Posted on 08/06/2003 8:37:28 PM PDT by StatesEnemy
LOWELL, Mass. (Reuters) - University of Massachusetts President William Bulger said on Wednesday he was resigning, weeks after he was forced to testify in Congress about his ties to his brother -- one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives.
Bulger, once the most powerful Democratic politician in the state, announced he was stepping down two months after the state's Republican governor publicly urged him to resign amid an uproar over his congressional testimony.
Bulger said a "calculated political assault" against him was threatening the financial health of the public university.
"I hope that the step I take today will be helpful in our effort to provide a measure of protection to the university," Bulger told reporters after university trustees voted to pay him a severance package of nearly $1 million.
All but one of the trustees had backed Bulger during his very public row in June with Gov. Mitt Romney over the university president's ties to his brother, accused mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.
William Bulger, who spent more than three decades in the Massachusetts state legislature, told the U.S. Congress in June that he is unable to help find his fugitive brother.
Under immunity from prosecution, Bulger told the House of Representatives Government Reform Committee that he cares about his brother, and that his brother's life has long been used against him by political enemies.
Whitey Bulger is accused of masterminding murders while working as an informant for what was determined to be a corrupt element of the Boston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The accused mobster went on the run eight years ago after his FBI handler tipped him off about an indictment against him. The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Critics say Romney, who was elected last year with a promise to clean up cronyism in the Democrat-controlled legislature, used the relationship between the Bulger brothers to discredit the Democratic Party in Massachusetts.
Jeffrey Berry, a professor of political science at Tufts University, called William Bulger's decision to resign an "unequivocal victory" for Romney, noting that the battle between the two men was overshadowing the university's financial needs.
"There was no way he could be an effective leader of the university from here on out," Berry told Reuters. "In terms of the university budget, which has been significantly cut, it was vital he step down."
Why aren't people like this assassinated?
His thefts, corruptions, and accessories to murder are deserved of the wrath of justice.
I caught some 'catch phrases' in your post...
You wouldn't happen to be the 'Great Beast' that has railed [got it right...inside joke] via WRKO....?
And that'd be...what, the whole d@mn office??
-Jay
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.