'The Departed' Mobster Whitey Bulger Hid Weapons, Hundreds of Thousands in Cash

The FBI pulled numerous weapons from Whitey Bulger's Santa Monica home, where he and his longtime companion Catherine Greig were arrested yesterday.

Just days after the FBI launched a publicity campaign to capture mob boss James Whitey Bulger, a tip led to the capture of the 81-year old fugitive, whose story inspired the Boston crime drama The Departed.

CBS reported today that Bulger and Greig had been living in the oceanside apartment complex for 15 years - and paid the $1,445 monthly rent in cash. The couple, who went by the names Charles and Carol Gasko, were ideal tenants, according to the building manager.

Law enforcement agents told CBS that nearly 30 guns and a large stockpile of cash - hundreds of thousands of dollars - were found in the apartment.

Bulger has been on the run since 1995, 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. The 2006 film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.

Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the character Francis Frank Costello - who shared attributes with Bulger - won the actor a Best Villan award at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.

Resident's of Bulger's former South Boston neighborhood remembered him with ambivalance, but some expressed fondness.

He was a legend, one woman told a New York Times reporter. A lot of people say he was like Robin Hood.

[Sources: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CBS]