Trial For Man Accused Of Murdering Whitey Bulger Extortion Victim Starts

SUDBURY, MA—The murder trial began this week for William Camuti, accused of killing an alleged extortion victim of Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.

William Camuti, 72, of Sudbury, is on trial for the murder of Stephen Rakes of Quincy, whom he is accused of poisoning to get out of a debt.

Camuti is accused of lacing Rakes's iced coffee during at business meeting at McDonald's in Waltham in the summer of 2013, a poison which ultimately killed him during a ride in Camuti's car.

In what would be deemed a bizarre coincidence, Rakes was found murdered shortly after being told he wouldn't be called to testify in the Bulger case. Rakes had planned to testify that Bulger had stolen his liquor store in South Boston, reports The Boston Globe. Prosecutors contend that the murder was related to owing $100,000 to Rakes, and that money was the only motive.

In February of 2014, Camuti pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. According to prosecutors, the murder was not related to the Bulger case, but rather a business dispute.

In November of 2013, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced that charges against Camuti were upgraded to murder when a Middlesex Grand Jury indicted him on Nov. 15. On October 3, Camuti was indicted on charges of attempted murder, misleading police, and unlawful disposition of human remains.

The body of Rakes was found in a wooded area off of Mill Street in Lincoln. The medical examiner later ruled that the cause of death with cyanide poisoning.

Camuti was the owner of The Loan Depot in the 1990s and was convicted of mail fraud in 1993, according to The Globe. A lawyer for Camuti said that his client's admission of guilt isn't valid because it wasn't recorded, and there are no witnesses or physical evidence of the murder.

The jury on Friday was expected to visit physical locations connected to the murder.

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