Dirty Rats

Howie Carr

Dirty Rats is the true story of two of Boston's most powerful brothers - one a gangster, the other a politician - as they rose from poverty in a public-housing project to the pinnacles of power in their respective trades. Howie Carr, author of two New York Times bestsellers about Boston organized crime and their victims, unravels the brothers' sordid web of corruption and homicide that still haunts Boston to this day.

  1. EPISODE 1

    1: Brothers in Blood

    Whitey and Billy Bulger terrorized and corrupted Boston for more than 30 years -- Whitey as a serial-killing, cocaine-dealing mob boss on the FBI's Most Wanted List, and his younger brother Billy as the president of the Massachusetts state senate, the most powerful politician in the state. Each one's sinister power reinforced the other's -- as you will hear a former mayor of Boston say of Billy, "If my brother threatened to kill you, you'd be nothing but nice to me." This podcast is the introduction to the brothers Bulger, one of whom murdered dozens of people, including young women, and the other of whom remained one step ahead of the life as he intimidated police, politicians and judges for decades. Whitey is now dead -- beaten to death by rival gangsters in a federal prison in West Virginia, while Billy continues to collect a tax-free state pension of more than $200,000 a year. If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    22 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    2: The Girlfriend

    Deb Davis was a beautiful blonde who dreamed of becoming a model, and of escaping from the clutches of her boyfriend, who last year admitted in federal court to taking part, in one way or another, to more than 60 murders. But Stevie, 23 years her senior, was insanely jealous, and Whitey didn't much like women, period. So Deb Davis had to die, in the most grisly fashion imaginable. Davis was strangled to death in Stevie's home, which was a few feet away from Billy Bulger's house in Southie. And although both Whitey Bulger and Flemmi were serial killers, each blamed the other for the murder of Deb Davis at the age of 26, after which she was buried in a shallow grave on a riverbank, not to be found for 19 years. If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    27 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    3: Crooked Cop

    A native of South Boston like the Bulger brothers, he handled their dirty work for a quarter century, becoming a multi-millionaire on a policeman's salary. As a decorated G-man, he made training videos for the FBI academy, which you will hear, instructing young agents how to handle organized-crime informants. At the same time, though, he was tipping his underworld paymaster Whitey to informants so that they could be murdered. "Never try to out-gangster a gangster," Connolly said, but now he's serving a life sentence in a Florida state prison for a gangland hit he orchestrated in Miami. If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    36 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    4: House of Horrors

    The first of those victims was Arthur "Bucky" Barrett. His murder would go down as one of the gang's most cruel and unnecessary killings. Even Stevie "the Rifleman" Flemmi later claimed he was shocked by Whitey's brutality. If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    23 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    5: Under Oath

    It was June 19, 2003 and Billy Bulger was under oath. The powerful politician would finally have to answer questions on live TV from appalled congressmen about his alleged involvement in the bloodstained career of his fugitive gangster brother Whitey as well as about two generations of corruption in the Boston office of the FBI. Bulger's fellow Democrats from Massachusetts would be asking him even tougher questions than the Republicans on the House committee. For once in his life Billy Bulger, the former President of the Massachusetts Senate, was in the hot seat. And the entire nation was waiting to hear what Whitey Bulger’s brother had to say. If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    31 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    6: Under Oath Part 2

    If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/join/dirtyratspod

    34 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    7: The Accountant

    In this episode, you will hear from John Callahan's widow Mary. It has been 37 years since she found out her husband was murdered. But Mary shares much more than just her recollection of John’s death. She shares the story of their lives. Mrs. Callahan reminisces about her memories with the man she loved.

    22 min

  8. EPISODE 8

    8: The Accountant Part 2

    But John underestimated just how dangerous his new associates were. And before he knew it, Callahan was over his head. Whitey decided that he couldn't trust the Callahan. After all, he was a civilian. There was no way to be certain that he'd stand up. So the mobsters, under direction from Whitey, found a solution to their dilemma. It involved Callahan, the Cubans and the trunk of a Cadillac.

    19 min
See All Season 1 (15)

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4.8
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17 Ratings

About

Dirty Rats is the true story of two of Boston's most powerful brothers - one a gangster, the other a politician - as they rose from poverty in a public-housing project to the pinnacles of power in their respective trades. Howie Carr, author of two New York Times bestsellers about Boston organized crime and their victims, unravels the brothers' sordid web of corruption and homicide that still haunts Boston to this day.

Information

  • Creator
    Howie Carr
  • Episodes
    15
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2019 HCRN
  • Show Website
    Dirty Rats