Bulger called to testify in probe of FBI

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

congressional committee investigating FBI misconduct has subpoenaed President William M. Bulger to testify about his older brother, fugitive crime boss and FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger.

      Appearing at a Regional Technology Alliance event on Tuesday in Springfield, Bulger told reporters that he was awaiting advice from his lawyer about appearing before the House Government Reform Committee hearing in Boston on Dec. 6.

      Earlier this week, The Boston Globe reported federal grand jury testimony that Bulger allegedly gave about his brother last year. According to the Globe, Bulger said he last talked to his brother in January 1995, the same month the mobster was indicted. Bulger was state Senate president at the time.

      The leaked testimony from the secret grand jury prompted an angry response from Board of Trustees Chair Grace K. Fey, who defended Bulger as a "man of honor, decency and integrity."

     "William Bulger is a man of great loyalty," said Fey. "Over the course of his life, he has been loyal to family, his constituents, the Legislature, the University and to the Commonwealth as a whole. I regard his loyalty as a badge of honor."

      Expressing "complete and unwavering" support for Bulger, Fey called the leaked testimony an "unconscionable violation of the grand jury process."

     Chancellor John Lombardi indicated this week that he is in full agreement with Fey's stance.