Mark Wahlberg: Whitey Bulger Wants To Meet With Me

Mark Wahlberg might have a new gig. He said to the press that famed mobster James “Whitey” Bulger wants to meet with him. While the cause for the meeting is pure speculation, Wahlberg believes that Bulger wants him to do his story.

This will not be anything new for Wahlberg. He acted alongside Jack Nicholson in the Oscar winning film The Departed from Martin Scorsese. In the film Nicholson played Boston Mobster Frank Costello who was based largely on Bulger.

Massachusetts currently does not have a “Son of Sam” Law. New York’s “Son of Sam” law prevents criminals from profiting from their crimes. As of right now, if Wahlberg were to agree to make a film about Bulger he would have to pay him some kind of likeness rights.

Wahlberg has already expressed interest in the project saying to Reuters,

“I actually got a call about coming to see Whitey, he wants me to come down and visit him. Maybe he’ll give me the exclusive rights to tell his story, because he knows we can do it better than anybody else.”

James “Whitey” Bulger is a former organized crime kingpin from Boston, Massachusetts. Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection empire targeting drug kingpins and those running illegal gambling operations. From this time and from the testimony of various Bulger associates the FBI has charged Bulger with 19 murders.

Bulger was an FBI informant for many years while running organized crime in Boston, giving the FBI mounds of information concerning his opposition Italian crime families. The way the FBI handled Bulger back then has caused them considerable embarrassment.

When the FBI decided to indict Bulger for the murders he hit the road and lived as a fugitive on the FBI’s top ten most wanted men list. He was arrested last year after 16 years on the run. He is 82 years old.

Wahlberg has drawn considerable condemnation form the relatives of Bulger’s vicitims who feel he should not help the man get either money or fame for what he has done.

Steven Davis, whose sister Debra Davis was killed by Bulger said to the Boston Herald,

“They want to glamorize Whitey and those killers. They ruined my whole family. I have a lot of respect for Mark (Wahlberg). I would hope that he would reach out to us, too.”

Would you go see a movie about Whitey Bulger if it involved Mark Wahlberg?