Pictures - Funeral held for man on Bulger witness list

15.03    

Pallbearers carried the casket of Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston following his funeral. Rakes, an alleged victim of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, was found dead in Lincoln on July 17. The state medical examiner’s office was looking into the cause of death for Rakes, 59. The former liquor store owner had been a constant presence at the US District Court in South Boston during Bulger’s trial. He was on the witness list of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz but was told on July 16 that prosecutors did not plan to call him to testify.



Pallbearers leave a funeral carrying the casket of Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, Massachusetts July 25, 2013. (Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe)


Pallbearers carried the casket of Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston following his funeral. Rakes, an alleged victim of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, was found dead in Lincoln on July 17. The state medical examiner’s office was looking into the cause of death for Rakes, 59. The former liquor store owner had been a constant presence at the US District Court in South Boston during Bulger’s trial. He was on the witness list of US Attorney Carmen Ortiz but was told on July 16 that prosecutors did not plan to call him to testify.


Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe


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Mourners arrive at Gate of Heaven church in Boston's South Boston neighborhood before funeral services for Stephen "Stippo" Rakes Thursday, July 25, 2013. Authorities said a jogger discovered the body of the 59-year-old Rakes Wednesday, July 17, 2013 in the woods along a street in Lincoln, Mass. Reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger is accused of forcing Rakes and his former wife to sell their store in 1984 to use as a headquarters for his gang and as a source of legitimate income. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Mourners arrived before funeral services for Stephen "Stippo" Rakes.


Steven Senne/Associated Press


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Mourners leave a funeral for Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, Massachusetts July 25, 2013. (Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe)

Mourners left Rakes’s funeral at Gate of Heaven Church. Authorities said a jogger discovered the body of Rakes, 59, on July 17 in the woods along a street in Lincoln. Reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger is accused of forcing Rakes and his former wife to sell their liquor store in 1984 to use as a headquarters for his gang and as a source of legitimate income.


Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe


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Mourners embrace as they leave a funeral for Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, Massachusetts July 25, 2013. (Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe)

Mourners embraced as they left the funeral.


Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe


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Pallbearers leave a funeral carrying the casket of Stephen M. Rakes at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, Massachusetts July 25, 2013. (Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe)

Pallbearers carried the casket out of the church.


Jessica Rinaldi For The Boston Globe


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