Whitey Bulger's Politician Brother Back in Spotlight

Whitey Bulger saw at least one familiar face in court yesterday: his brother, William, the former president of the Massachusetts Senate who steadfastly refused to help authorities bring in his brother. The former fugitive mouthed "hello" and nodded. The reunion of sorts has led to a spate of stories along the tale-of-two-brothers vein, exploring how the Boston natives rose to power in their chosen fields. See the Boston Globe and AP.

“You’ve got to understand something," said one of William's friends. “We’re South Boston people, and when you grow up in Southie, the cardinal virtue is loyalty. ... And you think he wouldn’t be there today?" William eventually became president of the University of Massachusetts but resigned in 2003 amid pressure from Gov. Mitt Romney and others over what the Globe describes as his "cavalier" attitude toward his brother. "It’s my hope that I’m never helpful to anyone against him," he once told a grand jury. "I don’t feel an obligation to help everyone to catch him." (More Whitey Bulger stories.)