Infamous Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was arrested in Los Angeles after being on the run for 16 years, police said Wednesday. Bulger, now 81, has been on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted List” for his alleged role in 19 murders when he was head of the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger had been a top FBI informant on his gang’s rival, the New England Mob, and prosecutors said he went on the run after he was tipped off by a corrupt FBI agent that he would be arrested. Bulger, whose brother, William Bulger, is the former president of the Massachusetts State Senate, had been somewhat of an embarrassment for the FBI, especially when their cozy relationship and the extent of his crimes became public. And even though his capture may mean the end of an era, there are plenty of shady characters on the loose. From money launderers to murderers, here are some of America’s most wanted.
Anonymous / AP Photo
The Russian swindler is thought to have funded and initiated a plan to defraud thousands of investors in the stock of a public Pennsylvania company between 1993 and 1998. Mogilevich is now wanted for a multi-million-dollar money-laundering scheme. He apparently has pockmarks, occasionally wears a mustache, and is a very heavy smoker.
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: Shimon Makhelwitsch
A double fugitive, Godwin has escaped from prison twice. Incarcerated for murder, Godwin fled California’s Folsom State Prison in 1987, seeking refuge in Mexico. Later in the same year he was arrested under drug-trafficking charges in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but escaped confinement in 1991 after murdering a fellow inmate five months earlier. He’s good with tools and construction work.
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: Dennis Harold McWilliams
After shooting and killing two rival gang members in 1998, Saenz kidnapped, raped, and murdered his then-girlfriend. He murdered a fourth victim in 2008 and is believed to work for a Mexican drug cartel. He may be a little more difficult to find than others, since he has removed his tattoos with a laser. Apparently, he always carries a weapon.
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: Smiley, Honeycutt, Toro, Peanut
Brown is wanted for murder and armed robbery in Phoenix, Arizona. The avid golfer shot and killed an armored-car guard outside of a movie theater in 2004 and then fled with the cash. Highly educated, he is fluent in French and has a master's degree in international business—he also enjoys being the center of attention and flashing his money at nightclubs.
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: Harline Johnson
Chism’s done it all. The fugitive has been on the run since 1988 after escaping an Arkansas jail where he was being held on charges of armed robbery, narcotics violations, kidnapping, and airplane hijacking. Chism also shot a corrections officer during his decampment. He not only has a knack for making news, he also edited his prison newspaper.
REWARD: $25,000
ALIAS: Kenneth Brookins
A captain of the Barrio Azteca criminal enterprise, Eduardo Ravelo runs his gang both in Texas and across the border through franchise gangs in Mexican locales. He has been involved in the drug trade, money laundering, and has been known to use his gang as muscle for the Vicente Carrillo cartel.
He has tattoos all over his torso, and may have had plastic surgery to alter his fingerprints.
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: None
Hiers, a former police officer, is wanted for murdering his wife and sexually molesting a minor. He’s very much into exercise and martial arts, so he’s got the skills to run.
REWARD: $25,000
ALIAS: Dan Hiers
In 1983, Victor Manuel Gerena robbed a Connecticut security firm for $7 Million. He also took two guards hostage, bound them, and injected them with a debilitating substance. So if you see a man with a one inch scar and mole on his right shoulder blade, who is possibly bald, you may want to walk away and call the police.
REWARD: $1 Million
ALIAS: Victor Ortiz
Robert William Fisher is wanted for murdering his wife and two kids and then blowing up their Scottsdale, AZ home in April 2001. There isn’t much more information about him, except that he chews tobacco, walks awkwardly, and has worked as a surgical catheter technician
REWARD: $100,000
ALIAS: None
Alexis Flores is wanted for the kidnapping and eventual murder of a 5 year-old girl in Philadelphia. A Honduran, Flores is suspected to have fled to his native country. He has a short stature and a small frame, has scars on his forehead and right cheek, and often uses different birthdates.
REWARD: Up to $100,000
ALIAS: Mario Flores, Alex Contreras
Benu Shango has a history of fraud and forgery and is wanted for his part in a check-fraud scheme in the upper Midwest. As fraudsters do, he’s good at taking different names and identities. Catch him if you can.
REWARD: N/A
ALIAS: Guy J. Cousins
