Where We Live: The Role Of The Informant

The capture of Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger puts an end to a long manhunt - but it brings up questions about his dealings with the FBI.

Despite his disdain for “rats” - Bulger, now charged with 19 murders and implicated in countless other crimes, was an informant with the FBI for years.  He developed a special relationship with agent John Connolly that allowed him to keep committing crime - and gave him a chance to flee in 1995.  

Today, where we live, a look at the world of “informants” - some fifteen thousand used by the FBI alone to tip them off to crime, to assist in sting operations, and to sometimes be very well paid for their work.

WNPR’s Jeff Cohen has been following the story of one such informant - William Myles, who turned from a businessman working on a schools project in Hartford, into an FBI operative working on multiple cases in many states.