Shocking news has shaken up the James "Whitney" Bulger case.
Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, a former South Boston man who waited decades for a chance to testify against the infamous gangster in court, was found dead in the town of Lincoln, reports the Boston Globe.
There were no obvious signs of trauma to Rakes' body, which was found around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and authorities have not yet determined his cause of death.
Steve Davis, the brother of alleged Bulger murder victim Debra Davis, said he became close friends with Rakes and described him as being in good shape.
Before his sudden death, the 59-year-old man was determined to testify against Bulger because the notorious gangster and his allies, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, and Kevin Weeks, extorted his South Boston liquor store from him at gunpoint in 1984, while Rakes's daughters were in the same room. Bulger, 83, is currently on trial for racketeering and murder after spending 16 years on the run as one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives.
However, Weeks testified last week that Rakes wanted to sell the shop and tried to shake down the gangsters for more money, which sparked a confrontation in which a gun was pulled, reports NBC News.
Rakes, who was on the witness list of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, was told Tuesday that prosecutors did not plan to call him to testify, a decision that Steve Davis said had devastated Rakes.
Davis said Rakes perceived the decision by Ortiz's office as robbing him of the opportunity to refute claims made during the trial by Weeks, Bulger's associate.