Posted on 08/06/2003 3:51:18 PM PDT by AmericanMade1776
LOWELL, Mass. - University of Massachusetts President William M. Bulger resigned Wednesday after months of increasing pressure over his role in the federal investigation of his fugitive mobster brother.
His resignation - the result of what he called a ``a calculated political assault'' against the university - is effective Sept. 1. The board of trustees immediately voted to accept the resignation, and have agreed to pay him more than two years' salary in a severance package worth close to $1 million.
``I increasingly believe that the university and the Board of Trustees should not be subjected to further assaults. I hope that the step I take today will be helpful in our effort to provide a measure of protection for the university,'' Bulger said after the board accepted his resignation after several hours of closed-door talks.
Bulger's departure came just two months after UMass trustees expressed confidence him even as a storm of protest swirled around him and his testimony before a congressional committee investigating the FBI's ties to its mob informants.
In June, he had testified under a grant of immunity before the panel about his mob brother, Winter Hill Gang leader James ``Whitey'' Bulger, who has been on the lam since 1995. Whitey Bulger fled just before his indictment on federal charges related to 21 murders.
While admitting he had spoken to his brother once since he fled, Bulger said he has no idea of his whereabouts and said there is little he could have done to steer him from a life of crime. Whitey Bulger is now on the law enforcement agency's ``10 Most Wanted'' list.
William Bulger also said he believes the FBI investigators were trying to get his brother killed when they leaked to the media the fact that Whitey Bulger had been an informant.
Bulger's critics said his testimony was evasive and questioned how he could be so ignorant of his brother's criminal activities.
Only one member of the Board of Trustees voted against the resignation. Trustee Lawrence Boyle said he objected to the severance package awarded to Bulger, which includes $695,000 in salary, plus $154,000 for a six-month sabbatical and other accrued benefits, totaling $960,000.
``On the one hand, we're telling students, faculty workers to tighten their belts. ... On the other hand, we're giving President Bulger close to a million dollars,'' Boyle said.
During his appearance before the congressional committee in June, he was asked questions about whether he sought to exert his influence when his brother was arrested at an airport trying to carry $500,000 onto a plane. He also was asked if he used his Senate position to quash a federal investigation into a real estate development project known as 75 State Street. The FBI agent in charge of that investigation reportedly worked closely with Whitey Bulger when he was an informant.
At the hearing, Bulger talked publicly for the first time about the brief telephone conversation he had with his brother after he fled. But, William Bulger said, they never discussed whether Whitey Bulger should turn himself in, and he never advised Whitey Bulger to stay away.
``It was a conversation of about three or four minutes duration,'' Bulger said. ``The tone of it was 'Don't believe everything that is being said about me' ... I think he asked me to tell everybody he was OK ... I think I said I hope this has a happy ending.''
In the past year, pressure has mounted against Bulger from a variety of political quarters. Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who will get to appoint three new trustees next month, has urged Bulger to resign - as did the state's highest-elected Democrat, Attorney General Thomas Reilly.
Both said the controversy about Bulger's relationship with his brother had distracted the school from its educational mission.
``Having the governor and attorney general pitted against you, certainly isn't going to help the university going forward,'' Boyle said earlier Wednesday. ``I don't see that the storm clouds are ever going to lift over the university when he's there.
``His departure, I think, is going to abate all this ancillary discussion about grand juries and death pits and let us focus back on books and scholarships,'' Boyle said.
Bulger is a legendary political figure in Massachusetts, where he carved out a reputation as a force to be reckoned with during his unprecedented 17 years as the president of the state Senate.
Part of the intrigue that has swirled around Bulger is centered on his relationship with his mobster brother - how the two men emerged from a poor South Boston background and ended up on different paths in adulthood.
Bulger, who became UMass president in 1996, was paid $309,000 in salary and another $48,000 in benefits. He contract was set to expire in 2007.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.bostonherald.com ...
There remains NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
None. Bulger buried children raped and murdered -- on Massachusetts public land
but the family continues to receive millions and millions in taxpayer money.
Watch who praises the family of murderers and enablers.
Unbelievable. He belongs in prison, not getting a golden parachute.
His testimony before the House committee, even with a grant of immunity, was the most evasive I've ever seen, bar none--he even bettered the Clintonistas in answering questions with non-answers.
BUMP for a good 'mini-rant'.
I grew up in Mass and left in '78 and NEVER want to return.......BEAUTIFUL State, REFLEXIVELY-LIBERAL Voters, LOUSEY Politics.
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.