William M. Bulger Totally Explained

Everything about William M Bulger totally explained

William "Billy" Michael Bulger (born February 2, 1934) is a retired American politician from South Boston, Massachusetts who rose to become President of the Massachusetts State Senate and president of the University of Massachusetts. He is the brother of James J. Bulger, a fugitive gangster currently wanted by the FBI.
Education and early career
Bulger was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts to Irish immigrants James Joseph Bulger and Jane Veronica "Jean" McCarthy, the third of their six children. The Bulgers grew up on Logan Way in South Boston. Congressman Joe Moakley was a close childhood neighbor. Although the Bulger family was poor, William successfully matriculated into Boston College High School. He enrolled at Boston College in 1952, but his undergraduate career was interrupted when he joined the United States Army in order to become eligible for the G.I. Bill and served from September 1953 to November 1955. He returned to the college and completed his undergraduate degree in English. Then he entered Boston College Law School, from which he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1961. Bulger was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1961 and served four terms. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1970 representing the First Suffolk District. He was elected President of the State Senate in 1978 and re-elected every two years to 1996, making his time as Senate President the longest tenure in Massachusetts history.
   A consummate South Boston Irish American politician, Bulger became a vocal opponent of Judge Garrity's court order forcing the integration of South Boston public schools through court ordered busing. While this opposition was expected and praised by many of his constituents it limited his political appeal to voters statewide and limited his ambitions to the State Senate. Notwithstanding, after a series of scandals that indicted his predecessors, he was elected by his colleagues to serve out the remainder of their terms as President of the Massachusetts State Senate
Political milestones
During the 1960s, he led efforts to write the first child abuse reporting laws in the state.
   Bulger was among the first advocates of charter schools and public school choice. During the 1980s, he advocated funding of public libraries, the expansion of childhood nutrition services and fuel assistance programs. As Senate president, Bulger led the debate on welfare reform in the early 1990s, with the resulting legislation becoming the model for a national law.
   For many years, Bulger hosted the annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast in South Boston. This was a "roast" of politicians.
   Bulger was asked about an incident in which, while still President of the Massachusetts State Senate, he went to an arranged location in 1995 to take a call from his brother, to avoid police surveillance or electronic eavsdropping. He insisted that accepting the call from his brother without informing the authorities was "in no way inconsistent with my devotion to my own responsibilities, my public responsibilities."
   When Rep. Dan Burton R-Indiana asked William what he thought his older brother Whitey did for a living, William gave this response:

"I had the feeling that he was in the business of gaming and... Whatever. It was vague to me, but I didn't think... For a long while he'd some jobs but ultimately it was clear that he was not, he wasn't doing what I'd like him to do."

Suspicions raised in public about Billy's possible support of Whitey's criminality
Several issues have come up in public (at the June 19, 2003, Congressional hearing and elsewhere) about how much Billy Bulger knew of his brother's criminal activity and whether he aided his brother. These issues aren't necessarily proof of wrongdoing, but they've raised public concerns:
The following quotations are from a report of the public June 19, 2003, Congressional hearing, as reported by Howie Carr in The Brothers Bulger. The report also said there was insufficient evidence to find that Bulger, when he was president of the Senate, had used his influence to punish law enforcement people who investigated his brother. This ruling is currently being heard under appeal of the state's Attorney General, claiming that these allowances were "perks", rather than compensation for actual service, and shouldn't be a factor in pension calculation.
Active retirement
Bulger is a past president of the Boston Public Library Board of Trustees and continues to serve on the board. He is also Overseer Emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he's a former member of the Massachusetts General Hospital Board of Trustees, Museum of Fine Arts Board of Trustees, McLean Hospital Board of Trustees and Citizens Bank of Massachusetts Board of Directors. He joined the faculties of Boston College and Suffolk University as a lecturer of political science in 2004. Bulger lives in South Boston with Mary, his wife whom he married in 1960. They have nine children (Bill, Jim, Sarah, Patrick, Mary, Dan, Kathleen, Chris and Brendan) and now have 30 grandchildren.
Bibliography

Bulger, William M. While the Music Lasts: My Life in Politics. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. ISBN 0-395-72041-9.
Carr, Howie. The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston For a Quarter Century. Lebanon, IN: Warner Books (Hachette Book Group, Inc.), 2006. ISBN 0-446-57651-4.
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