Blackfriars Massacre
Encyclopedia
The 1978 Blackfriars Massacre was an American Mafia
massacre
that occurred on June 28, 1978 in Downtown Boston in Boston
, Massachusetts
. The massacre claimed four criminals known to the police and a former Channel 7 (now WHDH-TV
) Boston television investigative news anchorman and reporter, John A. Kelly
. The massacre was allegedly over the sale of cocaine. The shooters who carried out the murders have never been caught.
, Patriarca crime family
mob associate John J. Kelley
("Red") who were all active at the same time in the Boston underworld.
Maurice Lewis a lifelong friend of Kelly stated,
Although he was fired over a political scandal with city hall, co-workers thought that Kelly was on the verge of making a comeback to the world of investigative journalism
. According to former colleague Maurice Lewis, Kelly was scheduled to give up his job as manager of The Blackfriars Pub in two to three weeks in order to begin work as a freelance producer at WLVI-TV
, Channel 56. His first pilot was scheduled to be taped on July 14 of that year. He also spoke of buying a bar or restaurant and manage it himself. While he managed Blackfriars for Solomonte, he hired Stephen Flemmi
's long time mistress Marilyn DeSilva to work at the popular discothèque as a waitress.
John, as a Channel 7 investigative reporter would later say in an interview in November 1976, “I suppose my role with those people (organized-crime figures) is a dual role in a sense. I went into the relationship looking for stories. If you want a story on a gangster, go to a cop. If you want a story on a cop, go to a gangster. I went into that situation for that reason, and I suppose I came away with more.”
's news director stated that Kelly was a great admirer of Edward Francis Harrington
, the former head of the New England
Organized Crime Task Force and the United States
Attorney in Boston], and says it was Harrington who first suggested to Kelly that if he really wanted to do investigative reporting he ought to develop underworld contacts. "It’s true that he kind of relished those associations... but he always maintained that those relationships were there because he needed sources. I accepted that only on the basis of who he was and what his job was. Every reporter has to have his sources."
Police Commissioner diGrazia informed reporters after the scandal at city hall that there was a witch hunt-type campaign to get Mayor Kevin White
. His office's public relations workers were covertly leaking information on Kelly to reporters they considered cooperative. Soon after Chief diGrazia leveled his charges, The Boston Globe
released an investigative article that revealing a police report indicating that John Kelly had been seen by law enforcement officials “in the company of known members of organized crime” on roughly 25 separate occasions. When firearms and cocaine were found at the scene of the massacre, allegations and speculations of Kelly being an active member in Boston's organized crime came to light. John Kelly's friend and fellow co-worker Maurice Lewis later commented to The Boston Phoenix that there was no evidence that Kelly had been profiting from drug deals, though he stated that at the very least Kelly was a fringe member of organized crime. Lewis said, :“He had no new car and no new clothes. He was driving a gold Cadillac Eldorado
, but it was about three years old and it wasn’t his. It was Vinny’s (victim Vincent E. Solomonte), and it was all beaten up. Jack never hid anything. If he were a big drug dealer, he’d let the world know. Jack ain’t gonna be wearing moccasins if he can be wearing $150 shoes. And he left home wearing moccasins that morning.”
suspected the responsibility of the murders to be orchestrated by one or some of these suspects:
themed pub was named after Blackfriars
which was mentioned in William Shakespeare
's play Henry VIII
. John A. Kelly of Framingham, Massachusetts
, the club manager was found lying face-down, two gunshot wounds in the head, in the cramped, blood-spattered subterranean basement of the popular discothèque and lounge Blackfriars, along with the bodies of Charles Magarian of North Andover, Massachusetts
, Peter Meroth of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
, Freddie Delavega of Somerville and Vincent E. Solmonte of Quincy, Massachusetts
who was the club's owner. The men had been killed while in the middle of a game of backgammon
that had started up after the disco closed for the night. The bullet-riddled corpses were discovered by the janitor when he came in for work.
Investigators suspected that the five men were surprised at around 2:00 a.m., and herded into the office where they were all shot by one or more intruders wielding at least one shotgun and a .25-caliber automatic handgun. At the scene investigators discovered a small arsenal of firearms and small quantities of cocaine
and marijuana, as well as including $15,000 in loose cash in an open safe. It is thought that with these discoveries the motive behind the massacre was not a robbery. The prevailing police opinion was that it looked to be a classic gangland-style slaying.
The armed robbery was allegedly over several kilos of cocaine. One of the murder victims, Vincent E. Solomonte was later discovered to be a close associate and friend of Winter Hill Gang member Stephen Flemmi. The homicide investigators concluded that the five men were all murdered "gang land style". Jack Kelly left behind a wife and four young children.
that Ierardi later admitted that he had fabricated the involvement of Bulger and Flemmi in the unsolved massacre.
when he became of an associate of the Winter Hill Gang in 1976. Nicholas lived with a girlfriend of Stephen Flemmi
's mistress, Marilyn DeSilva in an apartment across the street from Chandler's Restaurant, a South End restaurant co-owned by Martorano. He first began as a career criminal under the tutelage of Joseph Barboza. Nicholas was introduced into the gang to assist with extra muscle for their extortion
and "protection" rackets.
When suspect Nicholas Femia began hanging around the Winter Hill Gang
's current headquarters, Lancaster Foreign Motors garage, James J. Bulger wanted it established that Nicholas had nothing whatsoever to do with the massacre, although his involvement in considered highly suspect by law enforcement circles. Bulger did this to reduce any pending surveillance
and subpoenas or investigations by ambitious policemen who would try to prosecute Bulger just because of his association with a suspected killer with a higher profile like Nicholas.
Soon after Nicholas joined the Winter Hill Gang, a brief notice appeared in one of FBI Special Agent John Connolly's reports clearing Nicholas of any involvement in the Blackfriar's Massacre. As James J. Bulger grew older, he became more obsessed with physical fitness. James often wore tight jeans and t-shirts, and grew increasingly disgusted with Nicholas's protruding gut.
Later, after Bulger and Nicholas parted ways, Connolly put another report in Bulger's file, suggesting that Nicholas had in fact been one of the triggermen in the Blackfriars killings. Nicholas would later remain under police surveillance for an assortment of crimes until he was shot to death during the unsuccessful shakedown of an autobody shop on condor street East Boston in 1983. Femia remains one of the suspects in the massacre but his involvement has never been able to be proven.
Even though the crime was never officially solved, it is documented as being connected to organized crime. The Blackfriar murders is featured on Boston.com as a "Mob Tour" attraction http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/mob/the_tour/.
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
that occurred on June 28, 1978 in Downtown Boston in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The massacre claimed four criminals known to the police and a former Channel 7 (now WHDH-TV
WHDH-TV
WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...
) Boston television investigative news anchorman and reporter, John A. Kelly
John A. Kelly
John Andrew Kelly was an American investigative journalist in Boston, Massachusetts.-Early life:Kelly was born in the Drexel Hill suburb of Philadelphia to Francis G. Kelly and Rose M. Kelly . His sister Kathleen was born in 1946...
. The massacre was allegedly over the sale of cocaine. The shooters who carried out the murders have never been caught.
Target of the Blackfriars Massacre
The main targets that were the intended reason for the murders were John A. Kelly and/or his business partner and friend, Vincent E. Solomonte. The victim, bar manager John A. Kelly is not to be mistaken as corrupt DEA agent John Kelly, friend of FBI Special Agent John ConnollyJohn Connolly (FBI)
John J. Connolly, Jr. is a former FBI agent, who was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from his relationship with James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang...
, Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
mob associate John J. Kelley
John J. Kelley
John Joseph Kelley was the winner of the 1957 Boston Marathon and the marathon at the 1959 Pan American Games and a member of two United States Olympic Marathon teams. He was often dubbed John "The Younger" to avoid confusion with Johnny "The Elder" Kelley, the winner of the 1935 and 1945 Boston...
("Red") who were all active at the same time in the Boston underworld.
Maurice Lewis a lifelong friend of Kelly stated,
- “I always thought of him as suitable for the cast of The Wild BunchThe Wild BunchThe Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
.... He was born a little too late for the adventure he craved. He was attracted to mobsters like a moth to a candle. Early on, he found a beat that would set him apart from the rest. He started to cultivate mob contacts as a way of getting into investigative reporting back before it became fashionable. And he loved that movie image. I don’t think he ever thought of it as anything other than a movie. But it was very real, and he just kept getting in deeper and deeper.”
Although he was fired over a political scandal with city hall, co-workers thought that Kelly was on the verge of making a comeback to the world of investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
. According to former colleague Maurice Lewis, Kelly was scheduled to give up his job as manager of The Blackfriars Pub in two to three weeks in order to begin work as a freelance producer at WLVI-TV
WLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
, Channel 56. His first pilot was scheduled to be taped on July 14 of that year. He also spoke of buying a bar or restaurant and manage it himself. While he managed Blackfriars for Solomonte, he hired Stephen Flemmi
Stephen Flemmi
Stephen Joseph "The Rifleman" Flemmi is an Italian-American mobster and close associate of Winter Hill Gang boss James J. Bulger. Beginning in 1965, Flemmi was a top echelon informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
's long time mistress Marilyn DeSilva to work at the popular discothèque as a waitress.
John, as a Channel 7 investigative reporter would later say in an interview in November 1976, “I suppose my role with those people (organized-crime figures) is a dual role in a sense. I went into the relationship looking for stories. If you want a story on a gangster, go to a cop. If you want a story on a cop, go to a gangster. I went into that situation for that reason, and I suppose I came away with more.”
John Kelly's alleged criminal associations
Mel Bernstein, who was WNAC-TVWNAC-TV
WNAC-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
's news director stated that Kelly was a great admirer of Edward Francis Harrington
Edward Francis Harrington
Edward Francis Harrington is a United States federal judge.-Early life:Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Harrington received an A.B. from College of the Holy Cross in 1955 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1960. He was in the United States Navy Lieutenant, JAG Corps from 1955 to 1957....
, the former head of the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
Organized Crime Task Force and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Attorney in Boston], and says it was Harrington who first suggested to Kelly that if he really wanted to do investigative reporting he ought to develop underworld contacts. "It’s true that he kind of relished those associations... but he always maintained that those relationships were there because he needed sources. I accepted that only on the basis of who he was and what his job was. Every reporter has to have his sources."
Police Commissioner diGrazia informed reporters after the scandal at city hall that there was a witch hunt-type campaign to get Mayor Kevin White
Kevin White
Kevin Hagan White is an American politician best known as the Mayor of Boston, a position he held from 1968 to 1984.-Early years:...
. His office's public relations workers were covertly leaking information on Kelly to reporters they considered cooperative. Soon after Chief diGrazia leveled his charges, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
released an investigative article that revealing a police report indicating that John Kelly had been seen by law enforcement officials “in the company of known members of organized crime” on roughly 25 separate occasions. When firearms and cocaine were found at the scene of the massacre, allegations and speculations of Kelly being an active member in Boston's organized crime came to light. John Kelly's friend and fellow co-worker Maurice Lewis later commented to The Boston Phoenix that there was no evidence that Kelly had been profiting from drug deals, though he stated that at the very least Kelly was a fringe member of organized crime. Lewis said, :“He had no new car and no new clothes. He was driving a gold Cadillac Eldorado
Cadillac Eldorado
The 1953 Eldorado was a special-bodied, low-production convertible . It was the production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car, and borrowed bumper bullets from the 1951 GM Le Sabre show car...
, but it was about three years old and it wasn’t his. It was Vinny’s (victim Vincent E. Solomonte), and it was all beaten up. Jack never hid anything. If he were a big drug dealer, he’d let the world know. Jack ain’t gonna be wearing moccasins if he can be wearing $150 shoes. And he left home wearing moccasins that morning.”
Suspects
The Boston Police DepartmentBoston Police Department
The Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...
suspected the responsibility of the murders to be orchestrated by one or some of these suspects:
- James J. BulgerJames J. BulgerJames Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is a former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts.Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins...
, Somerville, MassachusettsSomerville, MassachusettsSomerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
, alleged leader of the Winter Hill GangWinter Hill GangThe Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
, an Irish-American crime familyCrime familyA crime family is a term used to describe a unit of an organized crime syndicate, often operating within a specific geographic territory. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to units of the Mafia, both in Sicily and in the United States, although it is occasionally used to refer to other...
operating in the region of Boston, Massachusetts who was a Top Echelon Informant for the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI). - Stephen FlemmiStephen FlemmiStephen Joseph "The Rifleman" Flemmi is an Italian-American mobster and close associate of Winter Hill Gang boss James J. Bulger. Beginning in 1965, Flemmi was a top echelon informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
, Roxbury, MassachusettsRoxbury, MassachusettsRoxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
, former member of the Winter Hill Gang and ex-top echelon informant for the FBI - Nicholas Femia, East Boston, Massachusetts, associate of Patriarca crime family and later Winter Hill Gang who was involved in extortion and armed robbery
- James MartoranoJames MartoranoJames "Jimmy" Martorano is an American organized crime figure with ties to the Winter Hill Gang of South Boston, Massachusetts and a member of the Patriarca crime family as of 1995. Martorano is the younger brother of notorious "hitman" and later government witness, John Martorano,James Martorano...
, contract killer and associate of Winter Hill Gang and later Patriarca crime family who was a close friend of Kelly - Robert Italiano, East Boston, MassachusettsEast Boston, MassachusettsEast Boston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately 40,000 residents. The community was created by connecting several islands using landfill and was annexed by Boston in 1836. East Boston is separated from the rest of the city by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop,...
- William N. Ierardi of Lynn, Massachusetts, drug dealer
The suspected robbery and massacre aftermath
Three gunmen had burst into Blackfriars, a Downtown Boston bar located at 105 Summer Street. The IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
themed pub was named after Blackfriars
Blackfriars
Blackfriars is an area of central London, which lies in the south-west corner of the City of London.The name Blackfriars was first used in 1317 and derives from the black cappa worn by the Dominican Friars who moved their priory from Holborn to the area between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill in...
which was mentioned in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Henry VIII
Henry VIII (play)
The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight is a history play by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication...
. John A. Kelly of Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...
, the club manager was found lying face-down, two gunshot wounds in the head, in the cramped, blood-spattered subterranean basement of the popular discothèque and lounge Blackfriars, along with the bodies of Charles Magarian of North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....
, Peter Meroth of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Jamaica Plain is a historic neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by Boston Puritans seeking farm land to the south, it was originally part of the city of Roxbury...
, Freddie Delavega of Somerville and Vincent E. Solmonte of Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
who was the club's owner. The men had been killed while in the middle of a game of backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
that had started up after the disco closed for the night. The bullet-riddled corpses were discovered by the janitor when he came in for work.
Investigators suspected that the five men were surprised at around 2:00 a.m., and herded into the office where they were all shot by one or more intruders wielding at least one shotgun and a .25-caliber automatic handgun. At the scene investigators discovered a small arsenal of firearms and small quantities of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and marijuana, as well as including $15,000 in loose cash in an open safe. It is thought that with these discoveries the motive behind the massacre was not a robbery. The prevailing police opinion was that it looked to be a classic gangland-style slaying.
The armed robbery was allegedly over several kilos of cocaine. One of the murder victims, Vincent E. Solomonte was later discovered to be a close associate and friend of Winter Hill Gang member Stephen Flemmi. The homicide investigators concluded that the five men were all murdered "gang land style". Jack Kelly left behind a wife and four young children.
The investigation
Suspect William N. Ierardi would later name James J. Bulger and Stephen Flemmi as two of the three triggermen in the massacre. Retired corrupt FBI Special Agent Michael J. Buckley said in court that he told FBI Special Agent John ConnollyJohn Connolly (FBI)
John J. Connolly, Jr. is a former FBI agent, who was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from his relationship with James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang...
that Ierardi later admitted that he had fabricated the involvement of Bulger and Flemmi in the unsolved massacre.
The heat is turned up on Nicholas Femia
Suspect Nicholas Femia was a hulking, overweight man with a cocaine addiction who wore flashy flamboyant clothing and had a troubled relationship with James J. BulgerJames J. Bulger
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is a former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts.Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins...
when he became of an associate of the Winter Hill Gang in 1976. Nicholas lived with a girlfriend of Stephen Flemmi
Stephen Flemmi
Stephen Joseph "The Rifleman" Flemmi is an Italian-American mobster and close associate of Winter Hill Gang boss James J. Bulger. Beginning in 1965, Flemmi was a top echelon informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
's mistress, Marilyn DeSilva in an apartment across the street from Chandler's Restaurant, a South End restaurant co-owned by Martorano. He first began as a career criminal under the tutelage of Joseph Barboza. Nicholas was introduced into the gang to assist with extra muscle for their extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and "protection" rackets.
When suspect Nicholas Femia began hanging around the Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
's current headquarters, Lancaster Foreign Motors garage, James J. Bulger wanted it established that Nicholas had nothing whatsoever to do with the massacre, although his involvement in considered highly suspect by law enforcement circles. Bulger did this to reduce any pending surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
and subpoenas or investigations by ambitious policemen who would try to prosecute Bulger just because of his association with a suspected killer with a higher profile like Nicholas.
Soon after Nicholas joined the Winter Hill Gang, a brief notice appeared in one of FBI Special Agent John Connolly's reports clearing Nicholas of any involvement in the Blackfriar's Massacre. As James J. Bulger grew older, he became more obsessed with physical fitness. James often wore tight jeans and t-shirts, and grew increasingly disgusted with Nicholas's protruding gut.
Later, after Bulger and Nicholas parted ways, Connolly put another report in Bulger's file, suggesting that Nicholas had in fact been one of the triggermen in the Blackfriars killings. Nicholas would later remain under police surveillance for an assortment of crimes until he was shot to death during the unsuccessful shakedown of an autobody shop on condor street East Boston in 1983. Femia remains one of the suspects in the massacre but his involvement has never been able to be proven.
Murder trials
Suspects Robert Italiano and William N. Ierardi, two suspects who were concentrated on by authorities during the initial homicide investigation were later tried and acquitted in court in 1978. The massacre remains unsolved.Outcomes of suspects behind massacre
- James J. "Whitey" BulgerJames J. BulgerJames Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. is a former organized crime figure from Boston, Massachusetts.Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood-style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins...
- On August 19, 1999, became the 458th Ten Most Wanted fugitiveFBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1990sThe FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1990s is a list, maintained for a fifth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.-FBI 10 Most Wanted Fugitives to begin the 1990s:...
listed by the FBI, wanted for racketeering (under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActThe Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO), 19 counts of murder, conspiracyConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit murder, extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money launderingMoney launderingMoney laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
and narcotics distribution. On June 22, 2011, after sixteen years on the run, he was arrested.
- Nicholas Femia - After Nicholas and James J. Bulger parted ways, FBI Special Agent John Connolly put another report in Bulger's file, suggesting that Nicholas had in fact been one of the triggermen in the Blackfriars killings. His involvement in the Blackfriars' Massacre was never successfully proven and remains unsolved. Nicholas would be recognized as one of the few associates in the Winter Hill Gang that were able to part from the group and not be murdered in retribution for something foul for their actions, like Richard Castucci and Louis Litif. Femia would later be shot to death during an alleged robbery of an auto body shop in East Boston on December 16, 1983. His killer was the owner of the shop. There was a question as to whether Femia intended to actually rob the shop since the police report of the incident stated Femia was sitting next to a desk in the office of the shop when he was shot execution style. He was 43 years old at the time of his death.
- Stephen Flemmi - Starting in 1999, he turned state's evidence and gave evidence which helped lead to the arrests and convictions of Winter Hill Gang associate Kevin WeeksKevin WeeksKevin Weeks is a former mobster of Irish-American descent and a longtime friend and confidant to James J. Bulger, the infamous boss of the Winter Hill Gang, a crime family based out of the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts.After his arrest and imprisonment in 1999, he became a...
, former childhood friend Frank SalemmeFrank SalemmeFrancis P. Salemme [Salemone], also known as "Cadillac Frank" and "Julian Daniel Selig" , is a Boston, Massachusetts mobster who became a hitman and eventually the boss of the Patriarca crime family of New England before turning government witness.-Early years:In 1957, while in prison, Salemme...
and FBI handlers John Connolly and H. Paul RicoH. Paul RicoHarold Paul Rico was an FBI agent. Indicted for murder in 2003, he played a significant role in the 1968 framing of four men for murder, unjustly imprisoning them for decades....
.
- James Martorano - James, the brother of John Martorano would later align himself with the Patriarca crime family and be promoted to the rank of caporegimeCaporegimeA caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
. In 1995 he was convicted of racketeering, extortion and conspiracy to commit murder.
- William N. Ierardi - convicted of drug dealing in 1987 and turned state's evidence in trial of Stephen Flemmi and others
The end of Blackfriars
The building - called the Church Green Building - that once held the pub that was managed by John A. Kelly and owned by Vincent E. Solmonte, now houses Copy Cop and a Dunkin Donuts stores.Even though the crime was never officially solved, it is documented as being connected to organized crime. The Blackfriar murders is featured on Boston.com as a "Mob Tour" attraction http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/mob/the_tour/.