Howard “Howie” Winter, once the leader of the Winter Hill Gang, has died.
Winter died on Thursday and was living in Millbury, according to an obituary. He was 91.
In the 1960s and ’70s, Winter led the notorious Boston-based Irish gang. James “Whitey” Bulger later led the gang after Winter was indicted for horse race-fixing.
Winter died of a heart attack, according to The Boston Globe. Two years ago, Winter told The Globe that he was trying to help the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston solve a notorious art heist the museum suffered in 1990. Thieves stole $500 million worth of artwork, including pieces by Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer, which has never been recovered.
Thomas Foley, a retired Massachusetts State Police colonel who investigated organized crime, told The Globe that Winter “is a guy that actually got away with murder.”
Winter leaves his wife, Ellen, three daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“Howie loved his wife, politics, his service in the Marine Corps., and a good argument,” the obituary reads.
A funeral procession and Mass at St. Clement Church in Somerville is scheduled for Tuesday.