James “Whitey” Bulger Found Guilty on 31 of 32 Counts, Including Extortion, Money Laundering, Drug Dealing, Weapons Possession & Responsible for the Murder of 11 People

In the end a jury found “Whitey” Bulger guilty on 31 of 32 counts.

James “Whitey” Bulger,  the reputed and feared former head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang evaded the law for 16 years; however, justice has finally been served. A jury today found “Whitey” Bulger guilty on 31 of 32 counts that included extortion, money laundering, drug dealing, weapons possession and responsible for the murder of 11 individuals, including a woman. However, the jury found that in 7 cases of murder the jury found that there was not enough evidence and 1 had not determination. On a personal note, I am not sure how the jury came to such a determination on the murders that Bulger was not responsible for. Every Southie knows exactly who was responsible for the murders. Whitely Bulger, the head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, was a heinous individuals and should never have been provided the befit of the doubt. This mob POS actually killed women.  In the end, the 83 year old Bulger will be spending the rest of his life in prison.

The turn of events was capped Monday when a federal jury found the former mob boss guilty on 31 of 32 counts — including extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and weapons possession. The jury held Bulger responsible for the murder of 11 people.

The 83-year-old Bulger faces a maximum sentence of up to life, plus 30 years in prison.

“So many peoples’ lives were so terribly harmed by the criminal actions of Bulger and his crew. And today’s conviction does not alter that harm, and it doesn’t lessen it,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, speaking about the victims and their families.

“However, we hope that they find some degree of comfort in the fact that today has come, and Bulger is being held accountable for his horrific crimes,” she said.

Bulger was accused of involvement in killing 19 people, including two women.

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2 missing, 4 Injured in Hudson River Boat Crash Near Tappan Zee Bridge in New York … Bride and Best Man Missing (Update: Missing Woman ID’d as 30 Year Old Lindsey Stewart, Best Man Mark Lennon) (Update: Female Body Pulled from River) (Update: Boat Operator Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter)

Joy ride turned to tragedy  …

Two people are missing and four were injured when a boat crashed on the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. The incident took place at 10:40 pm Friday when a 21-foot Stingray powerboat crashed into a barge. The boat was carrying a bride-to-be, her fiancé and his best man when it  crashed into three construction barges Friday night, badly injuring four and ejecting the bride and best man into the water. The boat was headed from Piermont to Tarrytown. Stewart’s fiancé, Brian Bond, was taken to Westchester Medical Center to be treated for a fractured eye socket. According to reports, Brian Bond placed the 911 call after regaining consciousness. Divers were brought in to search for the missing man and woman.

VIDEO – WABC-New York

Four people were injured late Friday and two others were missing after a boat struck a barge in the Hudson River just south of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Rescue workers searched almost three hours for the two missing boaters, one woman and one man, using boats and helicopters between Piermont and the Tappan Zee Bridge. The search was called off shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

The crash, which involved a 21-foot Stingray powerboat, was reported at 10:40 p.m., said Ali Flockerzi, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman. The vessel struck a barge. There are numerous barges moored north and south of the bridge — some holding cranes and others holding equipment — as work on the new Tappan Zee bridge ramps up.

UPDATE I: The missing woman as been identified as 30 year old Piermont resident Lindsey Stewart.

A joyride on the Hudson River turned horrific after a speedboat carrying a bride-to-be, her fiancé, and his best man crashed into three construction barges Friday night, badly injuring four and ejecting the bride and best man into the dark water of the Hudson.

WABC-TV identified the missing woman as 30-year-old Piermont resident Lindsey Stewart, whose wedding was only two weeks away. The missing man was identified as her fiancé’s best man.

Sadly. officials are saying Saturday that they are now entering the recovery phase of their search for the two missing boaters, who are presumed dead.

Female Body pulled from Hudson River, near Tappan Zee Bridge

VIDEO – CNN

UPDATE II: Female body pulled from Hudson River presumed to be Bride-to-be Lindsey Stewart.

Authorities pulled a female body from the Hudson River on Saturday near where a bride-to-be and her fiance’s best man were hurled into the water when a speedboat carrying six friends crashed into a construction barge near the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Officials said they were working to confirm that it was the body of 30-year-old Lindsey Stewart, who has been missing since the Friday night accident.

The search for the missing man, identified by Stewart’s family as Mark Lennon, was continuing, said Rockland County under sheriff Robert VanCura.

UPDATE III: Police have charged speed boat operator, Jojo John, with vehicular manslaughter. John is suspected of operating the boat that crashed into the barges while intoxicated.

Authorities charged the boat’s operator, Jojo John, 35, of Nyack, with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault. He was arraigned from a hospital bed and ordered held on $250,000 bond, Barbera said. John is suspected of operating the boat while intoxicated but authorities are still awaiting the result of blood tests.

UPDATE IV: Second Body Found in Hudson River … Believed to be that of Missing Mark Lennon.

A recreational jet-skiier spotted a body believed to be Mark Lennon, the man thrown from the powerboat that crashed into a barge near the Tapan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River late Friday night, authorities said Sunday afternoon. The bride-to-be also was killed, and four people, including the groom, were seriously injured.

Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said the jet-skiier, a civilian not involved in the search, spotted the body a mile south of the Piermont Pier at 11:12 a.m.

Juror B29 Says that George Zimmerman “Got Away with Murder” in the Death of Trayvon Martin

Hmm, if juror B29 initially voted to convict George Zimmerman guilty of second degree murder, how did she suddenly come to a not guilty verdict?

In an exclusive ABC News interview on ‘Good Morning America (VIDEO),’ juror  B29, Maddy, spoke out regarding being on the jury in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Juror B29 said that George Zimmerman “got away with murder,” but then said, “but you can’t get away from God. As reported at the Orlando Sentinel, juror B29 was the lone minority juror and said that she initially voted to convict Zimmerman of second-degree murder because “the evidence shows he’s guilty.” However, after 16 hours of deliberation, she  joined the five other women on the jury and acquitted Zimmerman in the murder and manslaughter of 17-year old Trayvon Martin.

CNN- VIDEO

The only minority on the all-female jury that voted to acquit George Zimmerman said today that Zimmerman “got away with murder” for killing Trayvon Martin and feels she owes an apology Martin’s parents.

“You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” said the woman who was identified only as Juror B29 during the trial. “But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence.”

She said the jury was following Florida law and the evidence, she said, did not prove murder.

The court had sealed the jurors’ identities during the trial and still hasn’t lifted the order, but Juror B29 edged out of the shadows in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts. She allowed her face to be shown, but — concerned for her safety — used only a first name of Maddy.

Her comments are rather telling. According to juror B29, they looked for every thing and anything to find George Zimmerman guilty of something. After 26 hours of deliberation, the jury could come up with nothing. The evidence was not there to support murder or manslaughter. I would ask the following question, isn’t that how the law is intended to work? Juror B29 told ABC that she and others on the panel felt Zimmerman was guilty, but that wasn’t enough evidence. HUH? So emotionally she felt that Zimmerman was guilty, but factually he was not. Doesn’t this speak volumes to the case that the prosecutors put on during the George Zimmerman murder trial?  They had no facts, they had no evidence and the judge did not allow the past of Trayvon Martin into evidence or the texts from his cell phone discussing fighting.

A note to juror B29, did it ever dawn on you that some one did not commit murder if the prosecution could provide no evidence that there was a murder?

Geraldo Rivera Says Al Sharpton And ‘Race Politics’ Forced Florida To Pursue ‘Weak’ Murder Two Case Against George Zimmerman in Death of Trayvon Martin

WOW … not about race eh?

Fox News analyst Geraldo Rivera is never at a loss for words or creating controversy. Rivera stated this morning on Fox & Friends that the second degree murder case against George Zimmerman was created by Al Sharpton and “race politics”. It was that racial agitation and race baiting by Sharpton that fanned the flames it create the scenario why such a weak murder case was brought against Zimmerman (see VIDEO). From the outset MSNBC created a false narrative that Zimmerman was a racist, when the doctored the 911 tapes. Rivera said that he believed that the first prosecutor got it right and that what happened that night between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was self defense.

But what might have been the biggest eye opening comment from Rivera was not about race, but when he said … “I see it a little differently, I see those six ladies putting themselves on that rainy night  in that housing complex that has just been burglarized by 3 or 4 different groups of black youngsters from the adjacent community. Its a dark night, a 6’2″ hoodie wearing stranger is in the immediate housing community. How would the ladies of that jury reacted? I submit that if they were armed they would have shot and killed Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did.”

From Mediaite:

Rivera opened the segment by saying that he was not surprised that the judge in the Zimmerman case allowed the jury to consider manslaughter charges because that is the only charge which may apply to the defendant.

“This was a case brought because of political pressure – race politics in this country – I hate to say it,” Rivera said. He added that he holds Sharpton in “higher regard” than most of his colleagues, but he does believe that the MSNBC host’s agitation was the “catalyst” behind Florida state attorney Angela Corey seeking a second degree murder conviction against Zimmerman.

“I believe the original prosecutor got it right – I think it is a self-defense situation,” Rivera added. He said that the prosecution’s “desperation” is apparent in their effort to have the jury consider a variety of lesser charges during deliberation. “They have zero chance of convicting this man on murder,” the Fox host continued.

Finally, Rivera said that the six female jury members will find that Zimmerman was justified in shooting Martin because they would have pulled the trigger in that situation faster than he did.

How could Geraldo Rivera possibly come up with the the idea that it was Al Sharpton who played “race” politics and was the driving force for forcing the prosecution to arrest, try and convict George Zimmerman. Maybe one needs to just watch the video below. Listen to the video below and the Sharpton claims of win at all cost because, “we cannot allow a legal precedent to be established in this city that tells us that it is legal for a man to kill us and tell any story he wants and walks out with the murder weapon”.

In the end Geraldo Rivera said that he thought that George Zimmerman would be acquitted. Rivera believed that it was self defense under Florida law. However, this is Florida and as we learned from the Casey Anthony jury, anything, and I mean anything is possible.

Judge Nelson Rules that Jury in Zimmerman Murder Case May Consider Lesser Degree Manslaughter Charges

Breaking … This morning Judge Nelson ruled that the jury in the George Zimmerman murder case can consider the lesser charge of manslaughter. The defense had wanted the jury to only be told in the jury instruction that they were to determine second degree murder or acquittal.  This just further proves that the prosecution did not in any way second degree murder and are now trying to get Zimmerman convicted on a lesser charge hoping that the jury provides a sympathy verdict. In the end, Seminole County Court Judge Debra Nelson said, “The court will give the instruction on manslaughter as a Category One.

George Zimmerman’s attorney strongly objected to a prosecution proposal that third-degree murder be included in the jury instructions.

Defense attorney Don West on Thursday called the proposal “outrageous,” given that it is premised on the idea that Zimmerman committed child abuse since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was underage when he was fatally shot.

Judge Debra Nelson says she will rule on the proposal later. The judge, however, agreed with the prosecution that jurors could consider manslaughter as a lesser charge.

Sadly, it appears that this court is going to find a way to convict George Zimmerman by any means.

For more updates, read tweets, reason others comments and provide your own, go to Scared Monkeys Forum: George Zimmerman Trial.