Whitey Bulger jailhouse letters show deteriorating health

FILE - This June 23, 2011, file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger. Jailhouse letters from the late Boston gangster highlight his will to live despite deteriorating health including eight heart attacks. The letters provided to The Boston Globe by a California woman he corresponded with appear to contradict federal officials who have said Bulger’s health had dramatically improved, making him eligible for a transfer to a West Virginia prison where he was killed. Bulger was 89 when he was fatally beaten last October. (U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File)

BOSTON – Jailhouse letters from late Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger appear to contradict federal officials who said his health had dramatically improved, making him eligible for a transfer to the West Virginia prison where he was killed.

The letters provided to The Boston Globe by a California woman he corresponded with highlight a will to live despite deteriorating health, including eight heart attacks.

Bulger was 89 when he was fatally beaten last October. Other inmates are under suspicion, although no charges have been filed.

In one letter dated February 2018, Bulger wrote, "Don't worry about me ... I'm too mean to die."

He also wrote he wanted to live long enough to again see his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, with whom he spent 17 years on the run before their 2011 capture.