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ambermain90's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was going to be a how to book about becoming a gangster. It was really more about corrupt FBI agents and how the gangsters influenced agents. Not what I was expecting.
jhalloran99's review against another edition
2.0
Reading this book was a struggle, but I had to finish it considering it's been on my to-read list for about a decade. Lehr and O'Neill thoroughly investigated and researched the case of Bulger, Flemmi, Connelly, and Morris, but Jesus, they read like a text book. I think I must have been reading their articles in the Globe growing up everytime my dad tried to force the newspaper on me. Snoozefest.
I will say I found it funny how when this was written in 2000 the "roving bug" was considered the "most dangerous government intrusion" in light of the more recent discussions around the Patriot Act. Privacy? A thing of the past.
This book scared me. I've always known the general story of Bulger, but the extent of the corruption in this case really makes me doubt the system.
I will say I found it funny how when this was written in 2000 the "roving bug" was considered the "most dangerous government intrusion" in light of the more recent discussions around the Patriot Act. Privacy? A thing of the past.
This book scared me. I've always known the general story of Bulger, but the extent of the corruption in this case really makes me doubt the system.
wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
3.0
Started off skimming, but slowly got pulled into the rich history in this book.
maxac32's review against another edition
5.0
You don't know the real story of Whitey Bulger until you've read this book. Nothing that he did seems real. The fear he invoked in those he met is legendary. The things he got away with under FBI supervision is just plain scary. The way this book was written makes you feel like a fly on the wall watching these crimes happen in real time.
msjaquiss's review against another edition
3.0
This title was an excellent examination of the FBI's corrupt relationship with two mob bosses in Boston from the late 60's through the early 90's. I gave it three stars for the lack of a table of characters as, particularly towards the end, there were so many names involved in the policing, prosecution or criminal activities that it was difficult to keep all of the players straight. I finally gave up and just pushed through to the end. It is a very well researched, well written book and I do recommend it but it might be wise to keep a notebook handy to keep a list of different characters and their ties to whatever organization they represent.
srash's review against another edition
5.0
Read this after aspects of it were alluded to in the Southie memoir I read earlier this year, though I'd been wanting to read it for a long time.
Black Mass chronicles a truly shameful, decades-long maelstrom of corruption and dysfunction in the Boston FBI office. The main result is that the FBI turned a blind eye to the crimes of the city's most notorious gangster, Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, because he was an FBI informant.
Agents with ties to his South Boston neighborhood--or those who, for various reasons, were vulnerable to Bulger's and his friend's machinations--spectacularly violated basic informant handling protocols and even sabotaged other agencies' investigations into Bulger, which only helped Bulger stay out of jail and defeat his rival gangsters.
Basically, Bulger and his cronies flourished because nobody was willing to challenge the status quo or question the obvious irregularities too deeply. The result was an influx of drugs into the streets of Boston, the consolidation of Whitey's grip on the city, and the murder of more than one potential witness.Would actually be a good book for anyone in management to read to see what NOT to do.
Nobody comes out of this story looking good.
Black Mass chronicles a truly shameful, decades-long maelstrom of corruption and dysfunction in the Boston FBI office. The main result is that the FBI turned a blind eye to the crimes of the city's most notorious gangster, Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, because he was an FBI informant.
Agents with ties to his South Boston neighborhood--or those who, for various reasons, were vulnerable to Bulger's and his friend's machinations--spectacularly violated basic informant handling protocols and even sabotaged other agencies' investigations into Bulger, which only helped Bulger stay out of jail and defeat his rival gangsters.
Basically, Bulger and his cronies flourished because nobody was willing to challenge the status quo or question the obvious irregularities too deeply. The result was an influx of drugs into the streets of Boston, the consolidation of Whitey's grip on the city, and the murder of more than one potential witness.Would actually be a good book for anyone in management to read to see what NOT to do.
Nobody comes out of this story looking good.