The Departed Crime Boss Whitey Bulger: $2 Million Bounty Was Highest Ever Offered

Just days after the FBI launched a campaign to capture mob boss James Whitey Bulger, the 81-year old fugitive and his longtime companion Catherine Greig were arrested in Santa Monica, CA.

Bulger has been on the run since 1994, and has been on the FBI's Most Wanted list since 1999. The accused mobster fled Boston with Greig after receiving a tip that he was about to be indicted for his suspected involvement in 19 murders.

Bulger rose to #1 on the Most Wanted list after Osama Bin Laden was killed in May 2011.

In 2008, the FBI doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest from $1 million to $2 million - after a number of women came forward to say that they were sexually abused by the Boston mobster when they were girls.

For reasons still uncertain, the FBI ramped up the search for Bulger this week, with much of their efforts targeting women. A significant component of their strategy involved the airing of Public Service Announcements during popular daytime television shows, such as The View. The PSAs were largely occupied with helping viewers to identify Grieg, who may have been less protective of her identity than Bulger.

Also this week, the FBI doubled the reward - from $50,000 to $100,000 - for information that would aid in Greig's capture.

The publicity campaign worked, and quickly - although there have been no details released so far about the nature of the tip and who provided it.

Recent publicity produced a tip, which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauries said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Bulger may have earned up $30 million from his criminal enterprises in the last several decades.

Bulger was the inspiration for a character played by Jack Nicholson in the Martin Scorsese movie The Departed, which also starred Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]