Black Mass - by Dick Lehr & Gerard O'Neill Paperback

Book Synopsis

The gripping story of Whitey Bulger, the mobster turned FBI informant responsible for the worst crime spree Boston has ever seen

A New York Times bestseller

"A powerhouse of a book. Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill...write like veteran novelists, weaving scene after jaw-dropping scene into a tapestry of sickening American corruption."―New York Post

John Connolly and James "Whitey" Bulger grew up together on the tough streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the mid-1970s, they met again. By then, Connolly was a major figure in the Boston office of the FBI and Bulger had become godfather of the local Irish American mob. What happened next--a dirty deal to bring down the Italian American mafia in exchange for protection for Bulger--would spiral out of control, leading to a rash of murders, Bulger's takeover of the neighborhood drug trade, and, ultimately, the biggest informant scandal in the history of the FBI. In Black Mass, Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, the two former Boston Globe reporters who were on the case from the beginning, take us deep undercover, exposing the black hearts of two old friends who preferred to work in darkness.

Review Quotes

"Black Mass should prompt a reevaluation of the uses and misuses of informers by law enforcement officials throughout the country."--New York Times Book Review

"[Shows] how fragile FBI integrity can be when the good guys lose sight of [the] truth, the rules, and the law."--Washington Post Book World

"A jaw-dropping, true-life tale of how two thugs corrupted the FBI."--Baltimore Sun

"Bone-chilling...one of the best nonfiction reads of the year...a powerhouse of a book. Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill...write like veteran novelists, weaving scene after jaw-dropping scene into a tapestry of sickening American corruption."--New York Post

About the Author

Dick Lehr is a professor of journalism at Boston University. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for his work at The Boston Globe, he is also the coauthor with Gerard O'Neill of Whitey and The Underboss. He lives outside Boston.

Gerard O'Neill was the editor of The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team. A three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, he died in 2019.