Fugitive Crime Boss Arrested In California

Notorious Boston crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger, who has been on the run for over a decade, has been caught in California.

The 81-year-old was arrested without incident at a house in Santa Monica with his girlfriend Catherine Greig, the FBI said.

It comes just days after the agency renewed its public campaign to capture Bulger, launching a TV advert focusing on his partner.

Bulger was wanted on 19 counts of murder, drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy.

A $2m reward had been offered for information leading to his arrest after he was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999.

Bulger is the older brother of William 'Billy' Bulger, a former president of the Massachusetts State Senate.

He has been the subject of several books and was the inspiration for the 2006 Martin Scorsese film The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.

The leader of the Winter Hill Gang, Bulger went on the run in January 1995 after being tipped off by a former Boston FBI agent he was about to be charged.

Bulger was a top FBI informant and over the years the agency faced repeared claims it not tried very hard to find him.

He became a huge source of embarrassment for the agency after the extent of his crimes and the FBI's role in overlooking them became public.

The last confirmed sighting of him and long-term girlfriend Greig was in London in September 2002.