Ex-mobster, Marblehead writer chronicle life of crime

Former South Boston mobster Kevin Weeks did not dodge the question when asked if he misses the gangster lifestyle he lived when he was a top enforcer for James “Whitey” Bulger.?Do I miss it, of course I do,” the soft-spoken Weeks said as he laughed quietly. “Does a retired football player miss playing football? Of course he does.”Weeks, a longtime Irish gangster for Bulger?s notorious Winter Hill Gang, now works a construction job.But the 55-year-old talked openly during a phone interview about his previous life with Bulger, who is facing multiple murder counts in federal court after spending 16 years hiding from police.?I got to do things that most people don?t get to do in their lives, and I don?t mean any of the negative stuff,” he told The Daily Item. “If I wanted a new car, I?d go down to the dealership and pay cash for a new one. If I wanted to take a trip, I?d go take one. I went to the best restaurants in the city. I lived the life, but my needs are much simpler now.”?The most important things now are my sons and my girlfriend and spending time with them,” he added.Weeks has enjoyed what many might say is a unlikely literary partnership with Phyllis Karas, a 67-year-old Marblehead writer and self-described “nice Jewish girl.”The two wrote, “Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger?s Irish Mob,” together after Weeks was released from federal prison in 2005. The book became a New York Times bestseller.Weeks agreed to testify against Bulger, Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi and retired FBI agent John Connolly, after learning Bulger had been a secret FBI informant. Weeks and Karas in June released “Where?s Whitey,” a fictional account of Bulger?s life on the run, just two days before the FBI captured Bulger in Santa Monica, Calif.He led investigators to six bodies and Karas said Weeks will undoubtedly play a major role in Bulger?s upcoming trial.Weeks and Karas are kicking off the Jewish Community Center?s Jewish Book month with a book signing and discussion Wednesday at 8 p.m., at the center, which is located at 4 Community Road in Marblehead. Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased at the door or by visiting JCCNS.org or calling 781-631-8330.As angry as Weeks was when he found out Bulger had ratted him out to federal investigators, he says he no longer feels that way about his former close friend and Irish Mob boss.?I let it go. It happened a long time ago,” Weeks said about his feelings toward Bulger. “The thing you have to remember is he?s 82 years old. I hear these people saying they?d like to go into his jail cell and beat him up. Well, if it makes you feel like a tough guy beating up an 82-year-old, okay then.Weeks believes that so many people are fascinated with Bulger and the gangster lifestyle because of the way gangsters live their lives.?People see (us as the) type of guys who do what they want to do,” he said. “Most people will get in an argument with someone and they say, ?I want to kill that guy.? But they never do anything. We did something.”Karas believes that writing about crime has become her niche after pairing up with Weeks.?I?ve written books about more decent people, like Louis Gossett Jr. and the reaction I get is nothing like I when write about someone like Whitey Bulger,” Karas said. “I constantly get letters from inmates asking me to write their story. Every bathroom in every penitentiary in the state must have my name and phone number scrawled on the walls?”Karas acknowledged however that when she got the offer to write Weeks? story, she had some concerns knowing that she would be partnering with a gangster who had hurt many people.She took some solace in knowing that Weeks would have to give 50 percent of any proceeds he made from the book to the families of his victims.?Truthfully, I?m a writer,” Karas said. “If it?s a job, if I don?t do it, another writer is going to pick it up.”Weeks said he doesn?t often think about the kind of man he was when he acted as Bulger?s o