A widow whose husband, a Boston nightclub owner, was killed by mobsters wants the government to pay for her husband’s death. She says in a lawsuit that the FBI failed to take action against the mobsters, who were working as FBI informants. A federal judge has already ruled in her favor. Now another federal judge is trying to determine in a trial how much the government owes her.
By Shelley Murphy
Boston Globe
BOSTON — Notorious gangsters and longtime FBI informants James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi orchestrated the 1976 slaying of Revere nightclub owner Richard J. Castucci. But his life was not enough; they wanted his money, too.
Taking the stand yesterday in her wrongful death suit against the government, Castucci’s widow described being caught in a terrifying web as her husband’s killers – members of the Winter Hill Gang – and the New England Mafia both vied for control of her husband’s interest in The Squire, a popular and highly profitable strip club.
“I was scared,” said 72-year-old Sandra Castucci, recounting how Flemmi, a stranger to her, showed up unexpectedly at her Revere Beach home after her husband’s killing, asking about her financial interest in the club and suggesting he should handle it for her.
She was frightened by the visit and immediately alerted the businessman who co-owned The Squire with her husband. Then the Mafia got involved.
