Bulger's Girlfriend Pleads Not Guilty to Contempt Charge

The longtime girlfriend and fugitive companion of James "Whitey" Bulger appeared in federal court Monday to face a contempt charge for refusing to tell whether other people helped the Boston mobster during his 16 years on the run.

Catherine Greig pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in U.S. District Court in Boston. She is due back in court on Nov. 19 for a status conference hearing.

Greig, 64, is about three years into an eight-year sentence for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.

The new indictment alleges that from December 2014 until last month, Greig disobeyed a judge's order to testify before a grand jury in an investigation into "third parties" who assisted and harbored Bulger.

Bulger, now 86, fled Boston just before being indicted in early 1995. He was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. He and Greig had been living together in a rent-controlled apartment.

When Greig was sentenced on the original charges in 2012, her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said Greig was in love with Bulger when she fled with him and did not believe that Bulger was capable of murder.

In 2013, Bulger was convicted of playing a role in 11 murders and other charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment.

Prosecutors said Greig had numerous opportunities to leave Bulger during their time on the run. Instead, they said she helped him remain a fugitive by using false identities and posing as his wife so she could pick up his prescriptions.

The couple posed as married retirees from Chicago. After they were captured, authorities found a stash of more than $800,000 in cash and 30 weapons in their apartment.