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LOWELL, Mass. - University of Massachusetts president William Bulger resigned Wednesday after months of mounting pressure over his role in the federal investigation of his fugitive mobster brother.
The school's board of trustees immediately voted to accept the resignation, which is effective Sept. 1, and agreed to a severance package worth close to $1-million.
"I increasingly believe that the university and the board of trustees should not be subjected to further assaults. I hope that the step I take today will be helpful in our effort to provide a measure of protection for the university," Bulger said.
The departure came just two months after UMass trustees expressed confidence in Bulger even as a storm of protest swirled around him and his testimony before a congressional committee investigating the FBI's ties to its mob informants.
He testified under immunity before the panel in June about his brother, James "Whitey" Bulger, who has been a fugitive since 1995. Whitey Bulger fled just before his indictment on federal charges related to 21 murders.
While admitting he had spoken to his brother once since he fled, Bulger said he has no idea where he is and said there is little he could have done to steer him from a life of crime. Whitey Bulger is on the FBI's "10 Most Wanted" list.
William Bulger also said he thought the FBI investigators were trying to get his brother killed when they leaked to the media that Whitey Bulger had been an informant.
Bulger's critics said his testimony was evasive and questioned how he could be so ignorant of his brother's criminal activities.
Bulger is a legendary political figure in Massachusetts, where he carved out a reputation as a powerful force during his unprecedented 17 years as the president of the state Senate.
Part of the intrigue surrounding Bulger is centered on his relationship with his brother - how the two men emerged from a poor South Boston background and ended up on different paths in adulthood.
During his appearance before the congressional committee, Bulger talked publicly for the first time about the brief telephone conversation he had with his brother after he fled. But he said they never discussed whether Whitey Bulger should turn himself in and he never advised his brother to stay away.
"It was a conversation of about three or four minutes," Bulger said. "The tone of it was "Don't believe everything that is being said about me' ... I think he asked me to tell everybody he was okay. ... I think I said I hope this has a happy ending."
In the past year, pressure has mounted against Bulger. Republican Gov. Mitt Romney has urged Bulger to resign - as did the state's highest-elected Democrat, Attorney General Thomas Reilly.
Bulger, who became UMass president in 1996, was paid $309,000 in salary and $48,000 in benefits. He contract was to expire in 2007.