Notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger has died in US federal custody, nearly five years after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Officials at the Federal Bureau of Prisons say Bulger died on Tuesday in West Virginia. He was 89.
Bulger led a largely Irish mob that ran loan sharking, gambling and drug rackets in the Boston area. He also served as an FBI informant.
These 1953 file Boston police booking photos provided by The Boston Globe shows James "Whitey" Bulger after an arrest. Source: Supplied
He became one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in late 1994.
After more than 16 years on the run, Bulger was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he had been living with his long-time girlfriend, Catherine Greig.
In 2013, Bulger was convicted of participating in 11 murders in the 1970s and 1980s and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Bulger was the model for Jack Nicholson's ruthless crime boss in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie The Departed.
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