( CNN ) -- Charges against a man accused of killing an alleged Whitey Bulger extortion victim have been upgraded to murder , according to a press release from the Middlesex , Massachusetts , District Attorney 's Office . A grand jury indicted William Camuti , 69 , in the death of Stephen Rakes , 59 , on Friday , according to the press release . The Massachusetts Medical Examiner 's Office determined in October the cause of Rakes ' death was acute cyanide poisoning , according to MaryBeth Long , a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney 's Office . Camuti previously confessed to putting potassium cyanide in an iced coffee that he provided to Rakes , according to testimony by Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Banks at a hearing in Concord District Court on September 10 . In a phone call on July 16 , Camuti asked Rakes to meet him about a potential investment property in Wilmington , officials said . `` The defendant lured the victim to a meeting at which they were to discuss a business deal , '' Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a press release . `` Instead the defendant used the meeting as an occasion to serve the victim a poisoned iced coffee . '' Rakes took a sip and decided the coffee tasted too bitter . Camuti then drove him around the cities of Waltham , Woburn , Burlington and Lincoln for several hours until he `` succumbed to ... ingesting '' the cyanide , Banks testified . Rakes reportedly had been an extortion victim of Bulger 's and learned shortly before his death that prosecutors no longer planned to call him to testify , a friend said . The day Rakes met with Camuti , surveillance video showed Rakes leaving the federal courthouse where he regularly attended Bulger 's murder trial . Rakes appeared to be wearing the same clothing in which his body was found , according to authorities . The two men met that afternoon in a McDonald 's in Waltham , where officials say Camuti bought two iced coffees , laced one with two teaspoons of potassium cyanide and gave it to Rakes . Potassium cyanide interferes with the body 's ability to use oxygen , and exposure to it can be rapidly fatal , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Investigators said Camuti dumped Rakes ' body in a wooded area , where it was found the next day . CNN 's requests for comment from Camuti 's attorney were not immediately returned . In August , Camuti pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder , misleading police and unlawful disposition of human remains . He is being held without bail . Bulger , an Irish mob boss in Boston , was found guilty in August on 31 of 32 counts , including extortion , money laundering , drug dealing and weapons possession . A federal jury held Bulger responsible for the murders of 11 people . CNN 's Lawrence Crook III and Laura Ly contributed to this report .
William Camuti is indicted in the death of Stephen Rakes . Rakes reportedly was extorted by mobster Whitey Bulger . - March 14, 1992 :