Connolly jury will hear from mobsters, feds

by J.M. Lawrence

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

A rogues' gallery of Boston mob associates, former FBI brass and a federal judge will take the witness stand in the trial of former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. when the bombshell case opens tomorrow.

"I believe in the integrity of the jury system,'' Connolly, 61, said yesterday as he left the courthouse. "I only ask people to understand the very difficult and dangerous job I had to do.''

The panel of seven men and five women selected yesterday will spend at least four to six weeks weighing the government's charges that Connolly betrayed his oath and joined forces with his criminal informants, James "Whitey'' Bulger and Steven "The Rifleman'' Flemmi.

The government plans to call at least 48 witnesses against Connolly, including New England mob boss Francis P. "Cadillac Frank'' Salemme, former U.S. Attorney Donald Stern, who presided over the indictment of Bulger and Flemmi in 1995, and a host of FBI agents.

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