Steve Neavling

A former college professor who was working as an FBI informant investigating mortgage fraud was sentenced to four years and four months in prison Thursdsay for hatching his own mortgage fraud scheme, The Plain Dealer reports.

Paul Tomko asked for leniency but got none from U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko.

Tomko pleaded guilty in March to five charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

While Tomko pocketed about $100,000 by filing liens for work not performed, he also was working as an FBI agent from 2006-09, helping agents target fraudulent appraisers.

“How ironic,” the judge said. “While you’re helping the FBI you’re gutting the public.”

Steve Neavling

Gilberto Abascal was a main informant in two-high profile cases in Florida in the past seven years, but now he’s living large in Cuba, the Miami Herald reports.

Abascal was the key witness in the trial of militant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles two years ago, the Herald wrote. In 2006, he was the main informant in another case.

Now, the Herald wrote, Abascal is building a house, renting expensive cars and offering a large reward for information about the person who broke into his home.

For many, Abascal’s lifestyle reinforced the belief that he was serving as an informant for both Cuban and U.S. intelligence.

“This inferentially validates the conclusion that this was an individual who had a collaborative relationship with Cuban security . . . and casts a shadow on the FBI for its dealings with this guy,” said Arturo V. Hernandez, an attorney for another case in which Abascal was a main witness.

Steve Neavling

A new book explores the secret world of FBI informants, questioning the extent of bureau protection for killers and other criminals, U.S. News & World Report said.

“Deal With the Devil: The FBI’s Secret Thirty-Year Relationship with a Mafia Killer” is written by investigative reporter and former ABC correspondent Peter Lance, who exposes the bureau’s questionable relationship with mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr., AKA the “Grim Reaper.”

Scarpa “was the most vicious killer in the history of La Cosa Nostra,” a notorious crime organization in the U.S. and Italy.

Because of deals with the FBI, Scarpa served a total of 30 days “in over 40 years of murder and racketeering.”

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Whitey Bulger/fbi

Lawyers for reputed mobster James “Whitey” Bulger continued to make the case that their client wasn’t an FBI informant, the Associated Press reports.

Bulger’s attorneys opened their case Tuesday in the murder and racketeering trial of the 83-year-old man accused of participating in 19 murders.

The Associated Press reports that Bulger’s attorneys grilled former FBI supervisor Robert Fitzpatrick, who indicated the reputed mobster denied being an informant.

Still, the FBI kept a file that showed Bulger often shared information on the mob and other criminals. Bulger’s associates also testified that he was an informant and regularly bribed FBI agents for information on investigations.

Whitey Bulger

Reputed mob boss James “Whitey”  Bulger lost his cool in court for the second time in his three-week-old trial for murder and racketeering, The New York Times reports.

Bulger became agitated while one of the government witnesses, John Morris, a former FBI witness, was testifying about Bulger’s role as an FBI informant. Bulger used an expletive and called Morris a liar, according to The Times.

Bulger has sought to show he was not an informant during his alleged reign in Boston.

“Whether it’s the ego of the defendant or his reputation he wants to preserve that he was not an informant,” Fred Wyshak, the lead prosecutor, said. “it’s a ridiculous contention.”

An aging mobster and star government witness testified Tuesday that his heart was broken after learning that mob boss and friend James “Whitey” Bulger was an FBI informant, CNN reports.

“It broke my heart. It broke all loyalties,” said John Martorano, an alleged hit man who described the people he said he murdered. 

Bulger is accused of killing 19 people during nearly two decades.

Martorano, who lives on Social Security after serving 12 years in prison, testified that he pulled the trigger while Bulger was along to ensure a successful “hit.”

Whitey Bulger/fbi

Former Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was never an FBI informant, his attorney said during opening statements in a trial that alleges 19 counts of murder, U.S. News & World Report writes.

Defense attorney J.W. Carney said Bulger never worked as an FBI informant against Italian mob rivals.

“Number one, James Bulger is of Irish descent,” Bulger’s defense attorney J.W. Carney said in court. “And the worst thing an Irish person could consider doing is becoming an informant.”

Bulger was arrested in June 2011 after spending 12 years on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list.

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Updated Bulger photo/wbur

Opening statements begin today in the long-anticipated trial of James “Whitey” Bulger, who is accused of murder, racketeering, extortion, money laundering, gun stockpiling and drug dealing.

Before his arrest, Bulger was so notorious that he shared the top spot on the FBI’s most-wanted list with terrorist Osama bin Laden, The New York Times reports.

A jury was sworn in Tuesday from a pool of 858 candidates, The Times reported.

Bulger also happened to be a long-time FBI informant.