As if this case wasn’t confusing enough. First an ex-FBI agent is accused of being part of a mob murder. Now comes a federal judge who is testifying on the agent’s behalf. Can a Hollywood script be far behind?
By Shelley Murphy
Boston Globe Staff
MIAMI — A federal judge from Boston told a jury today that retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr.’s crime fighting efforts against organized crime in the 1980s helped decimate the New England Mafia.
“It was without parallel,” said US District Senior Judge Edward F. Harrington, who was the first defense witness in Connolly’s state murder trial.
“Well, John Connolly had great ability and he had a certain flair that attracted a confidence and trust with underworld figures,” said Harrington, who served as US Attorney in Massachusetts from 1977 to 1981.
“And he had several top-echelon underworld figures that he handled who provided the federal government with enormous and critical intelligence which was the basis for successful prosecutions.”
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