Rattling off numbers as high as $23,000, an auctioneer sporting a thick Texas accent brought in $109,295 at a U.S. Marshals Service sale of items from James "Whitey" Bulger's Santa Monica apartment, where the mobster was found hiding in 2011 after running from the law for 16 years. 
 
 The rat mug at the Bulger auction. Photographer: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg 
 
 A mug shaped like a rat went for $3,600, which came as a surprise to the marshals. The clay rodent vessel comes complete with a handful of stationery supplies owned by the Irish-American organized-crime boss, including a pair of scissors, pens, and a blue Crayola marker. The hat he was arrested in, currently in a museum, sold for $6,400. 
 
 Bulger's Psycho Killer Skull ring sold for $5,200, and a 14-karat gold, three-carat diamond Claddagh ring went for $23,000. The gold ring was one of the most intrinsically valuable items up for sale, along with a diamond engagement ring owned by Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig, which sold for $14,500. A replica of a 1986 Stanley Cup Champions ring brought a winning bid of $9,100. 
 
 Over 250 bidders participated in Saturday's auction, which allowed mafia history enthusiasts to bid online and in person at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Proceeds of the sale will go to Bulger's many victims—he was indicted in connection with 19 murders. Despite the recovery of over $800,000 in cash from his hideout and a successful auction, however, the total falls far short of the more than $25 million forfeiture judgment against the 86-year-old imprisoned felon. 
 
 Bulger's gold Claddagh ring. Photographer: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg 
 
 Ahead of the auction, Patricia Donahue said the items up for sale looked like they belonged at a yard sale. Bulger murdered her husband, Michael, in 1982. "You're talking about 20 victims here," she added. As for the profits, she said "something is better than nothing." 
 
 Outside of the jewelry, the highest-ticket items were personal effects of Bulger's, including the newspaper he was reading the day he was arrested, which sold for $500, a 1963 mug shot that went for $1,900, his punching bag, which fetched $4,900, and American mafia history books featuring marginal scribbles. On page 16 of Patrick Nee's A Criminal and an Irishman, blue cursive writing titled "Omission" describes a warning that was left out of the chapter (below). The book was part of a lot that brought in $1,900. 
 
 This June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger. Source: U.S. Marshals Service via AP Photo 
 
 In his many World War II history books, Bulger shared his thoughts on Nazis and the Holocaust. "Sad. How could any one over see and enforce this on innocent people," he wrote in The War Against the Jews. "Power is deadly." In another book, he hypothesized that the Holocaust "could happen again" and offered his opinion on "the rise of radical Islam Muslims." The marshals decided it would be in poor taste to sell Bulger's collection of Nazi memorabilia and excluded it from the auction. Undergarments and toiletries were left out as well. 
 
 Derek Saffie came to the auction to purchase books or photographs but walked away with a belt and wallet owned by Bulger, the latter engraved with his nickname, Jimmy. “It was a personal item belonging to him. It was something he had and used,” the Windham, New Hampshire, resident said. It cost Saffie $700, exactly his budget for the auction. 
 
 Most of the sale was dedicated to Bulger and Greig's many household items, including hundreds of articles of used clothing and a lumpy old couch that went for $35. A lot of four pairs of Bulger's used sneakers sold for $240, and a separate lot of 10 hats he is believed to have worn while on the lam brought $1,000. For $450, an online bidder purchased a lot including Bulger's T-shirts, sweatpants, and robe. 
 
 Bulger's notes in A Criminal and an Irishman, by Patrick Nee. Photographer: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg 
 
 With every lot now sold, the marshals don’t anticipate hosting another auction of Bulger’s assets, according to T.J. Abernathy III, assistant chief inspector of the service's asset forfeiture division. 
 
 “Overall we were pleased with the outcome," he said. "We hope this will finally be the end of the Whitey Bulger saga here in Massachusetts and for the city of Boston." ||||| Steven Davis, the brother of Debra Davis who was allegedly killed by mobster Whitey Bulger, kept track of the items sold at the auction. 
 
 Some came for the slice of local history, others showed up to support victims and their families, and one man just wanted to have a beer while wearing James “Whitey” Bulger’s slippers. 
 
 “I needed a nice pair of slippers,” said Rockland resident Richard Kemp, who spent $210 on Bulger’s used shoes and slippers Saturday at the court-ordered auction of hundreds of items belonging to Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig. “I’m gonna relax, sit around, and drink a beer in Whitey’s slippers.” 
 
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 Billy Brooks, 47, of Hingham paid $3,600 Saturday for Bulger’s rat-shaped pencil holder, one of the most coveted pieces at the auction — given the gangster’s status as a longtime FBI informant. 
 
 “It was kind of an expensive joke,” Brooks conceded. 
 
 Brooks also left the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center sporting Bulger’s replica 1986 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup championship ring on his right pinky, and the gangster’s hand-carved pine crucifix tucked under his arm. 
 
 He paid $9,100 for the ring, inscribed: “Thanks Jim, Love Chris & Karen.” 
 
 Karen Stanley, the daughter of Bulger’s other longtime girlfriend, was married to Chris Nilan, a member of the Canadiens championship team. 
 
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 The US Marshals Service, which held the auction to benefit the families of Bulger’s victims, said the total proceeds were $109,295 — with Bulger’s gold diamond claddagh ring fetching the highest price, $23,000. 
 
 Colm Dunphy, a 52-year-old Quincy real estate developer, said he bought the ring because he liked it and “It’s my birthday.” 
 
 He said the ring was the only reason he came to the auction and he was willing to spend “as much as it took.” 
 
 Most of the items were seized from the Santa Monica, Calif., apartment that Bulger and Greig shared as fugitives until their capture in June 2011 after 16 years on the run. Other items came from a London safe deposit box and homes in South Boston, Quincy, and Louisiana. 
 
 South Boston attorney Richard Lane, a close friend of Greig’s twin sister, Margaret McCusker, paid $110 for an assortment of items, including framed photographs of cats and dogs, many the beloved pets of the gangster and his girlfriend. 
 
 “I bought the cat pictures that I want to give Margaret and keep them in the family,” Lane said. “I think as you get older you try to keep whatever you can of your past that means something to you.” 
 
 He said Greig, 65, who is serving 10 years in prison for helping Bulger evade capture and contempt of court, might want the photos when she is released in 2020. 
 
 One of the framed photos is of Tiger, a stray cat that Greig doted on — drawing the attention of a neighbor who would eventually tip the FBI to their whereabouts. Bulger later lamented in a letter, “A cat got me captured.” 
 
 Lane also left the auction with Bulger’s and Greig’s black leather, reclining loveseat, purchased for $35. 
 
 There were only 75 registered bidders at the convention center, but another 225 online bidders made for a lively auction. 
 
 The highest appraised item, Greig’s diamond ring, sold to an online bidder for $14,500 — slightly below its assessed value. Another online bidder paid $6,400 for the white fisherman style hat Bulger was wearing when he was captured. 
 
 John Kelley, 54, of Andover paid $5,200 for one of the prized items at the auction: Bulger’s ”psycho killer skull ring.” He also paid $4,900 for the boxing mannequin Bulger topped with a safari hat and propped in the window of his apartment to make it appear as if someone were keeping watch; and $1,000 for 10 of Bulger’s hats. 
 
 Kelley said he bought the hats for his fiancee’s father, who is called Whitey by his family because of his strong resemblance to the 86-year-old former South Boston crime boss. 
 
 While paying for some of the items, Kelley recognized Steve Davis, whose sister was allegedly strangled by Bulger, standing a few feet away. The two men hugged after Kelley apologized for Davis’s loss and said he hoped he wasn’t offended by the auction. 
 
 “People got hurt,” Kelley said. “The money will help them out. We’re just here to support the families.” 
 
 Davis, who bid on Bulger’s walkie-talkies, coins, and some other items, said, “Basically I was just trying to boost the values up.” 
 
 Bulger, who is serving a life sentence at a federal penitentiary in Florida, was convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders while running a sprawling criminal organization. He was acquitted of seven other slayings, and jurors could not reach a decision on whether he strangled 26-year-old Debra Davis. 
 
 The money raised at the auction will be split among the families of 20 people murdered by Bulger or his crew and three Bulger extortion victims, after auction and storage costs are deducted, according to authorities. 
 
 Torrey Browne, 40, of Holbrook eyed some books in Bulger’s vast collection on war and crime. 
 
 “I’m curious to see the handwritten notes . . . to see inside the head of a killer,” said Browne, referring to Bulger’s notations in the margins. 
 
 But Browne said he had mixed feelings about purchasing them. 
 
 “I’m wary about bringing that bad Whitey mojo into my house,” he said.
– Despite being derided as "trash" and a "glorified yard sale," the belongings of infamous mob kingpin James "Whitey" Bulger fetched more than $109,000 at auction Saturday, the Boston Globe reports. According to Bloomberg, the US Marshals Service was selling the items—seized during Bulger's capture in 2011 after 16 years on the run—to benefit his victims. More than 250 "mafia history enthusiasts" and others turned out to bid. The items included a rat-shaped pen holder (fetched $3,600), the white bucket hat Bulger was wearing when he was arrested ($6,400), the newspaper he was reading right before his capture ($500), and a replica of the 1986 Stanley Cup Champions ring ($9,100). That ring was the only belonging Bulger fought with authorities to keep. But the auction also included more mundane items, Reuters reports. A punching bag, a floor safe, books on WWII with Bulger's handwritten notes, and a collection of sneakers ("You can walk in Whitey's shoes," says the auctioneer). A "lumpy old couch" was bought for $35. Left out of the auction were Bulger's toiletries, underwear, and Nazi memorabilia. The money brought in at the auction, combined with $800,000 in cash Bulger had on him during his arrest, is still far short of the $25 million he owes his victims. Nevertheless, authorities were glad to be rid of his belongings. "We hope this will finally be the end of the Whitey Bulger saga here in Massachusetts and for the city of Boston," one official tells Bloomberg. The 86-year-old former mob boss is currently serving two life sentences.