Bulger ordered to pay $6 million to slain Tulsan's family

BOSTON — Imprisoned former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger has been ordered to pay $6 million to the family of a slain Oklahoma businessman, although it's unclear whether they'll ever see the money.

The Boston Globe reported that a federal judge ruled Friday that Bulger must pay the family of Roger Wheeler, who was shot to death outside his country club in Tulsa in 1981.

Bulger was found guilty this year in the killings of Wheeler and 10 others and was sentenced to two life terms. He was ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution to his other victims' families and forfeit $25 million to the government.

Investigators found $822,000 in cash stashed in his apartment walls when he was caught in Santa Monica, Calif., after more than 16 years on the run.

Meanwhile, Bulger has been moved to a federal prison in Oklahoma, although it was not immediately clear when or why.

Bulger, 84, was being held Tuesday at FTC Oklahoma City, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website. The facility is a transfer point for many federal prisoners.

Prosecutors in Tulsa have been deciding whether to move forward with a murder case against Bulger in the 1981 killing of businessman Roger Wheeler. Bulger was convicted by a federal jury in Boston earlier this year of killing Wheeler and 10 others. He was sentenced to two life terms.

Bulger is charged with first-degree murder in Tulsa. Last month, Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris told the Tulsa World that prosecutors would take into consideration Bulger's federal sentence as they decide whether to try him.

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