BOSTON, March 26 (UPI) -- Lawyers for reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger asked a federal judge in Boston to reveal the identity of a confidential informant.
Bulger's attorney, J. W. Carney Jr., said the informant could undermine the testimony of Kevin Weeks, one of the government's key witnesses in the case against Bulger, in an 11-page court filing Monday.
Weeks' "credibility or lack thereof, will be a central issue at trial," Carney wrote.
Carney seeks to have the informant discredit Weeks' past testimony regarding lottery winnings he and Bulger shared in 1991. The lottery issue is not a part of the case against Bulger, which includes murder, extortion and money laundering, but testimony could impeach Weeks' credibility, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.
Weeks had said the $14.3 million payout was shared between himself, Bulger and two other men, but two confidential informants told the FBI it was a money laundering scheme, with three of the four men paying for a one-sixth share of the winnings, which they could then claim as legitimate income.
"This disbursement system was established as a further step in the money-laundering operation," FBI Special Agent John Gamel wrote in a 1995 affidavit.
Carney argued, in his filing, the informant's identity and testimony will be critical in discrediting Weeks, saying Weeks had an incentive to lie so he could continue to collect the lottery payout.
