Massachusetts man convicted of killing Whitey Bulger victim loses SJC appeal

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 During the Bulger trial that July Camuti killed Rakes when they were meeting in Waltham over a business deal Executives 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 declares 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 trial but wasn t called by prosecutors Bulger was sentenced to two life terms in the racketeering circumstance Officials say Rakes death was the consequence of a business dispute and was not tied to the Bulger matter Camuti and Rakes had been friends for about 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 at the time Camuti reportedly notified 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 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 bus 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