Community Corner
Car of Alleged Bulger Extortion Victim Car Found At Waltham Fast Food Spot, Sources Say
Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, 59, was told Tuesday he wouldn't be called to testify in Bulger's trial. He was found dead Wednesday.
UPDATED, 6:07 p.m.: According to WHDH-TV, Lincoln Police on Thursday questioned a bank teller near where Rakes' car was found about surveillance footage that could have captured whoever left the car at the eatery. Also, McDonald's has an exterior video camera that investigators could recover footage from for their investigation.
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UPDATED, 3:39 p.m.: A Waltham mechanic told Waltham Patch he saw police locate Rakes' car at the McDonald's on Main Street on Thursday.
Dmitry Belanov, a mechanic at Watch City Petro gas station, said he saw plain clothes officers arrive at the McDonald's lot at around 12 p.m. The police spent about two hours examining the parked car, a white minivan, he said. The car was later towed away. Belanov said police did not question him.
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At the time, Belanov said, he didn't know it was Rakes' car. Belanov said he believed the car had been there since he least 9 a.m. when arrived for work.
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Find out what's happening in Walthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A tow truck operator reportedly told WBZ where the vehicle was found.
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UPDATED: According to WCVB-TV, the car, a white Dodge minivan, was found parked somewhere in Waltham.
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The car of Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, one of James "Whitey" Bulger's most vocal alleged victims, has been located in Waltham, according to WBZ.
Rakes' body was discovered in the Mill Street area of Lincoln Wendesday, just a day after he was told he would not be testifying in the trial of the reported mobster, according to Somerville Patch.
Thursday, Phillip W.d. Martin with WGBH tweeted that authorities were searching for Rakes' vehicle, which he understood to be a white Chevy Malibu.
In a statement, the district attorney's office said Wednesday, "There were no obvious signs of trauma [to Rake's body]. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death."
The investigation is ongoing.
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