James 'Whitey' Bulger will not be testifying in his own defense at his trial for racketeering that accused him of taking part in 19 murders from the '70's to the '80's as leader of the Winter Hill Gang.
The 83-year-old says his decision is "involuntary" but also that he didn't get a fair trial because he was "choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense."
Meanwhile, his defense attorneys announced that their client is willing to forfeit the asset found in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, where he was arrested in 2011. Bulger wants to give the $822,000 found in his possession to families of two men he is accused of murdering.
"My client is prepared to have all the money forfeited to the victims' family that prevailed at trial first, but had it reversed because of ... a highly technical (court) process," Bulger's attorney J.W. Carney said Friday, according to CNN.
The families of the two victims, Michael Donahue and Brian Halloran, won a monetary judgment in 2009, but was overthrown in an appeals court because the suit was filed too late and the statute of limitations had expired.
Bulger, who faces a 32-count indictment, including 19 murders, racketeering, and extortion, will have to give up his assets if he convicted as the government will seek forfeiture of his assets that have been acquired through illegal activities.
The former gang leader has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has been one of America's most wanted fugitives since he fled Boston in 1994 before he was finally captured two years ago.
On July 17, a key witness scheduled to testify against Bulger in his ongoing trial was found dead under suspicious circumstances off a popular walking trail in Lincoln.
Rakes claimed that he and his young daughter were threatened by Bulger, who convinced him at gunpoint to sell his liquor store in South Boston below market value in 1984 so that his Winter Hill gang could use it as a front.
However, Rakes' former associate Kevin Weeks testified last week that Bulger's gang did not pull a gun to Rakes' daughter's head and that Rakes had wanted to sell the shop and was trying to get more money from the gang, which resulted in a confrontation involving guns.
An autopsy was carried out, which found no trauma to the body, but authorities believe he may have died elsewhere and his body may have been dumped, according to The Boston Globe.
