Keller @ Large: Pay Attention To The Whitey Bulger Trial

BOSTON (CBS) - The trial of Whitey Bulger has begun and it's going to be with us all summer long and probably into the fall.

To those who have been obsessed with this case for years, it's like the World Series, Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals rolled into one. But even if you haven't been following it, this trial is a major news story that deserves your closest attention.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

For starters, it's about justice for a creature who, if the mountain of evidence and testimony against him stands up in court, is one of the most vicious predators and serial killers in our nation's history.

The murders, the rapes, the seizure of property and businesses, that's just part of the sheer terror Bulger allegedly inflicted on our community. Don't forget the shots fired into the Boston Globe building, and the firebombing of the John F. Kennedy birthplace in Brookline, both said to be the product of Bulger's opposition to school desegregation.

And then there were the allegedly respectable pillars of the community – journalists, politicians, priests, and others - who covered for Bulger, and perpetuated the repulsive myth of him as Southie's very own Robin Hood.

But Bulger isn't the only one on trial here. The corruption of the FBI agents and others in law enforcement who let Bulger run wild and enabled his escape continues to poison the well of public confidence and relations among police agencies.

If the charges against him are true, Whitey Bulger may have done more damage to a great American city than any single person in history.

So give this trial your attention. If justice can't be done here, when can it ever be done?

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.