The Skull Ring that will now help the families of Bulger’s victims. Photo courtesy Gaston and Sheehan and U.S. Marshals’ Office of Public Affairs.
By Jim Smith
No lucky charm this.
A ring bought in England by Irish-American mobster James "Whitey" Bulger has already drawn a preliminary bid of $4,400 in the days leading up to this Saturday's criminal forfeiture auction at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, making it the most prized item so far among the hundreds of items that will be on the block.
The sterling silver "Psycho Killer" skull ring by Crazy Pig Designs of London was seized from Barclays Bank in 2002 while Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were on the run.
They were finally apprehended at their Santa Monica, California apartment in 2011 after 16 years as fugitives.
A Texas auction house, Gaston and Sheehan, will run the auction on Saturday.
On Friday, the public can view the items at the convention center, where organizers plan to stage the venue to resemble the layout of Bulger's apartment.
Proceeds from the auction will be divided among the victims' families.
U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz said that her hope is that "this process and the restitution ...will give some relief to the victims and the families...(but) will never be enough to make up for the harm the victims and their families have suffered."
For those unable to make it to the convention center, the auction will be simulcast on the internet at txauction.com
Bulger is serving two life sentences at a Florida federal prison for having participated in 11 murders, while Greig is incarcerated for harboring him during their years on the run.
