James Whitey Bulger

The bounty for fugitive mobster James Whitey Bulger is being boosted to $2 million today and a new Most Wanted poster is being printed and posted online, the FBI is expected to announce this afternoon.

The Most Wanted poster of James Whitey Bulger will be distributed all over Europe where Bulger is believed to be on the run, sources say. Bulger turns 79 today and is possibly still travelling with long-time companion Catherine Greig, 57, a former dental hygienist from Southie.Bulger has been a regular on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List, and now the reward offered for information that leads to his arrest is being doubled.

The Most Wanted list – that includes Osama Bin Laden – includes information about Bulger in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German.

An FBI site devoted to Bulger includes older photos of the Southie thug and a photo illustration depicting what an older Whitey would look like today. There is also video and audio recordings of Bulger posted to the site.

There have been no conclusive sightings of Bulger in the United States in a decade. The FBI is hoping the new reward will spark interest in Europe.

Bulger was indicted on 21 counts of federal murder and racketeering charges. He’s been on the lam since being tipped off in 1995 by his corrupt FBI handler, John Connolly. Connolly was convicted in 2002 of racketeering, obstruction of justice and lying to an FBI agent for protecting his prized informants, Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, and feeding them inside information. Connolly is serving 10 years in prison and is facing a murder trial in Miami this is set to begin Monday.

The FBI has gone public with several Bulger sightings across the globe, but he’s proven elusive. Bulger had prepared for his eventual flight for years, putting huge amounts of cash in safe deposit boxes in the U.S. and overseas. Tips on Whitey’s whereabouts can be directed to 1-800-CALL-FBI or www.fbi.gov/tips

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