Exiting US attorney laments not catching "Whitey"

BOSTON -- U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan's office prosecuted plenty of high-profile defendants, but there's one he wishes he could have brought to justice: fugitive mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger.

Sullivan tells The Associated Press the biggest disappointment of his tenure is not having prosecuted Bulger, but he says it was not for lack of effort.

During Sullivan's eight-year tenure, his office has been credited with building a nationally renowned healthcare fraud unit that has recovered more than $4 billion in Medicare and Medicaid money. His office also won the first federal death penalty sentence in Massachusetts.

Sullivan is expected to leave the office within the next few weeks. His departure comes as the Obama administration prepares to replace U.S. attorneys across the country, a traditional change with a new presidential administration.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)