Feds seek Bulger's plans for defense

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BOSTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The immunity claim of reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, charged with 19 murders, has Boston prosecutors asking for the direction of his defense plan.

Bulger, 83, has claimed through his lawyer he received immunity from prosecution as a federal informant in the 1970s, The Boston Herald reported Monday, but federal prosecutors told U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns in a court filing Friday Bulger "has failed to prove any affidavit or evidence to support the absurd notion that he entered into a legally binding agreement" with the late U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan "that immunized (Bulger) in perpetuity for any crime [he] chose to commit."

The court documents asked Bulger's taxpayer-funded defense team to explain its plans before his trial, scheduled for June, spirals into an "unduly elongated and unmanageable" situation.

Prosecutors said, in the court filing, Bulger's FBI file makes no mention of any arrangements made with O'Sullivan, or even proof the two had ever met.