Kevin Weeks (born March 21, 1956) is an American former mobster and longtime friend and mob lieutenant to Whitey Bulger, the infamous boss of the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston, a crime family formerly based in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts.
After his arrest and imprisonment in 1999, he became a cooperating witness. His testimony is viewed as responsible for the convictions of FBI agent John Connolly, as well as forcing Bulger's right-hand man, Stephen Flemmi, to plead guilty as well. Since his release from prison, he has written the true-crime memoir, Brutal: My Life in Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob. This was followed by Where's Whitey?, a novel using Bulger as a character, co-written with Phyllis Karas. Promotion for the book started on the day the FBI stepped up its efforts to catch Bulger with an advertisement; Bulger was caught two days later.Olson, Kris; Levy, Nicole, "Question in Marblehead author's book Where's Whitey? now has answer" , Salem Gazette, June 23, 2011
Early life Kevin Weeks was born in South Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1956, to a working-class family of Irish and Welsh descent. He was the fifth child in a family of six and grew up in the Old Colony Housing Project at 8 Pilsudski Way, apartment 554. His father, John Weeks Sr., originally hailed from Brooklyn, New York. He changed tires for a living and later obtained a position with the Boston Housing Authority.
Weeks had two brothers, William and John Jr., and three sisters, Maureen, Patricia, and Karen. John Sr. trained his sons in boxing and earned extra money by coaching prizefighters. Kevin first started attending school at Michael J. Perkins, but then changed to John Andrew School in Andrew Square for grades 5 and 6; he finally completed elementary school at Patrick F. Gavin School. He graduated from South Boston High in 1974, ending his formal education. His two brothers graduated from Harvard University and would seek out careers in politics: John Jr. became an advance man for Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, and William became a selectman in Acton, Massachusetts.
Kevin's brother, William, has described their childhood: "Smart was good, but having the ability to beat someone senseless! Now that was real power. Education was often talked about in the apartment, but always with the implied threat that if your marks weren't acceptable, be ready to give up your soul to God because your ass belonged to our father ... and As weren't acceptable."
Criminal career In 1975, Weeks became a bouncer at a popular neighborhood bar called Triple O's Lounge, owned by Kevin O'Neil. This was a frequent hangout of the Winter Hill Gang, an Irish-American crime family which was then headed by James J. "Whitey" Bulger. It was here that Weeks first met Bulger, as well as Bulger's Italian-American partner Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.Whitey Bulger’s Enforcer Slams ‘Black Mass’: ‘The Movie Is Pure Fiction’ Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast (September 20, 2015)
Beginning in 1978, Weeks began working for Bulger part-time as muscle and a personal driver. Impressed by Weeks' knack for making money and genuinely liking him, Bulger decided to bring him in closer than any other associate. Meanwhile, Weeks turned to running a loansharking business on the side.
In 1982, four years after beginning to work as part of the Winter Hill Gang, Weeks left his legitimate job and became a full-time mobster in the gang.
The Halloran murder On the night of May 11, 1982, Bulger was told of the whereabouts of a former associate turned federal informant, Brian Halloran, known on the streets as "Balloonhead" owing to the size of his cranium.Ex-partner: 'Bulger just kept shooting' in 1982 homicides Deborah Feyerick, CNN (July 8, 2013) After arriving at the scene, Weeks staked out Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant, where Halloran and construction worker Michael Donahue were dining together. As Donahue and Halloran drove out of the parking lot in a blue Datsun, Weeks signaled Bulger by stating, "The balloon is in the air", over a handheld radio. Bulger drove up in a souped-up 1975 Chevrolet Malibu with a masked man armed with a silenced Mac 10 submachine gun; Bulger himself carried a .30 caliber carbine rifle. Bulger and the other shooter, allegedly Pat Nee, opened fire and sprayed Halloran and Donahue's car with bullets.Former Protégé of Bulger Recounts 1982 Double Murder, and Its Code Words Richard A. Oppel Jr., The New York Times (July 8, 2013) Donahue was shot in the head and killed instantly. After Halloran stumbled out of the car, Bulger continued to shoot him as his writhing body was "bouncing off the ground", according to Weeks.
Afterwards, Weeks calmly drove from the scene, even circling back to collect a hubcap. He then disposed of the guns used in the killings by throwing them into Marine Bay on the instructions of Bulger. Weeks described the murders of Halloran and Donahue as the event which cemented his association with Bulger, saying: "I was involved in a double homicide, so I knew there was no getting out".
Mob lieutenant
Weeks became a protégé to Bulger, who groomed him as his successor and treated him like a son. During the 1980s, Weeks operated several convenience stores and liquor marts in South Boston that served as fronts for the Winter Hill Gang. He collected payments from loan sharks and bookmakers, insulating Bulger from the transactions, and also helped extort local criminals and businessmen who were behind on their debts to the gang.Profile: Kevin Weeks Boston.com (December 31, 2003) Weeks said: "Everything I did, every business I had, Jim Bulger and Steve Flemmi were my partners always."
In 1983, Weeks and O'Neil acquired Stippo's Liquor Mart in South Boston from owners Stephen and Julie Rakes by using threats of violence. The store was renamed South Boston Liquor Mart and became a frequent hangout of Bulger and Flemmi. In 1998, Stephen "Stippo" Rakes was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice for telling grand juries that the sale of the liquor store was voluntary.Reputed mobster's associates face charges Alexis Chiu, The Standard-Times (November 18, 1999)
In order to avoid electronic eavesdropping, Weeks, Bulger and Flemmi discussed business during long walks in public places including Castle Island, a circular path in South Boston known as the Sugar Bowl, and Columbia Park, which was adjacent to the liquor store which served as one of Bulger's offices.
Weeks was an accomplice in the murders of Deborah Hussey, Arthur “Bucky" Barrett, and John McIntyre.Bulger’s former protégé Weeks recounts tutelage Shelley Murphy and Milton J. Valencia, The Boston Globe (July 8, 2013) Kevin Weeks testifies against his former mentor, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger Shelley Murphy and Milton J. Valencia, Boston.com (July 8, 2013) ‘Whitey’ Bulger protege Kevin Weeks describes killings; argues with gangster in court Shelley Murphy and Milton J. Valencia, Boston.com (July 9, 2013)
After drawing the ire of Bulger, the Boston Herald reporter Howie Carr was allegedly targeted for assassination by the Winter Hill Gang. Weeks claims to have been involved in a murder plot against Carr, positioning himself with a sniper rifle in a cemetery adjacent to Carr's home. According to Weeks, he "passed" on killing Carr when the reporter emerged from his house with his young daughter accompanying him.
Narcotics Bulger, Weeks, and Flemmi became heavily involved in narcotics trafficking in the early 1980s. Bulger began to summon drug dealers from in and around Boston to his headquarters. Flanked by Kevin Weeks and Flemmi, he would inform each dealer that he had been offered a substantial sum to assassinate them. He would then demand a large cash payment not to do so.
Eventually, however, the massive profits of drugs proved irresistible. According to Kevin Weeks:
Jimmy, Stevie and I weren't in the import business and weren't bringing in the marijuana or the cocaine. We were in the shakedown business. We didn't bring drugs in; we took money off the people who did. We never dealt with the street dealers, but rather with a dozen large-scale drug distributors all over the State who were bringing in the coke and marijuana and paying hundreds of thousands to Jimmy. The dealers on the street corner sold eight-balls, ...grams, and half grams to customers for their personal use. They were supplied by the mid level drug dealer who was selling them multiple ounces. In other words, the big importers gave it to the major distributors, who sold it to the middlemen, who then sold it to the street dealers. To get to Jimmy, Stevie, and me, someone would have had to go through those four layers of insulation.
In South Boston, most of the neighborhood's drug trade was managed by a handpicked crew of prize fighters led by John "Red" Shea. Edward MacKenzie Jr., a former member of Shea's crew, has stated that this was done because Shea viewed athletes as less likely to abuse the drugs they were selling.
According to Weeks, Bulger enforced strict rules over the dealers who were paying him protection.
The only people we ever put out of business were heroin dealers. Jimmy didn't allow heroin in South Boston. It was a dirty drug that users stuck in their arms, making problems with needles, and later on, AIDS. While people can do cocaine socially and still function, once they do heroin, they're zombies.
Weeks also insists that Bulger strictly forbade PCP and selling to children, and that those dealers who refused to play by his rules were violently driven out of the neighborhood.
In 1990, Shea and his associates were arrested as part of a joint investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. All refused to testify against Bulger, Flemmi, and Weeks. According to Weeks,
Of course, Jimmy lost money once the drug dealers were removed from the streets in the summer raid, but he always had other business going on. Knowing I had to build something on the side, I had concentrated on my shylocking and gambling businesses. The drug business had been good while it lasted. But our major involvement in it was over.
Mob boss Bulger became a fugitive after he was indicted on racketeering charges in January 1995, and Weeks subsequently acted as "operational chief" of the Winter Hill Gang, taking orders from Bulger via frequent telephone calls. Weeks funded Bulger by funnelling thousands of dollars into his bank account. Weeks also had several clandestine meetings in New York City and Chicago.
In 1997, shortly after The Boston Globe disclosed that Bulger and Flemmi had been informants, Weeks met with retired agent John Connolly (later sentenced to 40 years in prison), who showed him a photocopy of Bulger's FBI informant file. In order to explain Bulger and Flemmi's status as informants, Connolly said, "The Mafia was going against Jimmy and Stevie, so Jimmy and Stevie went against them." According to Weeks: