Massachusetts man convicted of killing Whitey Bulger victim loses appeal in Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on Apr 9, 2025

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BOSTON — A man convicted of killing a Whitey Bulger extortion victim by putting cyanide potassium in his coffee has lost his appeal in front of the state’s Supreme Judicial Court.

William Camuti was sentenced to life in prison several years ago for the first-degree murder of Stephen Rakes, who was scheduled to testify in Bulger’s federal trial in 2013.

During the Bulger trial that July, Camuti killed Rakes when they were meeting in Waltham over a business deal. Authorities say Camuti gave Rakes an iced coffee laced with potassium cyanide, and dumped his body in a wooded area.

Now more than a decade later, Camuti called on the Supreme Judicial Court to order a new trial or reduce his conviction of first-degree murder to a lesser degree.

“The defendant raises two principal claims in this direct appeal from his convictions,” the SJC wrote in its ruling on Wednesday. “First, he argues that certain evidence should have been suppressed at trial because it was the product of unconstitutional searches conducted pursuant to warrants not supported by probable cause.

“Second, he contends that statements he made during two police interviews also should have been suppressed, because the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt both that his waivers of his Miranda rights were voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, and that the statements themselves were voluntary,” the SJC added. “We discern no error in the denial of the defendant’s motions to suppress.”

The justices affirmed the convictions, and declined Camuti’s request for a new trial.

Rakes had hoped to testify in Bulger’s 2013 trial but wasn’t called by prosecutors. Bulger was sentenced to two life terms in the racketeering case.

Authorities say Rakes’ death was the result of a business dispute, and was not tied to the Bulger case.

Camuti and Rakes had been friends for about 30 years, and worked on real estate ventures together. During the Bulger trial, they met at a Waltham fast food spot for iced coffee. Camuti reportedly owed Rakes about $100,000 at the time.

Camuti reportedly told detectives that “he had put cyanide potassium in the victim’s coffee at the Waltham restaurant; that the victim thereafter died in the defendant’s car; and that he had driven around with the victim’s body for the rest of the day,” according to the court.

A search of Camuti’s computer turned up more than 100 results for the term “cyanide.” These included a webpage that contained a detailed answer to the query, “Can I mix potassium or potassium cyanide in hot coffee or hot tea and drink it? Will it work?”

The SJC ended up disagreeing with Camuti’s argument to suppress the evidence obtained from searches of his residence, vehicle, cell phone, and cell phone records. The justices also ruled against him about suppressing statements he made to police from his hospital bed.

The SJC wrote, “... The totality of the circumstances demonstrates that the defendant’s waivers of his Miranda rights were voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, and that his statements were voluntary.”

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