Bulger jury heads into day 5 of deliberations

BOSTON (AP) - Jurors in the racketeering trial of James "Whitey" Bulger began their fifth day of deliberations at federal court in Boston after mulling over the charges against the reputed crime boss for about 28 hours without reaching a verdict.

The 83-year-old Bulger is charged in a 32-count racketeering indictment that includes 19 killings.

Within the main racketeering charge are 33 separate criminal acts, including each killing. The jury must find that Bulger committed at least two of the acts within 10 years of each other to find him guilty of racketeering.

In their first hour of deliberations Monday, the jurors asked that if they find a person named in the indictment guilty of an act, is Bulger "automatically" guilty as well? Judge Denise Casper told jurors that they must find the prosecution proved Bulger is also guilty of committing the act, aiding/abetting the act or conspiring in the act.

Bulger fled Boston in 1994 on the eve of an indictment and was one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives until his capture in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011.

Prosecutors say he was a longtime FBI informant who was protected by corrupt FBI agents. Bulger's lawyers have strongly denied that he was an informant and say he paid FBI agents to get information about wiretaps and investigations so he and his cohorts could stay one step ahead of the law.

The jury heard testimony from 72 witnesses and saw 840 exhibits during the two-month trial.

Cox Media Group