EXTRA...

Cross country bikers end here Oct. 1; FBI gangster bought homes here

Bulger cohort unloads on stand, bought Cape real estate
Says Connolly accepted $235k in gang payoffs

MIAMI - The gangster and the FBI agent met clandestinely for years at the homes of FBI agents and shared secrets late at night while strolling along beaches in Quincy, Dorchester, and South Boston.

Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.

But yesterday, longtime FBI informant Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi faced retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. in a Florida courtroom as the ex-gangster testified that Connolly pocketed $235,000 in payoffs, compromised investigations, and leaked information that led to several murders.

After taking a $25,000 kickback that he knew came from drug proceeds in 1983, Flemmi told jurors yesterday, Connolly had joked, "Hey, I'm one of the gang"...

He said Bulger reduced Connolly's payoffs at one point out of concern the agent was too flamboyant, buying real estate on Cape Cod and dressing in fancy suits.

"One time we gave him money, he went and bought a boat," Flemmi said. "Jim Bulger was upset about that. He had to sell the boat. I mean, FBI agents weren't making much money back in those days. He was the best-dressed agent in the office and people would start looking at him. That was a concern"... Globe.
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Brothers hit hometown on cross-country ride to Cape Cod
Skaneateles natives travel 3,400 miles to raise bike safety awareness.

Lying in a hospital bed after he was hit by a sport utility vehicle while riding his bike, Pearson Constantino wanted to ride across America more than ever.

His dream - to follow Route 20 across the country with his older brother - had entered the final planning stage when a hit-and-run accident on June 29, 2006, left him with a shattered pelvis, crushed vertebra, broken leg and kept him from attempting his 3,400-mile journey.

More than two years later, after 20 months of physical therapy and a medication regiment, Constantino will ride through his hometown of Skaneateles Wednesday, marking the 44th day of his 51-day journey that will end Oct. 1 in Cape Cod, Mass... Syracuse Post Standard.