Kevin Weeks, a former associate of infamous Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, spoke to about 70 people at the Boston University Barnes ‘ Noble last night about his new book, Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger’s Irish Mob, which he co-authored with BU journalism professor Phyllis Karas.
The event opened with Karas discussing her part in the book’s production. She described Weeks as a “reluctant author” and her experience working on the book as “some kind of an adventure.”
Further explaining her work with Weeks, she said that the process was “pretty much my asking questions,” and then putting the answers into terms that anyone could understand. Many of the events in the books had to be reviewed several times so that every fact would be clear to the audience. Regarding the violence in the book, she said that it was “not for the weak of heart, nor the squeamish.”
The book, a New York Times bestseller, describes more than 20 years Weeks spent working with Bulger before he fled the country. Weeks was arrested in 1999, two years after he discovered that Bulger and another associate, Steve Flemmi, had been working as informants for the FBI.
Facing life imprisonment for his involvement in the crimes, Weeks agreed to help federal prosecutors in their case against Bulger, who is still at large, and Flemmi, who had been arrested several years earlier. In exchange for his cooperation, his sentence was shortened to six years. He was released on parole in February 2005.
Karas explained that the book was part of a plan developed by Weeks’s bankruptcy lawyers. After he was charged with his involvement in several murders, as well as crimes including racketeering, extortion and drug trafficking, he was sued by the families of the victims for wrongful death. In an arrangement worked out by his lawyers, the suits were dropped in exchange for 50 percent of his gross proceeds from the book.
Karas had previously written about the Bulger mob in the book Street Soldier, which she co-authored with Edward Mackenzie, a smalltime mobster. However, many of the facts from that book were questioned after publication. Karas said some of her reasons for working on Weeks’ story were that she wanted to get all the facts, and that she was interested in the bankruptcy arrangement. She thought the arrangement “put the book in a whole different light.”
During the question and answer session, Weeks joked that the original title of the book was going to be “The Redemption of Phyllis Karas.”
Weeks was an imposing figure in comparison to Karas’s small frame, but he was soft-spoken, a trait he attributed to years spent speaking in low voices to avoid hidden microphones. Much of his time speaking was spent stressing the point that a life of crime is not as glamorous as it may seem. He explained that there is “no honor amongst criminals,” and that he and Bulger would often simply rob other criminals who considered them friends.
Weeks said he does not fear for his life, but does not put himself into situations where he would be in danger. At least one BU police officer was on hand, although he declined to comment on why he was there.
Weeks said he has gotten “a lot of positive feedback” on the book, but some people have objected to the graphic depictions of violence. As far as sales of the book are concerned, Weeks said the book has appeared on The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Janelle Cardoza, a student of Karas, said she did not mind BU giving an ex-mobster space to promote the book because of the arrangement to give profits to the victims of families, and saw the event as promoting Karas as much as it did Weeks.
