JUNE 22nd - Risk vs. Reward



On this day in 2011, Whitey Bulger was finally arrested in Santa Monica, California after 16 years on the lam. He was on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list and there was a reward of 2 million dollars for information leading to his capture--which I’ve always wondered about. It’s a fairly vague statement. I mean if authorities are looking for a fugitive in El Paso, and I call up and say, “Hey fellas, that guy ain’t in El Paso anymore. He was heading to Albuquerque.” And then let’s say they capture this guy in Tucson, do I get the full reward? I sent them on the right track. Bastards were sitting around in El Paso with their thumbs up their asses chasing a guy who was long gone. That info is worth a little scrilla. Does it get superseded? Like if some goober in Tucson calls the FBI and says, “Yo, yo, yo, homeboy is holed up at the King’s Inn on the west side of the interstate,” does he get all the money because his information was closer to the actual capture? Do we split it? Who deems which information was more valuable? Seems like a logistical nightmare. In the case of Whitey Bulger, the FBI later stated that it paid 2.1 million dollars to multiple individuals who helped aid in his capture. But apparently a 57-year-old yoga instructor who lived next to Bulger and his girlfriend received 2 million of that 2.1. And while 2 million for a phone call seems like a nice, easy little pay-day, it would be prudent to remember that you don’t get a 2 million dollar price on your head for stealing beanie babies from Shelly Sapperstein’s personal collection. Whitey Bulger was a bad dude. Like sentenced to two life terms plus five years bad. My point being that there is a bit of risk in tipping on a gangster with a penchant for killing. But there is also some risk drinking your coffee too quickly after brewing. Burning the roof of your mouth sucks. Not as bad as having a hit on you, but then life is all about risk vs. reward, isn't it?

This Day has been Marked.

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