton were selling information regarding wiretaps, to Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi." Ex. 156.

Dennis O'Callahan, the ASAC who had succeeded Potts, was charged with directing an administrative inquiry of Murray's claims concerning Connolly and Newton. Clark June 13, 1998 Tr. at 106, 116. In June 1989, O'Callahan assigned Edward Clark, the supervisor of the Bank Robbery squad, to interview Murray. Id. at 29. Edward Quinn, a member of the Organized Crime squad who had then worked with Connolly for thirteen years and characterized Connolly as a "close friend," accompanied Clark to witness the interview. Id. at 39; Quinn Aug. 19, 1998 Tr. at 13-14.

Clark and Quinn were briefed and given the documents reflecting the information that Weld had received. Id. at 29-31. Clark testified that they were instructed to focus on the allegations of misconduct against Connolly and Newton in their interview of Murray. Id. at 31, 61-62.

Clark and Quinn spoke to Murray at the Strike Force's office in the federal courthouse in Boston, on June 14, 1989 -- more than a year and a half after the initial call to Weld. Ex. 156. Murray was fully cooperative. Clark reported that:

Murray was asked if he would furnish information regarding the above matters and what he wanted as a quid pro quo. Murray said that Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi have a machine and that the Boston Police and the FBI have a machine and he cannot survive against those machines. He is willing to furnish information and wants nothing in return. The information he furnished now will help save the life of a friend or a loved one in the future.

Id.

Clark and Quinn each knew that Bulger and Flemmi were informants handled by Connolly. Id. at 85-86; Quinn Aug. 19, 1998 Tr. at 19. Although the purported primary purpose of the interview was to explore Murray's claim that Bulger and Flemmi were paying Connolly and Newton for information concerning electronic surveillance, there is no reference to this allegation in either the notes Clark made at the interview or in the 302 that he later prepared. Exs. 151, 158; Clark June 3, 1998 Tr. at 89. The court concludes that either Murray was not asked about his allegations concerning Connolly and Newton or that the information that he provided concerning them was not recorded. Similarly, although Murray reiterated that Bulger and Nee had murdered Halloran, neither Clark nor Quinn asked him about the individual named "John" who Murray had previously asserted witnessed the killing. Exs. 151, 158; Clark June 3, 1998 Tr. at 80, 114-15.

Clark discussed the interview with O'Callahan and gave him the 302, which included information linking Bulger and Flemmi to the Halloran and Barrett murders. Ex. 156; Clark June 3, 1998 Tr. at 65. Clark was not asked to do anything further. Id. at 64.

Two months later, however, O'Callahan prepared a memorandum from the SAC, Ahearn, to the Director of the FBI, reporting that Murray had been interviewed and that, "[T]he allegations that SSA Connolly and SA Newton are disclosing information regarding investigations being conducted by this Division to criminal elements are unsubstantiated by specific facts . . ." Ex. 157. The administrative inquiry was then terminated in Boston and, evidently, the matter was not pursued by FBI Headquarters, the United States Attorney's Office, the Strike Force or the Department of Justice, which Weld had left in March 1988. Weld May 26, 1998 Tr. at 5.

Moreover, although Clark viewed it as significant, the information that Murray provided implicating Bulger and Flemmi in the Halloran and Barrett murders was not provided to any agents responsible for investigating those matters or indexed so that it could be accessed by such agents. Clark June 3, 1998 Tr. at 66-67, 116-18. Similarly, while Clark felt Murray would make a "terrific" informant, there is no evidence that any effort was made to utilize him as a source despite his demonstrated willingness to provide information. Id. at 118-23. Accordingly, Murray was effectively eliminated as a threat to the symbiotic relationship between the FBI and Bulger and Flemmi.