The family of James “Whitey” Bulger says they will sue the Department of Justice after the notorious mobster was murdered in prison at the age of 89, ABC News reported.
“We believe that James Bulger was deliberately placed in harm’s way,” family attorney Hank Brennan told the network. “There is simply no other explanation for the transfer of someone in his condition and inmate status to be placed in the general population of one of the country’s most violent federal penitentiaries.”
Bulger — whose gangland career is linked to at least 11 murders — was supposed to be moved from his home in Florida’s US Penitentiary Coleman to a medical facility. Instead, Bulger ended up in federal lockup in Hazelton, West Virginia.
He was attacked and killed just hours after his arrival.
The family is seeking $200,000 in damages, though they would probably not see any of it as the award would likely be seized by the feds over outstanding forfeiture orders.