Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, a key witness in the trial against notorious gang leader James “Whitey” Bulger, was found dead around 1 p.m. in Boston Wednesday. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death, but there are no signs of trauma to his body.
The 59-year-old had been waiting almost a decade to testify against Bulger. He claims that Bulger and his gang, the Winter Hill Gang, forced him at gunpoint to sell his South Boston liquor store to them in 1984 while his daughters were in the room. Conversely, there were different versions of the story and Rakes lost the lawsuit he filed in 2001 because the judge thought he had waited too long to file it.
Boston Globe reports that Bulger has been on trial for the past six weeks facing charges of racketeering and murder. Before he was captured, he had been on the run for 16 years and was one of the nation’s most-wanted fugitives.
Rakes had been present at Bulger’s federal trial and was very eager to testify against him.
“I’m not afraid of him anymore. I can’t wait to get on the stand and look him right in the eyes,” Rakes said, according to NBC News. “I come here to represent the victims that are afraid to come here. My friends...There’s hundreds. And they’re still afraid. Some of them, 40 years later, they’re still afraid.”
However, Rakes was informed Tuesday that he would no longer be called to the stand for an unknown reason.