BOSTON -- Former FBI agent John Connolly was convicted in May 2001 of racketeering, obstruction of justice and lying to an FBI agent. Prosecutors said that for two decades, Connolly benefited from his ties to reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and his gang.

U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro sentenced Connolly to 10 years and one month in prison on Sept. 16, 2001.

Connolly, 61, was the handler for Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi. Prosecutors alleged that Connolly gave Bulger and Flemmi the identities of three informants, who were later murdered. But jurors did not convict Connolly on charges related to those deaths, finding no evidence that he had anything to do with them.

During Connolly's two-week trial in May, Bulger's men, Kevin Weeks and John Martorano took the stand --portraying Connolly as an FBI agent who protected the Bulger group and took money and gifts from them.