Disgraced FBI agent Connolly pushes for prison release

John Connolly, the disgraced former FBI agent from Southie who was corrupted by criminal kingpinJames “Whitey” Bulger, is pushing to be released from prison as a Floridacourt mulls a state appeal of the reversal of his second degree murder conviction.

One of his attorneys, James McDonald, confirmed to the Metro that Connolly, a Boston College alum, this week filed a request with the Florida Supreme Court to be released from prison this week.

McDonald expects a Florida court to weigh in on the release request within the next two weeks.

“We’re pretty confident John will prevail,” said McDonald. “He’s no threat to the community. Right now he’s in jail for a conviction that’s been reversed.”

He called the Miami Dade Office of the State Attorney’s appeal of the reversal, which came last May, “meritless.”

In its May ruling, a three judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned Connolly’s conviction, saying the conviction was barred because of the statute of limitations.

Prosecutors subsequently appealed and the case is now before the full 3rd District Court of Appeal, meaning 10 judges will review the matter, according to the state attorney’s office.

Following his 2005 indictment, Connolly was sentenced to 40 years for the 1982 murder of gambling executive John Callahan in Miami. Florida prosecutors had argued that Bulger met with his cronies, including Connolly, several times to discuss killing Callahan over the sale of World Jai Alai.

During court testimony last year,John Martarano, one of Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang associates, admitted to fatally shooting Callahan.

Connolly’s connection with Bulger marks one of the FBI’s darkest chapters in its history.

Calls to the Boston and Miami offices of the U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately returned on Wednesday.