FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Defense attorneys are using handwritten notes from deceased crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger to challenge a former FBI agent’s murder conviction, claiming the mobster’s own words prove their client was wrongfully accused.
Legal representatives for ex-FBI agent John Connolly submitted paperwork to Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Monday requesting his conviction be thrown out, pointing to what they call previously hidden evidence that prosecutors kept secret for years.
The evidence consists of FBI interview records containing Bulger’s statements and an incomplete handwritten memoir that federal agents confiscated when they searched Bulger’s residence following his 2011 capture.
According to the court documents, Connolly’s legal team says Bulger, who controlled Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, claimed in these materials that Connolly never provided him information that led to businessman John Callahan’s 1982 murder in Miami, undermining the prosecution’s entire case. The crime boss instead named fellow FBI agent John Morris as his actual source, calling Connolly a “sacrificial lamb” in the filing.
The 85-year-old Connolly received a Florida conviction for second-degree murder and racketeering charges.
Within his memoir, Bulger acknowledged being a “criminal almost all of my life” and detailed how he used confidential information to evade law enforcement.
“I never thought the day would come that I’d be writing a story about my criminal activity,” Bulger penned.
Defense lawyers contend Bulger composed the memoir specifically to exonerate Connolly.
They further argue that both Bulger’s written account and his post-arrest FBI interviews were never shared with the defense team.
These documents surfaced only after a veteran prosecutor working on Connolly’s case left the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office amid allegations of improper conduct, including providing special treatment to witnesses and coaching their testimony.
During 2024, Connolly’s attorneys received correspondence from Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Jose Arrojo notifying them that a sealed package marked “confidential” held both the Bulger memoir and his federal statements.
The defense filing accuses prosecutors of widespread wrongdoing, claiming they deliberately concealed evidence that could have helped their client, violating constitutional protections. While courts have previously determined that some evidence was improperly withheld in this case, they concluded it wasn’t significant enough to reverse the conviction.
Connolly’s lawyers argue this newly revealed material goes much further, establishing genuine uncertainty about his involvement in the crime.
After serving part of a 40-year prison term, Connolly received compassionate release in 2021 when a judge considered his fatal illness and COVID-19 dangers.
Connolly worked as a federal agent in Boston during July 1982 when contract killer John Martorano executed Callahan with a gunshot to the head, abandoning his corpse in a vehicle trunk at Miami International Airport.
Authorities charged Connolly with first-degree murder two decades later. Prosecutors at that time alleged Bulger and Stephen Flemmi arranged Callahan’s assassination after Connolly informed them federal investigators were examining Callahan’s connections to Bulger’s organization regarding the 1981 murder of Roger Wheeler, who operated World Jai Alai.
However, the defense claims Bulger’s memoir and federal statements indicate Morris, who supervised Connolly at the FBI, actually set him up.
“I am sure everyone close to me thought all the information I had came from (Connolly), Bulger wrote. “I didn’t discourage that thought — sadly for Connolly, he took the heat for warning me to take off and other things that had come from (Morris).”
Bulger claimed Morris became a “star witness” against Connolly to protect himself. Morris provided testimony against Connolly under a cooperation deal that protected him from criminal charges.
During his criminal reign, Bulger, whose story influenced Jack Nicholson’s role in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film “The Departed,” simultaneously worked as an FBI informant targeting the Mafia — though he disputed this characterization. He fled in 1994 after receiving advance warning of upcoming charges and remained at large until 2011. Following his conviction for 11 murders and additional offenses that resulted in a life sentence, Bulger died in a prison assault in 2018.
