Crime

Flemmi reaches out . . . but how?

by Ben Geman

Sunday's Boston Herald broke some creepy news about the ongoing saga of reputed mobsters James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi: the jailed Flemmi was "menacing" the family of former-mob-colleague-turned-informant Kevin Weeks with phone calls last week. Weeks is believed to have directed authorities to the Dorchester gravesite of two men and one woman allegedly killed by Bulger's gang, and Flemmi apparently fears that Weeks may reveal even more crime details to the feds.

The big question, considering the ground rules at Flemmi's current home -- the Plymouth County Correctional Facility -- is how Flemmi managed to do it. Inmates, in theory, can't reach out and touch, threaten, or otherwise harass anyone by phone. They're only allowed to dial any one of up to 10 pre-screened phone numbers. And they must call collect. Plymouth County Sheriff Department spokesman Roy Lyons tells the Phoenix that no one named "Patty" -- the name the Herald piece attributed to Weeks's sister -- or with the last name of Weeks is on Flemmi's list. (Lyons would not divulge who is on Flemmi's contact list.)

So what gives? Lyons, who says he was unaware of the Herald story, says there's a potential loophole in the phone policy that an inmate could exploit to call someone who's not on the approved list. With the right kind of phone, he says, a contact who's on the list might be able to forward the call to a third party. "The place you have made the call to becomes the go-between for the phone at the prison and the third party," he says.

As for following up on the Herald story, which cited unnamed sources, Lyons says that prison officials have not curtailed Flemmi's phone privileges and haven't investigated the allegation in the Herald piece. He wouldn't comment on whether Flemmi's -- or any inmate's -- calls can be monitored. In other words, Flemmi, who was indicted in 1995 on murder and racketeering charges, may beat the rap on his telephone spree.