No Bail for Ex-Bulger Associate Accused of 1991 Armored Truck Guard Slaying

An 80-year-old former associate of ex-Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger is being held without bail in the 1991 fatal shooting of an armored truck guard in Massachusetts.

Ralph DeMasi, of Amesbury, was arraigned Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court on murder and robbery charges in the killing of Edward Morlock. Morlock was shot while carrying bags of money from a Shaw's Supermarket in Worcester.

Prosecutors say DeMasi and three others robbed Morlock and escaped in a waiting car. Authorities say the other men have since died.

DeMasi testified during Bulger's 2013 trial, shortly after being released following more than 21 years in prison for a different armored car robbery.

DeMasi could not be reached for comment while in custody. It was unclear if he has a lawyer.

Morlock's widow, Jeannette, said Tuesday it was the news she thought she would never receive.

“They called me and told me they had good news, 'we got the guy,'” said Morlock.

Her then 52-year-old husband had been shot and killed, filling in for a friend on his birthday in May 1991.

The case however, grew cold.

“I've learned to get on with my life, and put it in the back of my mind,” Morlock said. “But it's always there. Everyday... who did it?”

The break in the case is not only closure for Worcester Police Chief Steve Sargent, but for the investigators who discovered the yet to be disclosed new information earlier this year.

“I was one of the first on the scene of the robbery and murder, I went to the hospital to speak to the victim, there I watched him die, this has always been a personal case for me and today it gives me a measure of satisfaction to say justice has been served for Edward Morlock and his family,” said Sargent.

For DeMasi’s family, who says he recently suffered a stroke and has dementia, the new information comes as a shock.

“I feel bad for the victim’s family that someone was murdered, I don’t believe my dad did it, but I do feel really bad for him,” said daughter Susan DeMasi.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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