. >> reporter: in another twist of the plot, billy bulger's first campaign manager, john conley, ended up joining the fbi. whitey bulger was his informant, a position he used to eliminate rival italian mob sterps and consolidate his own grip on power. >> he has always conquered and divide law enforcement here in boston so that they were at each other's throats. that one element of law enforcement, namely the fbi, was perceived as protecting him and was found, you know, beyond any reasonable doubt to have protected him, to have allowed people who were willing to testify against him to be murdered. >> reporter: that fiasco was one reason bulger ranked so high on the fbi's most wanted list. yes, he's believed to have been a major drug trafficker in boston. yes, he's accused of murdering 19 people. but he also embarrassed the bureau. >> he was a killer. he was a person who turned in his competition and he was a person who put the fbi in his pocket. he played them. they didn't play him. and right now, the only thing he has in his pocket is the potential for revenge. >> reporter: bull jerel'