Doug Moe: 'Departed' fugitives a Madison couple?
SOMEBODY MUST have spotted them getting off the cruise ship from Rome and called the police.
The ship had docked at La Spezia at a little past noon on a beautiful Sunday last month. The American couple bought tickets for a tram tour of the city and got great seats at the very rear of the tram, offering a panoramic view off the back. The sun-splashed waterfront was glorious. But minutes passed, the tram did not move, and then the police cars began to arrive, one after another.
"Something big is going on," the American man said.
He was right. There were eight officers, grim-faced, guns drawn. And they came directly to the back of the tram.
"Passports?"
The Italian police had reason to believe the man and woman were two of the most wanted fugitives from justice in recent American history. They had been tipped that the man was James "Whitey" Bulger, a murderous Boston mobster on whom Martin Scorsese based the Jack Nicholson character in "The Departed."
Bulger, 78, thought to be on the lam with his girlfriend,
Catherine Greig, 56, was believed to have been caught on video in Italy earlier this year. Accused of 19 homicides, Bulger has been on the run for more than a decade. There's a $1 million reward for his capture, which got everyone's attention in western Europe after the purported sighting.
"Passports?"
On that sunny Sunday in September, the American couple had passports, but they were back on the cruise ship they had just departed.
The passports identified them as George and Iris Weiland of Madison. They were on a two-week vacation to see Italy and Greece. George is 77, and he and Iris have lived on Madison's west side for most of the past 50 years. In that half-century no one had ever suggested they resembled a mobster and his moll. But at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 in La Spezia, the Italian police did not like that they did not have their passports.
"I finally thought to give them my driver's license," George was saying Monday.
The police, who didn't speak much English, took the license and huddled back at their cars. At this point, George did not yet know he was suspected of being one of the world's most notorious fugitives. A young woman, Michelle Stevenson, who had been selling land excursions in La Spezia to the cruise passengers, approached and offered her assistance. She is fluent in English and Italian and was with the Weilands when the police returned.
They did not give George back his license. Instead they said he had to accompany them to the police station.
George went in one police car with several officers; Iris and Michelle Stevenson followed in a second squad car.
"The lights were flashing," George said, "and we were racing at a very high speed, running red lights, going up on sidewalks. It was kind of scary."
He still had no idea what was going on.
At the police station, they were taken to a large room that, while not a cell, had bars on the window. A photo of James "Whitey" Bulger was produced. George had never heard of him. He'd never even seen "The Departed."
After an hour, someone from the cruise line showed up with the Weilands' passports. "That seemed to help," George said.
Still, the police took George upstairs to a separate room where they took several photographs, along with fingerprints and palm prints. Later, it took him 20 minutes to wash the ink off his hands. He was told the information had been sent to the United States and they were awaiting word back from the FBI.
Word arrived about 4:30 -- the FBI was satisfied that George and Iris Weiland were not James "Whitey" Bulger and Catherine Greig. The police took them back to the ship. "Lights flashing and racing again," George said.
Back aboard ship, George and Iris enjoyed a bit of celebrity. There was a dinner with the ship line's general manager, a meeting with the captain and a tour of the bridge.
Sunday, back in Madison, George rented "The Departed."
"Very violent," he said.
No movie to see without your passport.
Heard something Moe should know? Call 252-6446, write P.O. Box 8060, Madison, WI 53708, or e-mail dmoe@madison.com
Warner Brothers
Jack Nicholson (left) and Matt Damon in a scene from the the movie, "The Departed."
