Former Mob Enforcer Tillinghast Says He Hopes Bulger's Killer "Gets Away With It"
Former Mob Enforcer Tillinghast Says He Hopes Bulger's Killer "Gets Away With It"
Tillinghast was joined by former East Providence Police captain and author Joe Broadmeadow to talk about the release of his new book, "Choices: You Make 'em You Own 'em: The Jerry Tillinghast Story," when he made the revelation.
Tillinghast and his older brother, Harold Tillinghast, were arrested and convicted for killing mob loan shark George Basmajian in a stolen car near T.F. Green Airport in Warwick in 1978. He served twenty-nine years in prison.
“I get calls about ‘What was Whitey like?’ I didn’t know him, never associated with him, wouldn’t associate with him," said Tillinghast. "Here’s a guy running around shooting people with the FBI behind him."
"I’m glad he’s dead, that dirty fucking piece of shit stool pigeon asshole, and I hope the guy that did it gets away with it," said Tillinghast, who said he was surprised though when he heard the news.
"I was surprised. [Bulger] wasn’t even there an hour and he got nailed," said Tillinghast. "That was poetic justice."
About the Book
"Jerry’s attorney Paul DeMaio — we’ve done a lot to work with Paul on other cases when I was on the police department — Paul called me and asked if I’d be interested in picking up a project that was actually started by the late Glenn Laxton, who was a Channel 12 reporter,” said Broadmeadow. “Paul’s wife happened to have read one of my novels and gave it to Paul, and he liked it, so he called me. And the rest is history."
Tillinghast offered his take on the book, and more.
“The 30 years I was behind bars [I realized] my mistakes - what it cost me, my family, my brother’s life, and a quite a few other things,” said Tillinghast. “It’s common sense. You make the choice, and you have to pay a price. And I’ve paid the price."