SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger did almost everything right in evading capture for 16 years.
The notorious mobster's run from the law was remarkable for its longevity, which was due mainly to the unremarkable new identity he built for himself while on the lam.
He adopted an unassuming lifestyle, paid with cash, didn't drive a car and adhered to the code of silence from the mob life he left behind.
When federal agents tracked him to his lair this week, it was after targeting the only part of his past that Bulger didn't leave behind — his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig.
By all accounts, the two did little to ever arouse suspicion, posing as two retirees holed up in a bland white 1970s apartment complex in Santa Monica.