Whitey Bulger’s attorneys appeal his conviction

FILE - This June 23, 2011 file photo shows a booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Attorneys for the former Boston crime boss say they expect to file an appeal Thursday Aug. 14, 2014 of the convictions that sent him to prison for life. The 84-year-old Bulger was convicted last year in a broad racketeering case, including 11 killings and other gangland crimes in the 1970s and 80s. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File) FILE - This June 23, 2011 file photo shows a booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Attorneys for the former Boston crime boss say they expect to file an appeal Thursday Aug. 14, 2014 of the convictions that sent him to prison for life. The 84-year-old Bulger was convicted last year in a broad racketeering case, including 11 killings and other gangland crimes in the 1970s and 80s. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)

By Associated Press August 14, 2014 1 min read

BOSTON (AP) – Former Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger (BUHL’-jur) is appealing his conviction last year on racketeering charges that said he played a role in 11 murders.

Bulger’s lawyers made the filing Thursday afternoon in a federal appeals court in Boston.

Among their arguments are that Bulger was not allowed to argue that a now-deceased federal prosecutor had given him immunity.

Bulger is now 84 years old. He was the head of Boston’s Irish mob and an FBI informant. He was convicted of gangland crimes in the 1970s and ’80s and sentenced to life.

His case became an embarrassment for the FBI as corrupt agents accepted bribes and protected him. Bulger was a fugitive for 16 years until his 2011 arrest in California.