(NECN: John Moroney) - Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, says her time behind bars does not fit the crime, so now she's looking to have her sentence reduced.
Her sister Margaret said very little as she was leaving federal court Tuesday morning.
"I'm just hoping for the best."
Sixty-one-year-old Greig was not present for the hearing before the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Last year, she was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading gulity to a number of charges, including harboring a fugitive.
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But her attorney told the court his client's sentence was inappropriate for the crime of harboring a fugitive.
"You start off with the right base offense level. You start off with the two and a half, two and a quarter years... If the judge wants to depart, he's entitled to depart. He's entitled to raise the sentence. But to effectively triple the sentence, I thought was inappropriate," said Dana Curhan.
"She was doing everything in her power to protect him," said Steve Davis, alleged victim's relative. "Knew everything that was going on."
Greig and Bulger spent 16 year on the run before they were arrested. Federal prosecutors argue that Greig's sentence is appropriate because she helped Bulger hide by doing his errands like picking up medications using false identification. The families of the gangster's alleged victims agreed.
"She was his identity," said Patricia Donahue. "That made it a lot easier for him to stay out there all that time."
"So many victims have suffered over the years. It's about time she got a little taste of what the suffering is."
The appeals court has taken the case under advisement. It could be at least three months before it make a decision.
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