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Wild about Whitey: Bulger is destined for the Gangster Hall of Fame

Like many high-profile mobsters, James "Whitey" Bulger will likely earn a place in the pantheon of great gangsters.

Not that anything about Bulger is "great" -- it's impossible to canonize a man linked to 19 murders and crimes of every imaginable stripe -- but rather "great" as measured by the grim standards of the Gangster Hall of Fame, whose members include the likes of Lucky Luciano, John Gotti, Al Capone and Meyer Lansky.

Judging by the interest in Bulger's story, and a tendency by some to turn hard-boiled sinners into soft-boiled saints, Whitey is definitely an A-List mobster, even though he doesn't have a truly epochal gangster moment to his credit.

We're talking about crimes of a certain stature, such as the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre or the 1985 assassination of Paul Castellano, the "boss of bosses."

Nonetheless, Whitey's thuggery is still pretty top shelf, according to the G-men who hunted him for the past 16 years.

Despite his impressive criminal resume, there's still a mild-mannered quality to the guy. For instance, take his nickname, "Whitey," which doesn't instill fear or pack nearly the same punch as, say, "Machine Gun Kelly" (aka George Kelly Barnes) or Al "Scarface" Capone. And don't forget good ole Owney "The Killer" Madden, for that matter.

"Whitey" sounds like the nickname of a loveable curmudgeon, a grandfather who plays chess in the park and enjoys reminiscing about the good old days when you didn't have to lock your door at night. And with white, thinning hair and a scruffy beard, the 81-year-old Bulger looks more like an aging tugboat captain than a menacing portrait of evil.

I'll give this to Bulger, though: "Whitey" is definitely more onerous sounding than Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, also known as the "Oddfather" or the "Pajama King" for his habit of wearing jammies and a bathrobe while shuffling along New York sidewalks.

But nicknames can be deceiving. After all, John Gotti , whose ascension after the Castellano assassination made him veritable mafia royalty, was alternately referred to as "The Dapper Don" (because of his penchant for dressing to the nines) and "The Teflon Don" (because the criminal charges brought against him rarely stuck).

Once the dust settles, however, Bulger will likely make it onto the list of the Top 20 Gangsters of all time -- even if he does end up squealing. And consider this: Unlike the many gangsters whose fame skyrocketed after they died, Whitey will actually get to enjoy his celebrity, albeit from behind the bars of a federal penitentiary.

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