James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. (born September 3, 1929) is a former organized crime figure from South Boston. Local folklore depicted Bulger as a Robin Hood–style social bandit dedicated to protecting the neighborhood and its residents.Bulger allegedly masterminded a protection racket targeting drug kingpins and those running illegal gambling operations.

Bulger's father, James Joseph Bulger, Sr., was from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. After settling in the North End, Boston James Sr. married Jane Veronica "Jean" McCarthy, a first generation Irish-American. Their first child, James Joseph Bulger, Jr. was born in 1929.

The elder Bulger worked as a union laborer and occasional longshoreman; however, he lost his arm in an industrial accident and the family was reduced to poverty.In May 1938, the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Project, now known as Old Harbor Village public housing project, was opened in South Boston. The Bulger family moved in and the children grew up there. The other Bulger children, William Michael and John P. Bulger, excelled at school; James Bulger, Jr. became drawn into street life.