Connolly says Bulger wanted to surrender

MIAMI -- Convicted former FBI agent John Connolly says fugitive mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was considering surrendering to authorities and called him twice to discuss the matter.

Connolly was convicted in Miami on Nov. 6 of second-degree murder for leaking information to Boston mobsters that led to the 1982 shooting death of a gambling executive who also had ties to gangsters.

Connolly told the Boston Globe in a jailhouse interview Wednesday that Bulger demanded guarantees that he and a key lieutenant, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, would both be released on bail during the calls made in 1995 or 1996.

Connolly, who faces sentencing Thursday, says he told Bulger that he could not guarantee bail and gave the mobster telephone contacts for three lawyers.

The 68-year-old Connolly is already serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for racketeering.

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