A look at James 'Whitey' Bulger, one of the most infamous criminals in American history.

WHITEY: United States of America v. James J. Bulger captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Embedded for months with Federal Prosecutors, retired FBI and State Police, victims, lawyers, gangsters and journalists, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades. Pulling back the curtain on long-held Bulger mythology, the film challenges conventional wisdom by detailing shocking, new allegations. With unprecedented access, Berlinger's latest crime documentary offers a universal tale of human frailty, opportunism, deception, and the often elusive nature of truth and justice.—Anonymous

In 2011 after being officially a fugitive for sixteen years, James 'Whitey' Bulger, number 2 on the FBI's most wanted list and eighty-two years old at the time, is apprehended. He is the head of an organized syndicate that had overseen the criminal activities in his South Boston neighborhood for thirty years. Those crimes included gambling, drug dealing, loan sharking, extortion and murder. His victims and family and friends of his victims are relieved that his reign of terror is over. However, there is heavy speculation that many on both sides of the law are not as happy about Bulger going to trial for fear of probable testimony, including the hint that he acted for many years as an FBI informant, which if true Bulger himself would not want known as he considers snitches to be the lowest of the low. Also if true, the FBI would not want the public to know, especially if that informant status provided Bulger FBI protection in return. As the trial proceeds, the nature of the implication is that there are more agencies involved in a conspiracy to protect Bulger for "bigger" purposes. Regardless of if Bulger was indeed an informant, that conspiracy would have directly led to some of those murders purportedly committed by Bulger and led to Bulger being tipped by the FBI as to his potential capture that sixteen years earlier. The question ends up being whether the truth will emerge among the contradictory stories by the end of the trial.—Huggo