New Bedford Mayor Mitchell Worked on Bulger Case

NEW BEDFORD — Jon Mitchell is a former federal prosecutor and spent seven years on the fugitive task force trying to track down notorious Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.

The mayor reacted to the news that the 89-year-old Bulger had died. Mitchell told WBSM News, "Despite all the mystique around Bulger due to the books and movies, when you get right down to it, he was a murderer who caused immense suffering. I'm just grateful that due to the work of lots of folks he was brought to justice."

Mayor Mitchell also talked about the investigation itself. He said, "We were working very hard and looking in every corner of the globe for him, and went to extreme lengths to track him down, and ultimately, those efforts panned out."

Bulger was arrested 16 years after disappearing from Boston. He was brought back to Boston and went to trial. The gangster was convicted of killing at least 11 people and sentenced to life in prison.

Mitchell said besides being Bulger being cruel and brutal, he was intelligent and cunning, and savvy enough to keep his enterprise going and then go on the run and remain a fugitive for 16 years.