The Feds plan to nail gangster James "Whitey" Bulger on murder and racketeering charges. But is the 81-year-old Boston mobster also the "Geezer Bandit"--supporting his luxury life in Santa Monica on nearly a million dollars in cash, stolen from Orange County and California banks over the past six years?
Questions surface about robbery video of an elderly man with striking facial similarities to the reputed mob man.
FBI agents swooped in for "Whitey" Bulger's arrest at his rent-controlled, Santa Monica, apartment yesterday after a public tip by an Iceland woman watching the FBI television publicity campaign on CNN identified the gangster's longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig. Along with Bulger and Greig, law enforcement found wads of cash and guns. After 16 years on the run, the reputed mob man was living right under the nose of the FBI who claimed Bulger among its top ten "Most Wanted".
But it's quite possible Bulger may have been doing way more than living the good life: The notorious gangster may actually have been not only exposing himself to the possibility of getting caught -- but putting himself within inches of law enforcement, time after time, through robbing California banks.
The Feds may have been able to save on the two million dollar reward for Bulger's capture as recently as last month, in May 2011, when an elderly man dubbed the "Geezer Bandit" most recently robbed a California bank in the affluent, coastal area of Morro Bay. The Heritage Oaks Bank on Morro Bay Boulevard was robbed -- the seventeenth financial institution to be hit by a serial bank robber -- with bank video footage capturing the likeness of a man who appears to look an awful lot like the Boston gangster.
In Orange County, California, a bank robbery run began in 2005--when what appeared to be an elderly-looking man began robbing O.C. banks. Three banks were robbed in a short span, all of the robberies showing an older man with striking similarities to "Whitey" Bulger. FBI agents began wondering if the elderly "Geezer Bandit" who was striking financial institutions in Southern California could be one and the same. And, after all, the man who would then have been roughly 75 years old would've needed some form of income. There had been reported sightings of the mobster in the Orange County area -- but sightings of "Whitey" Bulger had actually been coming in from across the globe for years.
The string of robberies related to the "Geezer Bandit" started out relatively slow in 2005. The tree Orange County banks were initially hit for $50,000 apiece. But things kicked into high gear in 2009 when, suddenly, another 14 banks were robbed in quick succession over about two years. All the "Geezer Bandit" robberies took place along -- or not far from -- the California coastline.
The "Geezer Bandit" communication has been straight and to the point: At each bank, he'd ensure visibility of a gun while handing the bank's teller a note reading, "give me $50,000 or I will murder you." That method for garnering cash worked at 17 financial institutions -- and if Bulger and the bank robber are one and the same, following those instructions may have been a very wise move by tellers: The Boston gangster who inspired the movie "The Departed" is thought to be linked to 21 murders. Perhaps wording of those instructions also serves as a bit of a clue, since most bank notes tend to include the word "shoot" -- not "murder".
The serial robber, who appeared on video to be in his 70s or 80s, was able to hit 10 banks in San Diego and additionally rob another bank in Temecula in about a year. That string of fast robberies started in the summer of 2009 and ran until the June 24 bank hit in Temecula. Further north, California banks in Poway, Vista, Rancho Santa Fe and Escondido were robbed -- the string of robberies ending most recently in May 2011, in Morro Bay.
If James Bulger doesn't cop to the crimes -- and the FBI doesn't immediately confirm the gangster is in fact the same man -- the telltale sign may lie in a quick end to the robberies that have plagued California since 2005. In November 2010, Ed Power -- a Carlsbad man in Southern California -- claimed to be the "Geezer Bandit" bank robber but his claim didn't jive with the FBI. A man named Ed Power was held in the Vista jail after swearing to be the bandit, but FBI agents basically said the lead was a no-go: An investigating FBI agent, responsible for looking into the "Geezer Bandit" crimes said the suspect's manner, methods and appearance didn't match those of the serial robber.
Or perhaps the FBI statement could be translated to mean Ed Power wasn't the guy they were looking for -- because he wasn't James "Whitey" Bulger.
Bank robbery isn't on the current list of charges the Feds are pushing, but the FBI may have been more aware of Bulger's location than the agency has been letting on -- about the gangster wanted for at least 19 to 21 murders. For years, James "Whitey" Bulger has been sitting on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, right next to the agency's #1 most-wanted: Osama bin Laden.
To celebrate Bulger's 79th birthday, in 2009, the FBI bumped up the reward for capture and arrest of the gangster: The former one million dollar reward for the gangster was raised to two million dollars.
The FBI supposedly didn't know which of the "Whitey" Bulger sightings over the past 16 years has been accurate, or which may have been doppelganger look-alikes.
The FBI had been under public scrutiny, questioned as to whether the agency efforts have been serious in its "search" for Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. If there were in fact sightings of the mobster in Orange County, the FBI may not have wanted to really address that possibility between one of the FBI's Most Wanted and one of Orange County's most wanted. If it does in fact come out that Bulger is the "Geezer Bandit", things may look even worse for the agency: After all, Bulger was arrested within about one day of simply targeted television ads, which seems to reconfirm the idea the FBI wasn't putting serious effort into the notorioius mobster's capture.
James "Whitey" Bulger had actually been an FBI informant for 20 years when the gangster may have realized he didn't have a lot of options other than to flee: Word came down, from the Boston FBI agent who originally made the mobster an informant for the agency, that Bulger was about to be indicted. And the mobster obviously wouldn't have been coming out of prison anytime soon. That Boston FBI man, John Connolly Jr, tipped off James Bulger -- and paid dearly for 'freeing' the gangster. Apparently the government does not forget: The Feds prosecuted former Boston agent John Connolly Jr in 2003, on racketeering charges, for allowing the mob man an opportunity at freedom.
In 2006, an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times asked FBI agents if there was a possible connection between the California bank robber and Whitey Bulger. The FBI response to the newspaper: "Absolutely, there's speculation. But although we can't say it's absolutely not him [James "Whitey" Bulger], we really don't think it is."
If that's truly what the FBI thought, it would make the agency's investigative skills seem a bit frightening: the photos and droop of the "Geezer Bandit's" mouth appears to be identical to James Bulger's facial features. Then there was that rumor of his girlfriend having been sighted in the Fountain Valley city of Orange County, in the same timeframe.
Mob man James Bulger seems to have a fondness for California coastal cities -- and so does the "Geezer Bandit".
The FBI description for James Bulger is 5' 9" inches tall with a weight estimate of 150 to 160 lbs. The "Geezer Bandit": 5' 8" inches tall inches tall, weighing 190 to 205 lbs. If Bulger and the "Geezer Bandit" are one and the same, Bulger would've been 75 at the time of the first Orange County robbery and 81 at the time of the most recent.
The gangster first went on the run over a decade and half ago when that FBI weight description went out to the public -- and quite possibly a bit out of date. It's now 16 years later. While there's a 30 pound differential between the FBI weight description of Bulger and that of the serial bank robber, we do all gain a few pounds with age.
The FBI has been offering a reward for the "Geezer Bandit" too -- a piddly $20,000. It's a pittance compared to the two million the agency's been offering up for tips leading to "Whitey" Bulger's capture. That fact leads to a kind of interesting question: If the FBI happened to have an idea that the "Geezer Bandit" and the mobster could be one and the same, would a tipster get to cash in both the two mil and the twenty grand -- or just the $20,000 for the bandit?
It would sure offer the FBI agency quite a savings, with a reward difference of over 1.9 million.
Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig, became the mobster's downfall when she was recognized by someone watching CNN. The FBI tipster recognized Bulger's girlfriend through a tv ad that ran for just 24 hours. Previously sighted in Fountain Valley, California -- in Orange County -- the mobster and Greig were arrested roughly 30 miles from the previous sighting.
The FBI isn't saying just how much money has been seized from Bulger's place but Santa Monica police or agents are reported to have discovered loads of cash when busting into the (ironically) rent-controlled apartment where Bulger had been living in luxury. The gangster and Greig had been living in one of the most expensive coastal areas of California, blending in to a neighborhood that typically receives exposure through celebrity and high-profile residents. If James "Whitey" Bulger is in fact the "Geezer Bandit", his combined take on the robberies would've added up to more than three-quarters of a million dollars: $850,000 stolen from California bank, funds that would afford a pretty fair lifestyle.
Not only has one of the nation's most notorious and wanted mobsters been living right under everyone's nose -- in one of the most affluent areas of the United States -- but may have put himself in the prime position to be captured through bank robberies that occurred again and again. Like 17 times.