Bulger thought he was going to the hospital before transfer, lawyer says

BOSTON — Whitey Bulger's attorney says he plans to sue the government for wrongful death and negligence.

Hank Brennan says there's no way Whitey Bulger should have been transferred to the federal prison USP Hazelton in West Virginia, which is known for its violence.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Brennan says he talked with Bulger on a regular basis.

Four weeks before his October murder, Brennan says Bulger told him he was getting out of solitary confinement at a federal prison in Florida and being transferred to a prison medical facility.

But that never happened.

Instead, Bulger was sent to West Virginia after his medical classification was lowered to indicate that he needed less medical care.

Now Brennan wants to figure out why that happened.

He says the 89-year-old Bulger was wheelchair bound and had frequent heart troubles.

In one of his last conversations with Bulger, Brennan says the notorious mobster wasn't eager to go to West Virginia. Brennan says Bulger told him, "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't ... I don't trust them."

Just 24 hours after Bulger arrived in West Virginia, he was beaten to death inside his unlocked cell.

Brennan says he is preparing to sue the government on behalf of Bulger's estate for wrongful death and negligence.

Cox Media Group