BOSTON (AP) — A prison workers’ union official says sending Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger to a troubled federal penitentiary in West Virginia was like giving him a “death sentence.”
Jose Rojas represents workers at the Florida prison where Bulger was held before going to West Virginia. Rojas said Friday that someone “dropped the ball” when they decided to transfer him to USP Hazelton.
Bulger was beaten to death hours after he arrived at the prison. Authorities say two Massachusetts mobsters are suspects in Bulger’s killing.
Workers at Hazelton and advocates have been sounding the alarm for years about dangerous conditions due to understaffing.
Rojas says officials should have checked to ensure that Bulger wasn’t being housed with any potential enemies.
Other former prison workers have also questioned why Bulger was placed in Hazelton’s general population instead of a more secure setting.
