James 'Whitey' Bulger Killed In Prison

Notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was killed in a West Virginia prison Tuesday, according to Boston CBS affiliate WBZ-TV.

Bulger had recently been moved from a prison in Florida to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City. Bureau of Prisons officials and his attorney declined last week to comment on why he was being moved.

Bulger was 89.

10/26/2018 Related Story: James 'Whitey' Bulger Convicted In 1981 Tulsa Murder, In OKC Federal Prison

Bulger was serving two life sentences after being convicted in 2013 of multiple crimes, including participating in 11 murders. One of them was Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler, who was shot in the parking lot of Southern Hills Country Club in 1981.

Bulger was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives for 16 years until his arrest in Santa Monica, California in 2011.

In 2000, Wheeler's sons told the AP they were anxiously awaiting for charges to be filed in his death.

Patricia Donahue, the wife of 1982 Bulger murder victim Michael Donahue, told CBS Boston the news of Bulger's death brought closure for her and her family.

"We're very happy that the man is not here any longer, because we don't have to hear his name ever again," Donahue said. "Myself, I'd like to open up a champagne bottle and celebrate."

9/27/2000 Related Story: Sons Await Charges In 20-year-old Slaying Of Tulsa Millionaire Roger Wheeler

The Federal Bureau of Prisons released the following statement: 

On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, at approximately 8:20 a.m., inmate James Bulger was found unresponsive at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Hazelton, in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Life-saving measures were initiated immediately by responding staff. Mr. Bulger was subsequently pronounced dead by the Preston County Medical Examiner.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified and an investigation has been initiated. No staff or other inmates were injured, and at no time was the public in danger.

Mr. Bulger was an 89 year-old male who was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to a Life sentence for Racketeering Conspiracy, Racketeering, Extortion Conspiracy, Money Laundering, Possession of Unregistered Machine Guns, Transfer and Possession of Machine Guns, Possession of Firearms with Obliterated Serial Numbers, and Possession of Machine Guns in Furtherance of a Violent Crime. He had been in custody at USP Hazelton since October 29, 2018.

USP Hazelton is a high security facility that currently houses 1,270 male offenders at Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Hazelton.