Former FBI agent Connolly found guilty of racketeering, obstruction of justice

AP via Boston.com website ^ | 5/28/02 | Denise Lavoie

[BansheeBill]

BOSTON -- A former FBI agent who built his career on cultivating criminal informants was convicted Tuesday on charges he protected New England gangsters, accepted a bribe and tipped the mobsters to impending indictments against them.

John J. Connolly Jr., 61, was acquitted on one other charge of obstruction of justice.

[jackbill]

Connolly, who retired in 1990

I assume that this piece crap will keep his nice fat government pension.

It's just too bad that Connolly, et al haven't YET given up the Corrupt Midget - Former MA Senate President and currently U of MA President, Billy Bulger, Whitey's brother.

[JeepInMazar]

Is this the same FBI thug who allowed an innocent man to go to jail for over 20 years for a murder he did not commit? I learned of this several months ago. The innocent guy recently got out of prison....the FBI knew all along he was innocent, but did not speak up in his defense merely to cover up some of their sources. Thuggery and injustice at its worse.

[JeepInMazar]

uh, that should be worst.

[Registered]

Bump.

[aristeides]

FYI.

[BansheeBill]

This guy was a real piece of work. Some of the mob guys called him "Giovanni Cannoli", as in the 80's he used to dress like one of the characters in the Goodfella's movie, right down to those dress shirts with the long pointed collars. He even went in for the gangster pinkie ring look. Some of the local mobsters considered him a mafia wannabee.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Is this the same FBI thug that allowed...

One of them. The rest still run the Boston Field Office!

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[JeepInMazar]

The FBI thug I'm thinking about testified before congress and didn't seem to have a care about the fact that the other guy who testified was innocent and spent years in jail (like 20-30 years) for a crime he didn't commit.

[aristeides]

That guy's name was -- aptly -- Rico.

[Little Bill]

Typical Southie thug, hey Tommy May what was his salery at BECO, NSTAR, homeboy made good?

[jackbill]

The FBI thug I'm thinking about testified before congress and didn't seem to have a care about the fact that the other guy who testified was innocent and spent years in jail (like 20-30 years) for a crime he didn't commit.

That would be former FBI Agent H. Paul Rico (another one sucking on a nice fat government pension). The man who spent the 30 years in prison was Joseph Salvati. I believe that one or two other innocents may also have been sent to prison, with at least one dying after about 25 years.

At the hearing, Rico was asked about the Salvati case and he said "What do you want me to do, cry"? I'd have liked to slap that little crud upside the head.

[JeepInMazar]

At the hearing, Rico was asked about the Salvati case and he said "What do you want me to do, cry"? I'd have liked to slap that little crud upside the head.

Yeah, that's him. What ever happened to him?

[waterstraat]

I remember when I was investigating the Kennedy assassination, and one of the women said that an FBI agent came to her house with a Texas Ranger, in a Dallas police car, and told her to shut up. just who does a citizen see for protection when soemthing like that happens?

[snopercod]

Whatever happened to him? click here

[ninonitti]

Whatever happened to him?

I believe prosecutors are set to(or have indicted)him in the case of Roger Wheeler who was killed in Oklahoma after he discovered a skimming operation at his World JaiLai operation. Rico supposedly was Wheeler's chief of security.

He is now retired in Florida.

[BluesDuke]

You've got to hand it to a fellow who makes his living with two organised crime families. And you've got to feel sick to your stomach knowing one of them is called the State (I won't even dignify the properly-construed term by calling it "government".)

[Fred Mertz]

This sounds like a good start to me. It only took about 30 years to make their case.

[metesky]

Interesting that they never charged Connolly with driving the block car on the Halloran hit.

And yes, they let Louis Greco die in prison, even though he was innocent of the Deegan murder.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

It's just too bad that Connolly, et al haven't YET given up the Corrupt Midget - Former MA Senate President and currently U of MA President, Billy Bulger, Whitey's brother.

Maybe it's only a matter of time. Now that he's facing 8 to 20, perhaps Connolly will flip. What does he have to lose? If the Bulgers had any sway left, they could've stacked the jury for Zip . . .