Boston ( CNN ) -- A federal judge on Thursday denied a petition of James `` Whitey '' Bulger to consolidate two pending racketeering cases against the reputed mobster , ruling in favor of prosecutors ' requests to dismiss the lesser 1994 indictment in an effort to focus on 19 murder charges . Interim defense attorney Peter Krupp had requested the merger , which prosecutors argued was meant to complicate the more severe charges that Bulger faces . Krupp had accused federal prosecutors of dropping the less serious charge in order to `` game the system '' and allow a different judge to hear the case . The racketeering indictment , filed in 1995 , had been assigned to U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf . The murder charges are part of a case brought in 2000 and assigned to a different judge . `` The government 's apparent forum shopping is contrary to the public interest and undermines public confidence in the judicial process , '' Krupp argued . `` The government 's actions , choosing to pursue a new indictment , rather than a superseding indictment before this Court , reflect a manipulation of the case . '' he said . Wolf ruled against Krupp 's request during the first of two hearings Thursday afternoon in Boston . In a second hearing , Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler appointed prominent defense attorney J.W . Carney Jr. as Bulger 's public defender after it became clear the accused mobster lacked the resources to pay for his own attorney . Carney said the case represented `` a daunting task , but we 're up for it . '' Prosecutors -- who said FBI agents seized more than $ 822,000 in cash from Bulger 's Santa Monica , California , apartment -- said he should have picked up his own legal tab . `` He has every incentive to lie and stick the taxpayers with the bill for his defense , '' prosecutors wrote in court papers filed Tuesday . They said Bulger has admitted to stashing more money away with `` people he trusted '' but would not name , and suggested that Bulger 's brother William could pay for a lawyer . Clad in an orange jumpsuit and flanked by two security guards , Bulger was escorted off a helicopter at Logan International Airport in Boston and then ushered to a van that brought the alleged mobster to court . The helicopter brought Bulger to Boston from a jail in Plymouth , Massachusetts , where he was being held . His arraignment is set for July 6 . Bulger 's attorneys have also argued that leaks about the case endanger the former fugitive 's right to a fair trial on murder charges . `` If it is now possible -- and Mr. Bulger seriously questions whether it will be possible -- for Mr. Bulger to receive a fair trial , law enforcement leaks of nonpublic information must end , with disclosures of information limited to the judicial process , '' Krupp wrote . In an affidavit unsealed by a judicial order , U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said the leaks issue was a `` grave concern . '' She said law enforcement agencies must ensure no information is released prior to introduction in court . Ortiz also indicated she may call for an investigation into the matter . Prosecutors say the 81-year-old Bulger was the boss of South Boston 's Irish mob before he fled an impending racketeering indictment in 1995 . At the same time , he was an FBI informant whose handler tipped him off about the charges -- a tale that became the basis for the Oscar-winning crime drama `` The Departed . '' Bulger was arrested last week in California , along with his longtime girlfriend , 60-year-old Catherine Elizabeth Greig . She has been charged with harboring a fugitive . His brother , William , is a former president of the University of Massachusetts and a state Senate leader . He was forced to step down from his university job after then-Gov . Mitt Romney , now a Republican presidential candidate , accused him of being evasive during congressional testimony about the whereabouts of his brother , `` Whitey . '' Bulger lived `` a relatively comfortable lifestyle '' for the 16 years he was a fugitive , taking numerous gambling trips to Las Vegas , according to a government document filed in his case . Prosecutors say Bulger waived his Miranda rights after his arrest and told agents who were taking him back to Boston that he had been `` a frequent traveler as a fugitive , '' according to the government . `` Bulger acknowledged visiting Las Vegas on numerous occasions to play the slots and claimed he won more than he lost , '' the filing said . `` Bulger also admitted traveling to San Diego and then crossing over into Tijuana to purchase medicines . '' Bulger also told the feds that he traveled back to Boston `` on several occasions while 'armed to the teeth ' because he 'had to take care of some unfinished business , ' '' the document said . Bulger refused to tell the agents any details of his Boston visits , it said . CNN 's Sheila Steffen and Jason Kessler contributed to this report .
A judge appointed Bulger . Bulger as Carney Jr. 's public defender . Bulger 's arraignment is set for 2000 . A judge denied a petition to combine 19 pending racketeering cases . The judge ruled in favor of a prosecutor 's request to dismiss a lesser indictment .