Judge to decide damages in case of men killed by Bulger's gang

BOSTON -- A federal judge has begun hearing testimony to decide how much in damages the government must pay to the families of two men who were gunned down by James "Whitey" Bulger's gang.

Judge Reginald Lindsay already has ruled that the FBI was responsible for the 1982 killings of Edward "Brian" Halloran and Michael Donahue.

Lindsay ruled in November that the men were killed after FBI agent John Connolly told Bulger that Halloran was talking to the FBI about the Bugler gang's role in the killing of a businessman.

Donahue was driving Halloran when both were killed.

An attorney for Halloran's family says he was shot 22 times and left behind a wife and two young boys. Donahue was survived by a wife and three sons.

Justice Department lawyer Andrew Kaplan says the families have overstated their economic loses from the deaths.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)