Arrested 2 years ago, Bulger about to start trial

[June 03, 2013]  BOSTON (AP) -- Nearly 16 years on the run and two years after his arrest on charges he played a role in 19 murders, James "Whitey" Bulger is about to face a jury.

A judge will hold a final pretrial conference on Monday before jury selection begins Tuesday for the trial of the reputed Boston mob boss.

Bulger, who is 83, fled in 1994 after being tipped off that he was about to be indicted. He remained a fugitive for more than 16 years before being captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in June 2011.

Prosecutors plan to call mob figures, including Bulger's former partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who is now serving a life sentence for 10 murders.

Bulger's lawyers say they'll attack the credibility of men they describe as "once-reviled criminal defendants."

[Associated Press]

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