Updated June 13, 2012 10:34:30
Catherine Greig pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbour a fugitive, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.


The woman who helped her feared Boston mobster boyfriend James "Whitey" Bulger stay on the run for 16 years has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Catherine Greig, 61, acted out of love, her lawyer said, but United States federal judge Douglas P Woodlock said she had to answer for aiding a heavily armed fugitive wanted for involvement in 19 murders.
"This is to demonstrate she abandoned any good choices," the judge said.
"There has to be a price imposed by me."
The sentence of eight years and a $US150,000 fine was far below the 15 years requested by prosecutors.
However, it was above the less than three years defence attorney Kevin Reddington asked for, after claiming that her crimes were the result of a passionate love affair.
"Why people fall in love has been debated since before Shakespeare's sonnets," he said in a filing with the court in Boston.
Greig's sentencing followed guilty pleas to three counts: conspiracy to harbour a fugitive, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.
Bulger, who is now 82, has pleaded not guilty to participating in the murders and will go to trial in November.
In addition to accusations that Bulger murdered mob rivals, potential witnesses and others who threatened him, prosecutors accuse him of a crime spree spanning into the 1990s that included extortion, money laundering and, at one point, running guns to Northern Ireland's IRA militants.
Before passing sentence, the judge allowed victim statements, adding to the already emotional atmosphere in a case that has alternately gripped and horrified Boston for many years.
One man, Steve Davis, could not restrain himself, exclaiming, "Catherine, you are a dirty bitch." He said he was speaking on behalf of his sister Debbie, who had disappeared in 1981.
Patricia Donahue, whose husband was allegedly murdered by Bulger, said Greig was "his enabler" and deserved the maximum sentence.
Greig herself sat mute and showing no outward emotion during the hearing.
However, her lawyer said the "bitch" comment was "nasty and repulsive in front of a federal judge. She has always been in love with Mr Bulger. He was the love of her life. She has no regrets and she doesn't believe he committed the crimes he was accused of".
Greig "is in great spirits," he added.
AFP
Tags: murder-and-manslaughter, crime, law-crime-and-justice, united-states
First posted June 13, 2012 10:34:30