FORMER FUGITIVE MOBSTER James ‘Whitey’ Bulger has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering 19 people.

The 81-year-old, who was tracked down to an apartment building in California last month after 16 years on the run, denies 32 counts of racketeering, extortion, money laundering and weapons charges. Bulger appeared in a Boston court yesterday as his lawyer dismissed reports the one-time FBI Most Wanted figure was suffering from senility.

Attorney JW Carney Jr said “I see absolutely no evidence that my client suffers from Alzheimer’s,” adding that he had “found Mr Bulger to be very smart, to have an excellent memory,” the Boston Globe reports.

Families of several of Bulger’s alleged victims watched as he entered his plea, along with police investigators who laboured to build the case against him. Retired police colonel Thomas J Foley, who unearthed the remains of some of the victims, told the Boston Herald he was satisfied to see Bulger a “broken man” in chains in the dock.

Prosecutors told the court they expected the trial to last four weeks, the New York Times reports. However, lawyers for the defense warned it could go on much longer. Bulger has been in solitary confinement in a Massachusetts jail since being captured along with girlfriend Catherine Greig, 60, and appeared in court in an orange prison jumpsuit.

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