Ex-FBI agent allegedly lied in court to defend one of America's most notorious mobsters
Robert Fitzpatrick, the former second in command at the FBI's office in Boston, turned himself over to US Marshalls on Thursday after he was indicted on six counts of perjury and six counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying during the trial of notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in 2013.
According to the Boston Globe, US prosecutors alleged that Fitzpatrick made "false material declarations designed to aid Bulger's defense."
"Fitzpatrick also made false material declarations to enhance his own credibility as a former FBI official by making false claims about his professional accomplishments an FBI agent," prosecutors said in Fitzpatrick's indictment.
The indictment comes over a year after Fitzpatrick testified that he attempted to convince FBI higher-ups to cut ties with Bulger, who fed information to the agency for years while facing no legal consequences for his criminal activity.
US attorneys have previously expressed skepticism about Fitzpatrick's role in trying to pusuade the agency to end its relationship with Bulger. During the mobster's trial in 2013, prosecutors suggested that the former FBI agent may have lied in order to sell copies of his autobiography "Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down."
"You're a man who likes to make up stories," Assistant US Attorney Brian Kelly said during the trial in 2013, as the Daily Beast reported. "For years, you're a man who tries to take credit for things he didn't do, isn't that correct, sir?"
Fitzpatrick is expected to appear in federal court on Thursday.
Robert Goldstein, who represents Fitzpatrick, told the Boston Globe, "Mr. Fitzpatrick adamantly maintains his innocence and looks forward to challenging the government's allegations in a courtroom as soon as possible."