HYANNIS – The new book from Cape Cod native and New York Times Bestselling author Casey Sherman and co-author Dave Wedge goes into the expansive history of the hunt and capture of notorious criminal James “Whitey” Bulger.
“Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture and Killing of America’s Most Wanted Crime Boss,” is what Sherman called the “exclamation point on the Whitey Bulger saga.”
It covers Bulger’s disappearance before indictment in 1994 up to his capture in 2011, followed by his final years.
Sherman said that the access to FBI and prisoner information and resources he and Wedge had while writing the book was “unprecedented.”
“There’s a lot of new ground that we cover in this book,” Sherman said, “we’re quite proud of it.”
Sherman said around 70 percent of the information included in the book are details that he was not aware of prior to writing.
Two graduates of Barnstable High School, Sherman explained, were vital in the pursuit and capture of Bulger. “Hunting Whitey” dives into the specifics of their roles.
Richard Eaton, who graduated from the high school in 1986, was serving as a deputy in the San Diego Sheriff’s Department when he saw the Oscar winning film “The Departed” in 2006 in the same theater as Bulger.
Neil Sullivan, another graduate of the school and veteran United States Marshall, was a part of the task force to find Bulger. Sullivan took a tip from a former neighbor of Bulger, which eventually helped lead to his capture.
Sherman said that these two local natives served as examples of the book’s message of perseverance.
“There’s always one door that’s going to be opened for you, or that you have kicked down,” he continued.
“Ultimately, they kicked it down, and on the other side was Whitey Bulger and his girlfriend.”
Sherman and Wedge’s new book is now on sale in physical and digital formats. Sherman’s Amazon page can be found by clicking here. He also said that “Hunting Whitey” will be available at any bookstore on the Cape.
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