Alleged Whitey Bulger Extortion Victim Murdered

UPDATE: Police believe Rakes was poisoned. Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, who wanted to testify against reputed mob boss Jim "Whitey" Bulger, was found dead in Lincoln, Mass. in July.

UPDATE: Investigators believe Rakes was murdered over a land deal gone bad.

JUST IN: death of former alleged #Bulger extortion victim Steven Rakes, thought to be murder - unconnected to Whitey case.

Jim Armstrong

@JimArmstrongWBZ

JUST IN: death of former alleged #Bulger extortion victim Steven Rakes, thought to be murder - unconnected to Whitey case.

correction: Rakes was OWED money, allegedly poisoned by debtor with a cyanide-laced McDonalds iced coffee. Suspect in court later today.

Jim Armstrong

@JimArmstrongWBZ

correction: Rakes was OWED money, allegedly poisoned by debtor with a cyanide-laced McDonalds iced coffee. Suspect in court later today.

A Sudbury man, William Camuti, faces attempted murder charges in Rakes death. Owed Rakes $ over a land deal, it sounds like....

Jim Armstrong

@JimArmstrongWBZ

A Sudbury man, William Camuti, faces attempted murder charges in Rakes death.

Owed Rakes $ over a land deal, it sounds like....

Prosecutors say Camuti put cyanide in Rakes' Mcdonald's iced coffee (!), drove him around until he died, and dumped his body.

Jim Armstrong

@JimArmstrongWBZ

Prosecutors say Camuti put cyanide in Rakes' Mcdonald's iced coffee (!), drove him around until he died, and dumped his body.

A body found early Thursday on a trail in Lincoln, Mass., is believed to be Stephen Rakes, an alleged extortion victim who wanted to testify against Whitey Bulger, ABC News reports.

Rakes' cause of death is unknown at this time.

Rakes wanted to testify that Bulger and partner Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi threatened his daughter at gunpoint and forced him to turn over his liquor store to Bulger's Winter Hill gang.

Despite his desire to testify, there were multiple reports this week that Rakes was removed from the witness list this week by the prosecution. The decision devastated Rakes according to a friend.

In 2102, Rakes detailed in an interview how Bulger and his gang threatened his family and stole his business.

Via boston.cbslocal.com

The news of Rakes' death comes on the same day that Flemmi takes the stand to testify against his former associate Bulger.

Rakes reportedly lived in constant fear of Bulger and Flemmi for 17 years, saying they were "willing to kill anybody." Rakes was so convinced the duo was stalking him that he once ran into a Boston subway tunnel, suffering electrical shocks as he fled.

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