Fugitive mob boss posed as ordinary OAP

AS the FBI chased leads on two continents, Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger spent nearly all his 16 years as a fugitive in a quiet seaside city, passing himself off as an ordinary pensioner - albeit one who kept 30 guns and £500,000 in cash in his modest apartment.

Bulger, 81, - the FBI's most wanted man and a feared underworld figure linked to 19 murders - was finally captured on Wednesday in Santa Monica after one of the biggest manhunts in US history.

Today Steven Martinez, FBI assistant director in Los Angeles, said agents found pistols, rifles, shotguns and several types of knives in Bulger's home.

The arrest came after the FBI put out a series of daytime TV announcements with photos of Bulger's live-in companion, Catherine Greig. They revealed that she was known to frequent beauty salons and have her teeth cleaned once a month.

Two days later the campaign produced a tip that led agents to the two-bedroom apartment three blocks from the Pacific.