William Bulger had a remarkable career, particularly in light of his brother Whitey's criminal history. Billy was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1961, then to the State Senate in 1970, and served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1978 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed President of the University of Massachusetts/Boston by then-Governor William Weld.
That Whitey Bulger is a sociopath goes without saying. He was extremely treacherous, and played people off against each other, betrayed partners, and almost certainly committed at least 19 murders.
Character tends to run in families. So did the same character traits which helped Whitey climb to the top of the criminal heap in Boston help propel Billy in his rise to the top of the Massachusetts Senate? Did he, like Whitey, curry the right contacts, foment discord, and betray people whenever it would benefit him?
To what extent did Whitey himself actually help Billy's career? Billy was continually reelected from South Boston, the base of his brother's criminal empire. It's not hard to imagine Whitey helping the turnout for Billy the same way Mayor Daley did for John F. Kennedy in Cook County in 1960.
And to what extent did Billy aid his brother when Whitey was on the lam? Billy eventually admitted to speaking to his brother on a pay phone once, an act for which then-governor Mitt Romney forced him from his Presidency of the University of Massachusetts. But it's not hard to imagine that the contacts -- and the aid -- far exceeded that one call.
When they were young, Whitey took to the streets, while Billy gravitated to more bookish pursuits. Billy certainly can't be blamed for Whitey's criminal career. Nor would I blame him for aiding his fugitive brother. (It would, in my opinion, be more sociopathic to turn in one's own brother than to aid him, even if he his a criminal.)
But the more interesting question is, did the same personal traits which helped Whitey rise to the top of the criminal world help propel Billy in his political career? It would, of course, be impossible to give any sort of rigorous quantitative answer to that.
But my guess is, yes.
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2 comments:
I agree, I think there is a high chance of Billy being a sociopath aswell. The youngest brother could be one aswell looking at his track record of criminal versatility. Only thing that makes me wonder is the consistency Billy has been able to live in, also family wise. Where is the alienation? Or did he just have sociopathic traits and not the full blown profile? Or maybe we just dont know enough about him...
Diane --
Without passing final judgment on Billy, I will point out that there are plenty of sociopaths who never end up on the wrong side of the law. Most of them manage to obey the letter if not the spirit of the law, and many manage to become regarded as "pillars of their communities" as well.
There were evidently six kids in that family, I don't know anything about the others.
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