State Region

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2008 file photo, John Martorano is questioned about his plea agreement in exchange for testifying against former FBI agent John Connolly, in the Miami Courthouse. Connolly is accused of helping the Boston mob murder Miami gambling executive John Callahan in 1982, at Miami International Airport. Martorano, who served 12 years in prison after a plea deal, and who has admitted killing 20 people, is expected to testify at the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger, Monday, June 17, 2013 in federal court in Boston. (AP Photo/Marice Cohn Band, Pool, File)

Bulger’s defense grills Martorano on killings

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

BOSTON — A former enforcer for James “Whitey” Bulger who admitted killing 20 people insisted Tuesday that he is not a hit man or a serial killer, but instead is a “nice guy” who was only trying to help his family and friends when he pumped bullets into victims while working with Bulger and his gang. John Martorano made the statements in his second day on the witness stand during an aggressive cross-examination by a lawyer for Bulger, who is charged in a racketeering indictment with participating in 19 killings in the 1970s and ’80s as leader of the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger’s lawyer, Hank … 0

Senate leaders unveil welfare reform plan

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

BOSTON — Senate Democratic leaders unveiled a plan Monday to overhaul the state’s welfare system by moving more recipients off public benefits and into the workforce while reducing the potential for fraud and waste. The proposal, touted by its supporters as one of the most comprehensive attempts at welfare reform in the country and the most sweeping in Massachusetts in nearly 20 years, … 0

Hitman: Bulger as informant was a shock

Monday, June 17, 2013

BOSTON — Confessed 20-time killer John Martorano left no doubt during his testimony Monday against James “Whitey” Bulger that he was settling a score for the decision made decades ago by Bulger and another former partner, Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, to become secret FBI informants for the FBI. Minutes into his testimony, mostly … 0