Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger was found guilty Monday of 31 of 32 counts against him, including involvement in 11 murders. The 83-year-old defendant had been on trial for more than seven weeks for killings that had occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, and the case against him featured testimony from some of his closest partners.

 

The counts Bulger was found guilty of include racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and illegal firearms. The jury deliberations began last Tuesday morning and continued for nearly 33 hours.

 

The jury found that Bulger had played a role in 11 murders, but also ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove his involvement in seven other murders and issued no ruling on another murder. The ruling resulted in mixed reactions among the relatives of the victims that attended the verdict reading. CNN reports that the widow of victim Michael Donahue cried openly when the jury convicted Bulger of being linked to his death, while the brother of Debra Davis, whose murder received no finding from the jury, left the courtroom without a word when the verdict was read.

 

"It's hard to digest. With all the years since '81, I've been looking for answers, searching for answers, and I come out with an NF. It's not good enough," Davis' brother told CNN.

 

James "Whitey" Bulger had been the leader of Boston's Irish mob from the early 1970s until 1995, when he fled the city after being warned by a retired FBI agent that he was about to be indicted on federal racketeering charges. Bulger spent 16 years as a fugitive and one of the FBI's most wanted, until he was found in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. Over $800,000 in cash had been found in the walls of his apartment, along with 30 guns.

 

SEE ALSO | Santa Monica Residents React To Bulger's Arrest

 

During the trial, the prosecution produced testimony from Bulger's former associates that connected him to multiple killings and revealed how he made millions through drugs, extortion, gambling, and loan-sharking. They also presented evidence that showed how Bulger was an FBI informant that provided information on the New England Mafia, showing the corrupt relationship between the FBI and its informants within the criminal underground.

 

Bulger had erupted into a heated exchange with one of his former partners during testimony, and after the defense presented its case, Bulger told the judge he had "involuntarily" decided not to testify.

 

"I feel that I've been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense.My thing is, as far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial, and this is a sham, and do what youse [sic] want with me. That's it. That's my final word," Bulger said.

 

Despite this, Bulger was "very pleased" by the trial and the outcome, according to his lawyer.

 

"It was important to him that the government corruption be exposed, and important to him that people see first hand the deals that the government was able to make with certain people," defense attorney Jay Carney told reporters after the verdict.

 

Sentencing is set for November 13.

 

Reach Executive Producer Jeremy Fuster here