Boston ( CNN ) -- Reputed mobster James `` Whitey '' Bulger wants a judge to clamp down on leaks from federal agents about his case , arguing Tuesday they 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 non-public information must end , with disclosures of information limited to the judicial process , '' his interim attorney , Peter Krupp , wrote . 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 . '' U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf issued no rulings during Tuesday 's brief hearing , which is scheduled to reconvene Thursday afternoon . But he told prosecutors to submit a plan for stopping any leaks by Wednesday . Bulger was arrested last week in California , along with his longtime girlfriend , 60-year-old Catherine Elizabeth Greig . He now faces 19 counts of murder , while she has been charged with harboring a fugitive . Bulger appeared in court in orange jail coveralls Tuesday . He has asked for a public defender , but prosecutors -- who said FBI agents seized more than $ 822,000 in cash from Bulger 's Santa Monica apartment -- say he should pick 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 . William Bulger is a former president of the University of Massachusetts and 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 `` Whitey 's '' whereabouts . Prosecutors asked Wolf to require both William Bulger and a third Bulger brother , John Bulger , to submit affidavits before a decision is made . Bulger also asked the judge to order federal agents to turn over notes of their interviews with him following his capture , arguing the documents are needed to defend himself against charges that he has hidden assets and will assist his defense . 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 . Ahead of Tuesday 's hearing , prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss Bulger from the earlier racketeering indictment . Those counts included allegations that Bulger and his associates engaged in loan sharking , shaking down bookies and drug dealers , and attempting to fix horse races . The murder case against him `` not only carries higher penalties , but is stronger both factually and legally than this matter , '' prosecutors wrote . Meanwhile , two key witnesses have died , and Bulger 's status as an informant has complicated the case , they wrote . But Krupp called the move `` troubling , '' suggesting the government was `` forum-shopping '' by trying to drop the earlier case . Wolf told Krupp he would be handling the issue for Bulger until a decision was made on his request for a court-appointed lawyer . CNN 's Sheila Steffen contributed to this report .
NEW : Bulger argues leaks endanger a fair trial . The 81-year-old reputed mobster was a fugitive for 16 years . He is serving life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to racketeering and murder charges last year. He was back in court Tuesday and wants a public defender .