Adam Reilly is reporting on the "Whitey" Bulger trial for WGBH News. What follows are his notes from the courtroom the day:
After a slow couple of days, there's high drama again this morning in the Whitey Bulger trial.
John Morris, the former head of the Boston FBI's organized crime unit, is on the stand, talking about how he and John Connolly came to work closely with Bulger and his criminal associate Steven Flemmi. Morris recounted inviting Bulger and Flemmi to his Lexington home--a highly unusual move that was intended, he says, to make the two feel "comfortable."
He also recalled a meeting at Flemmi's parents house in South Boston: Flemmi's mother cooked, and at one point, Bulger's brother William the former state Senate president passes through, apparently to watch the Flemmis' TV. (According to Morris, television wasn't allowed in William Bulger's own home.)
After Judge Casper called a morning break, the government passionately protested an outburst many of us (including the judge and your correspondent) had missed: at one point in Morris's testimony, Bulger apparently snapped at him, "You're a [bleeping] liar." Judge Casper told Bulger he should let his two lawyers speak for him in court, and Bulger said he would; we'll see if his restraint hold as Morris's testimony resumes.
I talked to Emily Rooney on Greater Boston about Morris's testimony and how Bulger reacted.
