A disgraced former FBI agent serving time for a 1982 murder linked to imprisoned New England mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger has a new prison release date, if he lives that long.
The Florida Commission on Offender Review on Wednesday set a June 22, 2039 release date for ex-agent John Connolly, who would be 98 by then. Connolly was technically eligible for earlier release under parole laws in effect in 1982.
Connolly was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder after a mob hitman killed World Jai-Alai President John Callahan in Fort Lauderdale. Trial evidence showed Connolly tipped Bulger that Callahan was about to implicate the gang in another killing.
Connolly was Bulger's FBI handler in Boston. Their relationship helped inspire the 2006 Martin Scorsese film, "The Departed."
