Showing posts with label Whitey Bulger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whitey Bulger. Show all posts

Friday, December 28, 2018

Black Mass (2015): Johnny Depp as James "Whitey" Bulger


     Directed by Scott Cooper, based on the 2001 novel, Black Mass (2015) is a biographical crime film centered on James "Whitey" Bulger. The story follows Whitey Bulger's rise to power as leader of the Irish Mob, the Winter Hill Gang, in South Boston during the 1970's - 1990's and up through his run as a Most Wanted fugitive. Interesting is the parallel element that follows his younger brother, Billy Bulger, as he rises to political prominence in the Massachusetts State Senate. Gritty violence mixes with masterful performances. Johnny Depp is frighteningly tense in the lead role as Whitey Bulger. The supporting cast is great as well, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton and Kevin Bacon.

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015

Black Mass. 2015

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Black Mass. 2015: Johnny Depp as James Whitey Bulger

Sunday, November 6, 2016

"Among Thieves" by David Hosp: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist


Among Thieves
by David Hosp
Grand Central Publishing, 2010
Notes by Travis Simpkins

     Among Thieves by David Hosp is a work of fiction. That said, it is a work of fiction set against the very real and very notorious case concerning the theft of 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts on March 18, 1990. Hosp got some of the details concerning the heist correct, others he got wrong and others still were twisted in such a way as to fit within his fictional plot line. However, if taken at face value and for entertainment, it is a very enjoyable novel.
     The story centers on defense attorney Scott Finn, who takes on the case of a low-level thief who happens to be an old time friend. Soon, it is apparent that his client was involved in much more than petty theft as dead mobsters keep popping up around Southie, courtesy of an embittered rogue ex-IRA soldier bent on revenge and retrieval. What is this madman looking to retrieve? The famous lost artwork, taken from the walls of the Gardner Museum 25 years prior. It turns out that Finn's client knows much more than he is letting on and the stakes keep increasing. Will a storage unit that once belonged to fugitive mob boss Whitey Bulger hold the keys to unlock the greatest art heist in history?



Among Thieves. David Hosp: Fenway Park. Boston, MA

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Whitey Bulger

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Whitey Bulger

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Whitey Bulger

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Whitey Bulger

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Boston City Hall

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Among Thieves. David Hosp: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Sunday, April 24, 2016

"Artful Deception: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery" by James J. McGovern


"Artful Deception" by James J. McGovern
Long Point Publishing, 2012
Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

     Written and released in an effort to draw attention to the case, Artful Deception by James J. McGovern is a work of historical fiction centered on the 1990 robbery of 13 masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. While serving with the United States Attorney's Office in 2006, McGovern was given the opportunity to re-examine the evidence in the cold case. The background of the theft remains true to the case, but fiction enters when McGovern offers a plausible solution… one involving corruption and cover-ups within the top echelon of FBI investigative authority in Boston during the late 1980's and early 1990's. 
     Because of the fictional elements, the names of the characters were changed, but those familiar with the case will find them easy to decipher (Jimmy "The Tooth" Kelly is Whitey Bulger, Kyle Condon is Myles Connor, Jay Fager is Ray Abath, Willie Lewis is William Youngworth, William "Slick" Feldman is George Reissfelder, David Mercer is David Turner, Bryan Mullen is FBI Agent Geoff Kelly, Anthony Fenore is Anthony Amore, etc.).
     All in all, Artful Deception is an enjoyable work offering a literary edge to one of Boston's most enduring mysteries and one of the art world's greatest tragedies. McGovern's straightforward writing style compliments the real-life noble efforts of those still working to solve the case and return the artworks to the walls of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.



Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Gardener Museum Heist. Police Composite Sketches

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Rick Abath

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Rick Abath

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. William Youngworth

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Rembrandt

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Miles Connor

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Manet

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Whitey Bulger

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Rick Abath

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Geoff Kelly

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Geoff Kelly

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. David Turner

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. David Turner

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. George Reissfelder

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Anthony Amore

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. FBI

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Anthony Amore

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

Artful Deception. James J. McGovern. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery. Vermeer

News Coverage: Gardner Museum Heist