HAZELTON — Department of Justice officials have confirmed that gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was killed at at USP Hazelton, in Preston County. It is the third inmate death within seven months.
Richard Heldreth, president of Local 420 of the Federation of Government Employees, said the murder occurred about 8 a.m. Tuesday in a housing unit at the high-security facility.
No employees were injured in the incident, but the area was understaffed, Heldreth said. Understaffing of correctional officers and using “augmented” staff — prison personnel not trained as correctional officers — has been called to the attention of the Bureau of Prisons by the union and West Virginia’s congressman and senators.
The Associated Press reported that the Federal Bureau of Prisons online inmate log on Tuesday listed Bulger as an inmate at USP Hazelton. The 89-year-old Bulger had recently been moved from a prison in Florida to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City.
Bulger had only been at USP Hazelton since Monday, officials said.
Bureau of Prisons officials and his attorney declined last week to comment on why he was being moved.
Bulger was serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2013 of a litany of crimes, including participating in 11 murders. He was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives for 16 years until his 2011 arrest in Santa Monica, California.
