Alex Constantine - November 7, 2008
AP via NY Times
November 7, 2008
A former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Connolly, was convicted of second-degree murder for leaking information to Boston mobsters that led to the 1982 shooting death of a gambling executive who also had ties to gangsters. Jurors deliberated less than three days before delivering the verdict after a two-month trial. The jury acquitted Mr. Connolly of conspiracy, but he still faces life in prison when sentenced Dec. 4. Prosecutors said the victim, John Callahan, the former World Jai-Alai president, was killed after Mr. Connolly warned gangsters that Mr. Callahan might implicate them in other slayings. James Bulger, known as Whitey, and Stephen Flemmi, Boston mafia kingpins, were federal informants handled by Mr. Connolly. Mr. Connolly long denied involvement in the killing of Mr. Callahan, whose body was found at the Miami airport.