United States v. Stephen J. Flemmi

SELYA Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises out of a relentless effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to infiltrate, and eventually to smash, the New England branch of La Cosa Nostra (LCN). To achieve its goal, the FBI struck a Faustian bargain with two reputed organized crime figures, James ‘Whitey” Bulger and Stephen Flemmi. We concentrate on Flemmi, because he is the protagonist in this appeal.

For thirty years, Flemmi — one of Boston’s most notorious gangsters— functioned behind the scenes as an FBI informant. Eventually, however, the government severed the tie. It later indicted…