Former Boston gangster John “Red” Shea has a blunt message for the informants who have built YouTube careers out of their criminal pasts: they are still rats, and no amount of storytelling changes that. Shea, who ran drug operations for infamous Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger, spent 12 years in prison without ever cooperating with authorities. He faced 20 years to life when he was indicted, yet refused to become an informant, even as many of his associates — including Bulger himself, Stephen Flemmi, Kevin Weeks, and Johnny Martorano — eventually worked with the government. In a recent interview, Shea discussed his life working for Bulger, a man who had secretly been an FBI informant for decades.
He also shared his views on what happens to informants in prison and offered sharp criticism of former mobsters who now profit from telling their stories publicly, including Sammy “The Bull” Gravano and Michael Franzese. Shea explained that informants are typically kept out of general prison population, housed instead in what he called “cheese factories” alongside other cooperators. He argued that a well-known informant placed among men serving hard time without cooperating would not survive long. He pointed to Bulger as an example, noting that he had warned on CNN that Bulger would not last a day if placed in general population.
In 2018, at age 89, Bulger was killed at a West Virginia prison shortly after being transferred there. A Genovese crime family associate, Freddy Geas, was allegedly involved in the killing. Asked how he felt when he learned Bulger had been killed, Shea said he was upset — not because Bulger was dead, but because he was not the one who did it. Shea also recalled how Bulger and Flemmi maintained their power while secretly informing for the FBI.
He described them as “top echelon informants” who played the game like chess. He remembered a court tape from the Italian mob era in which Angiulo, then in charge, said Whitey and Stevie would kill anybody they wanted. All the while, Shea said, the two were informing to the government against everyone around them. He described the corruption he witnessed firsthand.
When federal agencies planned to target Irish gangsters in Boston for drug offenses, Shea said the FBI’s second-in-command received a heads-up that the men being targeted were their own informants. A call was made to Boston to warn them. That, Shea said, is how Whitey knew everything — and why he did not want Shea to leave the operation. Shea believes Bulger gave him up as a way to satisfy investigators, knowing Shea would take the punishment rather than cooperate.
Shea was particularly critical of former mobsters who have turned to podcasts and social media to reframe their stories. He dismissed their excuses for cooperating. Gravano, he noted, has claimed he turned against John Gotti because Gotti had wronged him. Shea countered that he was also badmouthed by his own people and still did not become an informant.
He added that Gravano ratted in multiple trials against different mafia families and convicted more than two dozen people who had nothing to do with the Gotti case. He also brought up a recent incident involving another former mob figure who threatened a podcaster on social media, saying he would shoot the man in the head with a nail gun. After the podcaster reportedly shared his address, that same former mobster quickly called federal authorities and claimed his life was in danger. Shea mocked the contradiction between the tough talk and the fear.
Shea said people like that will never appear on his podcast, which he described as being about integrity. On Francese, who has built a successful public speaking and media career, Shea claimed Francese learned the gas tax scheme from Russian mobsters he was imprisoned with, rather than running it himself. His central point was simple: being somebody means accepting full responsibility for your actions and keeping your mouth shut. He reserved his respect for the men still doing time who never informed on anyone and have no voice because they remain locked up.
Shea has chronicled his own experiences in a book called “Rat Bastards” and now runs a YouTube channel where he discusses his life in the Boston underworld.