CrimeCrimeJames "Whitey" Bulger

Stephen Rakes Dead: Key 'Witness' In Bulger Trial Found Dead In Lincoln, Massachusetts

Key Bulger Trial Witness Found Dead
By 

Reporter, HuffPost

and

Reporter, HuffPost

|

A key witness in the trial of alleged Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger has been found dead, authorities confirmed Thursday.

The body of Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, who accused Bulger of extorting him out of his liquor store, was discovered in Lincoln, Mass.

"There were no obvious signs of trauma," according to a statement from the Middlesex district attorney's office. "The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death."

As one of Bulger's alleged victims, Rakes was a fixture at the aging gangster's trial. Bulger is accused of 19 murders and an assortment of other charges.

Rakes had waited decades for the opportunity to testify against Bulger. The 59-year-old said that he lost his South Boston liquor store in 1984 when Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi barged into his home, placed a gun on his kitchen table and demanded he sell them the business.

"One of my daughters picked up the gun and that's when I called my wife to say we were selling the store," he told The Huffington Post last month.

Rakes said Bulger was an intimidating figure in Southie, the neighborhood where Rakes grew up. "People don't understand the fear that was on the streets," he recalled.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Who's Who In The Whitey Bulger Case
James "Whitey" Bulger(01 of20)
Open Image Modal
Gangster. Informant. Fugitive. These are three words that best described Bulger's life in crime. Born in South Boston, he rose to be a powerful figure in organized crime, and was allegedly involved in drug dealing, extortion, loan-sharking, gambling and other illegal activities. Prosecutors allege that he cemented his place atop the underworld through violence, charging him with 19 murders in the 1970s and 1980s. During those years, however, he was also an FBI informant. HIs relationship with the FBI was corrupt and in 1994 the agent he worked with tipped him off about a looming indictment. Bulger skipped town and became one of the most wanted men in America. Finally, in 2011, he was found living under an assumed identity in Santa Monica, Calif. with longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig.This June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger after his capture in Santa Monica. (AP Photo/ U.S. Marshals Service, File) (credit:AP)
Bulger, through the years(02 of20)
Open Image Modal
These 1984 file photos released by the FBI show James "Whitey" Bulger. (AP Photo/FBI, file) (credit:AP)
Bulger, through the years(03 of20)
Open Image Modal
These 1953 file Boston police booking photos provided by The Boston Globe show James "Whitey" Bulger after an arrest. (AP Photo/Boston Police via The Boston Globe, File, WCVB-TV, thebostonchannel.com) (credit:AP)
Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi(04 of20)
Open Image Modal
Flemmi was one of Bulger's closest associates in the Winter Hill Gang. He's serving life in prison for 10 murders and is expected to testify as a witness against his former boss, Bulger. In this Sept. 22, 2008 photo, Flemmi is testifying at the trial of corrupt FBI agent John Connolly. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter, File) (credit:AP)
Hit man John Martorano(05 of20)
Open Image Modal
The prosecution intends to put John Martorano, a hit man who's admitted killing 20 people, in the witness box against Bulger. He served 12 years for the killings. This photo shows him testifying on Sept. 17, 2008 about FBI agent John Connolly, the crooked agent who worked with Bulger when he was an informant for the bureau. (AP Photo/Marice Cohn Band, Pool, File) (credit:AP)
Whitey Bulger and Kevin Weeks(06 of20)
Open Image Modal
Bulger, left and henchman Kevin Weeks strolling on a walk around Castle Island in South Boston in this undated photo. Weeks is one of several former Winter Hill gang members expected to testify against Bulger. (credit:AP)
Former FBI Agent John Connolly(07 of20)
Open Image Modal
Agent Connolly was the FBI handler working with Bulger and his righthand man Stephen Flemmi. Bulger and Flemmi were enlisted as informants, supplying information about the Italian mafia in Boston. But Connolly went rogue and let the Winter Hill Gang off the hook for their own crimes. In 2008, Connolly got a 40-year sentence for helping Bulger's gang murder a businessman in Florida they feared would be a witness against them. Connolly is not expected to testify in Bulger's trial. (Photo by George Rizer/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Catherine Greig, Bulger's girlfriend(08 of20)
Open Image Modal
This undated photo from the U.S. Marshals Service shows Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, who was captured with him, on June 22, 2011, in Santa Monica, Calif. Greig lost her bid to reduce the 8-year prison sentence she received for helping Bulger during his 16 years as a fugitive. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday, May 17, 2013, that it found no basis to change the sentence that Greig received after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. . (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File) (credit:AP)
H. Paul Rico(09 of20)
Open Image Modal
Rico was an FBI agent in Boston who knew a young Bulger and Stephen Flemmi. Later, Rico left the bureau and began working as head of security at World Jai Alai. There, he was reconnected with Flemmi and Bulger, who allegedly skimmed money from the company. He was accused of participating in the murder of Roger Wheeler, a World Jai Alia executive who discovered that gang members were skimming of the top. Rico died in custody in 2004 before gong to trial. (credit:AP)
William Bulger, the politician brother of the gangster. (10 of20)
Open Image Modal
In this May 8, 2003 file photo, William M. Bulger, then-President of the University of Massachusetts, addresses the attendees at the National Public Service Week Recognition Dinner on the campus of Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Mass. He's the younger brother of Whitey Bulger and was forced out of his university post because of a controversy about his relationship with his fugitive sibling. For years, he was one of the state's most powerful politicians, serving as the president of the state senate. (AP Photo/Robert E. Klein, File) (credit:AP)
U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan.(11 of20)
Open Image Modal
The late U.S. attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan is seen in this photo. Attorneys for Bulger contend that the former federal prosecutor gave the Winter Hill Gang boss immunity. Former members federal attorney's office in Boston may be called to testify, including Robert Mueller, who became FBI director and William Weld, who became Massachusetts' governor. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Edward G. Connors, murder victim(12 of20)
Open Image Modal
Connors worked with the Winter Hill Gang, but was not a full-fledged member, according to statements from Stephen Flemmi. He got whacked in a Dorchester phone booth in 1975, according to Flemmi, because he spoke to openly about his role in the killing of James O'Toole. Flemmi said that he and Bulger were ordered to shoot Connors by Howie Winter, who was then the head of the Winter Hill Gang.
James "Spike" O'Toole, murder victim(13 of20)
Open Image Modal
O'Toole was a South Boston gangster who, according to Winter Hill gang members, tried to kill Stephen Flemmi's brother Vincent Flemmi. Soon after O'Toole completed a prison sentence in 1973 for being an accessory after the fact to a murder, John Martorano ran him over in his car. O'Toole died and Martorano said he was ordered by Bulger to kill him.
Edward Brian Halloran, murder victim(14 of20)
Open Image Modal
Halloran was a federal informant killed allegedly by Bulger and a masked man in 1982. Halloran's friend Michael Donahue, who had no criminal record, was also killed outside the restaurant where the two had dined.
Roger Wheeler(15 of20)
Open Image Modal
Roger Wheeler was an Oklahoma businessman who bought World Jai Alai, only to find out that the Winter Hill Gang was siphoning money from the company in a scam. He was killed in 1981 in Tula, because Bulger and his crew feared he'd be a witnesses against them. Rogue FBI agent John Connolly was convicted of helping with the fatal shooting of Wheeler.Correction: An earlier version of this slide incorrectly stated that Wheeler was killed in Florida.
Widow and son of an alleged murder victim(16 of20)
Open Image Modal
Patricia Donahue, widow of alleged murder victim Michael Donahue, stands with her son, Tommy, outside federal court in Boston, Monday, June 3, 2013, after a pre-trial hearing for accused mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. Jury selection begins Tuesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) (credit:AP)
Steven Davis, victim's brother(17 of20)
Open Image Modal
Steven Davis, the brother of Debra Davis, a woman allegedly killed by James "Whitey" Bulger, stands near the Neponset River where his sister's body was found in Quincy, Mass., on Thursday, June 21, 2012. Davis has been one of the most vocal of the victims' relatives. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (credit:AP)
Victims' families(18 of20)
Open Image Modal
Two sisters of Paul McGonagle leave a plea hearing for Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of reputed Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, outside the Federal Courthouse in Boston, Wednesday afternoon, March 14, 2012. Paul McGonagle is among the 19 murders Bulger is accused of committing. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (credit:AP)
The prosecution(19 of20)
Open Image Modal
The charges against Whitey Bulger are being prosecuted by the office of the U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts. That office is led by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz. The case is being tried by a team of assistants that includes Fred Wyshak and Brian Kelly. (credit:Department of Justice)
The defense team(20 of20)
Open Image Modal
Defense attorneys J.W. Carney Jr., left, and Henry Brennan, right, leave federal court in Boston, Monday, June 3, 2013, after a pre-trial hearing for accused mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. Jury selection begins Tuesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip