Time running out to charge anyone who helped gangster Bulger

FILE - In this June 24, 2011, file photo, former Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger leaves the federal courthouse in Boston after attending the first appearance for his brother James "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig. Bulger and Greig were apprehended in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. In testimony before a federal grand jury in 2001, William Bulger acknowledged that he and his brother spoke by phone shortly after Whitey Bulger fled Boston in late 1994. He also acknowledged that he did not encourage his brother to surrender. William Bulger has denied helping his brother while he was a fugitive and has never been charged. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) FILE - In this June 24, 2011, file photo, former Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger leaves the federal courthouse in Boston after attending the first appearance for his brother James "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig. Bulger and Greig were apprehended in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. In testimony before a federal grand jury in 2001, William Bulger acknowledged that he and his brother spoke by phone shortly after Whitey Bulger fled Boston in late 1994. He also acknowledged that he did not encourage his brother to surrender. William Bulger has denied helping his brother while he was a fugitive and has never been charged. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

By Associated Press March 6, 2016 4 min read

BOSTON (AP) – Investigators who spent years building a criminal case against gangster James “Whitey” Bulger have long believed he had multiple helpers when he fled Boston and went on the run.

But if prosecutors don’t bring charges within the next few months, the only person to be charged with actually assisting the notorious crime boss during his 16 years as a fugitive will be his longtime girlfriend.

The statute of limitations for harboring a fugitive is five years. The clock began ticking when Bulger was captured in Santa Monica, California, on June 22, 2011, and runs out on June 22, 2016.

Catherine Greig, who accompanied Bulger on his long flight from justice, was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping him.

Greig faces additional prison time after pleading guilty last month to contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating who else may have helped Bulger.