FBI say they are closing in on ‘Most Wanted’ Whitey Bulger

Read more: FBI not giving up on Whitey Bulger manhunt

Sixteen years to the day after he disappeared the FBI say they are closing in on Boston Irish mobster ‘Whitey’ Bulger, 81, the most wanted man in America.

The son of Irish immigrants is wanted on 19 murder charges, conspiracy and narcotics distribution and has a $2 million reward on his head. Jack Nicholson’s character in The Oscar winning movie ‘The Departed’ was based partly on Bulger.

FBI agent Richard Teahan, head of the Bulger Task Force, told the Boston Globe in an interview on Tuesday that agents received “50 to 100 leads” after they placed ads last Spring in plastic surgery publications with photos of Bulger and girlfriend Catherine Greig, asking anyone who treated the fugitive couple to call the FBI.”

"A lot of leads and tips have come in both domestically and internationally,'' said Teahan,
The FBI placed a full page ad in Plastic Surgery News that said Greig 59, had breast implants, a face lift, liposuction and eyelid surgery in 1982 before she went on the lam with Bulger.

The last confirmed sighting of Bulger was in London in 2002, and some believe he has spent time in Ireland during his time on the run.

Teahan said the FBI firmly believes that Bulger is still alive a Former Bulger associate Kevin J. Weeks todl the Globe he believes Bulger is living quietly in Europe.

"Nobody outside of Boston really knows who Whitey Bulger is or cares who Whitey Bulger is,'' said Weeks, "Everyone is worried about terrorism. No one is worried about an aging criminal from America.''

Teahan said the manhunt continues worldwide.

"We are committed to this case,'' Teahan said. "We just think it's important not to give up and to keep pushing. Worldwide exposure is what will cause him to be apprehended.''