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MILLBURY, Mass.- On Wednesday, June, 6, Millbury Public Access Television's "On the Light Side" with Joe Coggans will host a special guest, retired Massachusetts State Police head Thomas Foley whose just published book "Most Wanted" details Foley's quest at pursuing infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger.
Foley was first assigned to the State Police organized crime unit in 1984 and served for 20 years, retiring in 2004.
His book is an inside look at the painstaking work that goes on making a case against Bulger. Foley and the state police have to connect the dots from wiretaps, the money trail through bookies, to the murders at the hands of Bulger himself. When Bulger finally flees, it's because Foley and state police have done their homework breaking the organization from the bottom up. The hard part to swallow? It was the FBI, specifically rogue agent John Connolly who tipped Bulger off at every turn.
The FBI valued Bulger as a high level informant to break the mob's hold on New England so much, that in the end it was Bulger who was basically given carte blanche to murder his own way to the top. And Bulger liked getting his hands dirty, killing on a personal level because it solidified his reputation as a hard-core, vicious killer who was not to be crossed. The FBI's own hands are dirty in the end as they work against Foley and the state police in order to protect itself.
Foley doesn't hold back on his feelings about the FBI as well as his feelings that old-fashioned police work is the only way to deal with organized crime, calling the FBI's informant program a "Black Hole."
Both before and after the taping of the show at the Media Studio for Millbury Public Access television, approximately 6 to 7 p.m., Foley will be on hand to autograph copies of his book. Copies may not be available for sale that evening. During his last few appearances, the demand was such that the books supplied by his publisher were completely sold out.
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