How James 'Whitey' Bulger's Apartment Stacks Up to Others in Santa Monica

The FBI's arrest of alleged crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Greig in their rent controlled Santa Monica apartment did more than capture the second most wanted fugitive in the world; it also freed up an apartment in one of the most sought after areas in Southern California.

Bulger and Greig lived in the three-story Princess Eugenie complex at 1012 3rd St., just south of Washington Avenue, for 15 years. They reportedly paid a mere $1,145 a month for Unit 303 in the 28-unit building, according to The Boston Globe. 

Going by the aliases of Charles and Carole Gasko, the fugitives were able to live there without owning a vehicle and were within walking distance of the beach, a park, library, stores and restaurants.

Their one-bedroom apartment was under rent control, a program enacted in Santa Monica in 1979 that puts limits on the amount of annual increase a landlord may impose on tenants.

However, when a rent-controlled unit is vacated by the tenant voluntarily, all limits are off and the unit may be rented out at a fair market value—in this case, most likely at twice what “Whitey” was paying.

To see how Whitey’s rent stacked up to other apartments in Santa Monica, click here.