From: v.k.durham
Subj: : Ex-Prosecutor Who Pursued Public Corruption Found Dead of Apparent Suicide
Subj: : Ex-Prosecutor Who Pursued Public Corruption Found Dead of Apparent Suicide
Ex-Prosecutor Who Pursued Public Corruption Found Dead of Apparent Suicide
The investigation into the apparent suicide of former federal prosecutor John Fahy caused an hours-long delay on Route 17 in East Rutherford
By Marc Santia | Thursday, Jul 18, 2013
A former federal prosecutor who pursued public corruption in Newark and appeared on TV as a legal expert was found underneath a bridge in New Jersey Wednesday, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
~~~~~ CONTINUE AT: ~~~~~
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/East-Rutherford-Route-17-New-Jersey-Billiards-Hall-Shooting-215906221.html?_osource=nbcnewsmore
PLUS
Bulger Witness Found Dead
By AARON KATERSKY, MICHELE MCPHEE and JOSH MARGOLIN | Good Morning America – 7 minutes ago
Good Morning America - 'Whitey' Bulger
Witness Found Dead (ABC News)
Stephen
"Stippo" Rakes, a possible witness in the murder trial of alleged
crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, has been found dead, authorities
said.
The
body of Rakes, 59, had "no obvious signs of trauma" and an autopsy is
being performed to determine the cause of death, Middlesex District Attorney
Marian Ryan and Lincoln, Mass., Police Chief Kevin Mooney announced today.
The
corpse was found on Mill Street in Lincoln yesterday at 1:30 p.m., police said.
Rakes
had been on the witness list and had been eager to testify that Bulger threatened his family at
gunpoint and forced him to turn his liquor store into a front for the Winter Hill Gang. But earlier this week
prosecutors informed Rakes he would not be called to testify, a decision that
left Rakes "despondent," a source close to his family told ABC News.
The
judge overseeing the Bulger case hunkered down with lawyers in a confidential
conference at the South Boston courthouse today where
the trial is being held. Bulger, alleged to be a notorious and murderous crime
boss and federal informant, is standing trial after being found on the lam in
California two years ago.
Federal
prosecutors said Rakes was supposed to testify that Bulger and associate Stephen Flemmi threatened his daughter
at gunpoint, and took over his South Boston liquor store for Bulger's
headquarters. Bulger sidekick Kevin Weeks testified last week Rakes' contention
that Bulger's gang put a gun to his daughter's head was bogus.
Rakes
comes from a storied South Boston family. His brother Joseph Rakes was photographed in
Stanley Forman's Pulitzer Prize winning photograph charging at an African-American
man on Boston's City Hall with the sharp end of the American flag – which
became the symbol of the racial unrest during the city's anti-busing crisis.
News
of his death investigation came on the same day that Stephen "The
Rifleman" Flemmi was slated to take the stand against Bulger. The two men
ran the Winter Hill Gang for decades while also working as informants for the
FBI, according to prosecutors and courtroom testimony.
Police
told the Rakes family the death appeared to be a suicide. But a source close to
the Rakes family told ABC News that "he had no phone, no wallet, and
police are still looking for his car." The body of the man found in
Lincoln was positively identified as Rakes this morning after a fingerprint
match, sources said.
Rakes'
longtime friend Steve Davis, whose sister Debbie was allegedly murdered by
Bulger, had met him for breakfast daily before court. Davis said he last saw
Rakes Tuesday in court but then couldn't reach him all night Tuesday and
yesterday he did not meet him in the courthouse cafeteria for breakfast.
"Stippo
would not kill himself. Absolutely not,'' Davis told ABC News this morning.
"He was looking forward to taking the stand. He told me over and over he
had a big bombshell to drop. He had everything to live for and was looking
forward to his day in court."
Davis
- who lost his sister, brother and father to homicide, and whose daughter was
killed in a drunk driver accident - was devastated by the news.
"It
doesn't make sense,'' Davis said.
No comments:
Post a Comment