BOSTON (AP) – A former FBI agent lied to jurors during mobster James “Whitey” Bulger’s trial and overstated his professional accomplishments, including falsely claiming to be the first officer who recovered the rifle used to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr., federal officials said Thursday in announcing a perjury case against him.
Robert Fitzpatrick, who was once second in command of the Boston FBI division, surrendered to U.S. marshals with his lawyer after learning there was a warrant for his arrest.
Fitzpatrick, the first witness called by Bulger’s attorneys during his 2013 racketeering trial, said he tried to persuade the FBI to terminate Bulger as an informant because the mobster didn’t appear to be helping its mission to gather information on the Mafia. Fitzpatrick said his bosses did not act on his recommendation to close Bulger as an informant.
Prosecutors suggested during the trial that he exaggerated that claim to sell copies of a book he wrote about Bulger.
Fitzpatrick pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday afternoon to six counts of perjury and six counts of obstruction of justice.