H. Paul Rico
Encyclopedia
Harold Paul Rico was an FBI agent. Indicted for murder in 2003, he played a significant role in the 1968 framing of four men for murder, unjustly imprisoning them for decades.
Rico was born in 1925 in Boston. He graduated from Boston College
with a bachelors degree in history. Rico joined the FBI in 1951 at the age of 26 and worked in the Boston area. He used members of the Winter Hill Gang
as informants.
In 1956 he recognized a disguised James "Whitey" Bulger in a Revere
bar and arrested him.
In 1965 Rico received word that gangster Edward Deegan was going to be killed by members of the The Winter Hill Gang but did nothing. He then watched as Joe Barboza
testified in court against four men they both knew to be innocent of the crime: Peter Limone, Henry Tameleo, Joe Salvati and Louis Greco. Tameleo died in 1985 in prison and Greco died in 1995 in prison, too; Salvati was released in 1997, and Limone in 2001. During U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearings in October 2003 looking into the Deegan killing, Rico responded to questions about the innocent men imprisoned with "What do you want, tears?"
The two survivors and the estates of the deceased were awarded $101.7 million by U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner in Boston on July 26, 2007.
On October 9, 2003 Rico was indicted for murder in Oklahoma
and Florida
for the assassination of the millionaire Roger Wheeler on May 27, 1981. He died on January 16, 2004 in a Tulsa hospital where he was moved to from prison. He was still under indictment for the 1981 murder.
Rico was born in 1925 in Boston. He graduated from Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
with a bachelors degree in history. Rico joined the FBI in 1951 at the age of 26 and worked in the Boston area. He used members of the Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
as informants.
In 1956 he recognized a disguised James "Whitey" Bulger in a Revere
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and located approximately from downtown Boston. It is named after the American patriot Paul Revere. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 51,755.- History :...
bar and arrested him.
In 1965 Rico received word that gangster Edward Deegan was going to be killed by members of the The Winter Hill Gang but did nothing. He then watched as Joe Barboza
Joe Barboza
Joseph "The Animal" Barboza was a Portuguese-American mafioso and one of the most feared mob hitmen during the 1960s...
testified in court against four men they both knew to be innocent of the crime: Peter Limone, Henry Tameleo, Joe Salvati and Louis Greco. Tameleo died in 1985 in prison and Greco died in 1995 in prison, too; Salvati was released in 1997, and Limone in 2001. During U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearings in October 2003 looking into the Deegan killing, Rico responded to questions about the innocent men imprisoned with "What do you want, tears?"
The two survivors and the estates of the deceased were awarded $101.7 million by U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner in Boston on July 26, 2007.
On October 9, 2003 Rico was indicted for murder in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for the assassination of the millionaire Roger Wheeler on May 27, 1981. He died on January 16, 2004 in a Tulsa hospital where he was moved to from prison. He was still under indictment for the 1981 murder.