BOSTON (AP) — It has all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy: two brothers whose lives diverge — one into an underworld of crime, the other into the upper echelons of state politics.
Generations of Boston residents have watched that drama unfold in the story of former Democratic Senate President William “Billy” Bulger and his older brother, alleged gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
At the heart of the drama is a fierce loyalty to family and the shared experience of growing up in the Irish-American enclave of South Boston.
Whitey’s arrest after 16 years on the run to face 19 murder charges has again thrust the brothers into the spotlight.
The aging brothers had a fleeting reunion of sorts during Whitey’s brief appearance in federal court in Boston on Friday.
