deborah feyerick takes you inside one of the biggest manhunts in fbi history. the church bells of saint monica, near the harbor in south boston, have sounded for generations of irish immigrants. it s a tight-knit community that has always protected its own. a place james whitey bulger, one of boston s most notorious gangsters, called home. bulger learned to fight and survive on the mean streets of south boston, known as southie to locals like john shay who decades later would work for bulger. the guy was legendary. he made tough guys shake. he made them shake. reporter: bulger s life of crime started early. arrested in his teens, he was robbing banks by age 20. his shock of blond hair earning him the name whitey, a name he is staid to disguise. with his rugged good looks and reckless flamboyance, bulger imagined himself boston s version of hollywood s gangster, jimmy cagney. but instead of red carpets, he was headed to alcatraz. a string of bank robberies earning
whitey bulger. stone whitey bulger. ston cold killer. hr he w he wap could not catch. deborah feyerideborah feyeric insip inside oinside one manhunmanhunts in fbi hist. [ bagpipes ] reporter: the church bells of saint monica near the harbor in south boston have sounded for generations of irish immigrants. [ bell ringing ] reporter: it is a tight-knit community that s always protected its own, a place james whitey bulger, one of boston s most notorious gangsters, called home. bulger learned to fight and survive on the mean streets of south bostp south bostonson south bostp south bostons o locap locals lilocals lide. the guy was legendary. he made tough guys shake. he made them shake. reporter: bulger s life of crime started early. arrested in his teens he was robbing banks by age 20. his shock of blond hair earning him the name whitey a name he s said to despise. with his rugged good looks and recklep recklereckless fla imaginp imagined himself bo versiver
inside one of the biggest manhunts in fbi history. [ bagpipes ] reporter: the church bells of saint monica near the harbor in south boston have sounded for generations of irish immigrants. [ bell ringing ] reporter: it is a tight-knit community that s always protected its own, a place james whitey bulger, one of boston s most notorious gangsters, called home. bulger learned to fight and survive on the mean streets of south boston, known as southy to locals like john shay who would decades layer later, work for bulger. the guy was legendary. he made tough guys shake. he made them shake. reporter: bulger s life of crime started early. arrested in his teens he was robbing banks by age 20. his shock of blond hair earning him the name whitey a name he s said to despise. with his rugged good looks and reckless flamboyance, bulge jer imagined himself boston s version of hollywood gangster jimmy cagney. instead of red carpets, he was headed to alcatraz. a string of bank r
boston have sounded for generations of irish immigrants. it s a tight-knit community that s always protected its own, a place james whitey bulger called home. he learned to fight and survive on the mean streets of south boston, known as southy to locals like john shay who, decades later, would work for bulger. the guy was legendary. he made tough guys shake. he made them shake. reporter: bulger s life of crime started early, arrested in his teens, he was robbing banks by age 20. his shock of blonde hair earning him the name whitey, a name he is said to despite. with his rugged good looks and reckless flamboyance, he imagined himself as boston s version of jimmy kagny. but instead of red carpets he was headed to alcatraz. a string of bank robberies landing him ten years in federal prison at age 25. did he his time and upon release vowed he would never, ever go back. they had no hard proof. reporter: boston globe reporters dick layered and jared o neill ultimate
the church bells of st. monica near the harbor in south boston have sounded for generations of irish immigrants. it s a tight-knit community that s always protected its own, a place james whitey bulger called home. he learned to fight and survive on the mean streets of south boston, known as southy to locals like john shay who, decades later, would work for bulger. the guy was legendary. he made tough guys shake. he made them shake. reporter: bulger s life of crime started early, arrested in his teens, he was robbing banks by age 20. his shock of blonde hair earning him the name whitey, a name he is said to despite. with his rugged good looks and reckless flamboyance, he imagined himself as boston s version of jimmy kagny. but instead of red carpets he was headed to alcatraz. a string of bank robberies landing him ten years in federal prison at age 25. did he his time and upon release vowed he would never, ever go back. they had no hard proof. reporter: boston