( CNN ) -- James `` Whitey '' Bulger 's defense lawyer continued hammering away at one of the government 's star witnesses in a Boston courtroom Wednesday , trying to portray the convicted killer as a pathological liar who should have called it quits and gone to the electric chair when he had the chance . `` Why not take the death penalty and get it over with ? '' Bulger attorney Hank Brennan asked Steven Flemmi . `` I was dead either way , '' responded the Bulger henchman , who has spent five days on the witness stand . Flemmi said he decided to cooperate with the government to spare his friends and family from having to suffer through endless trials : `` I took the path of least resistance . '' Key to any deal , he said , was testifying against his former crime partners . `` I was facing life-in-prison , plus 30-year consecutive sentences , plus the electric chair in two states , '' he said , describing his testimony as non-negotiable and a package deal , `` It was a global situation . '' It 's 'Whitey ' vs. 'The Rifleman ' as Bulger defense goes for top witness . Flemmi pleaded guilty in 2003 to 10 murders . Bulger 's lawyer challenged Flemmi , saying he caved because he could n't handle conditions `` in the hole '' in solitary confinement , on a cold floor in a 6-by-6-foot cell , with a Â¼-inch slit to look outside . `` I 'm a human being . I 'd like to have a chair , '' Flemmi said . When he complained about having no TV , prosecutor Fred Wyshak jumped up : `` I object . It 's not the Hilton . '' After his deal , Flemmi was moved to a more comfortable , undisclosed facility . Throughout the trial , Bulger 's lawyers have tried to show that as FBI informants , Bulger and Flemmi were protected by rogue FBI agents up and down the chain of command . Without that protection , the duo 's reign of terror would not have been as successful or lasted as long as it did , from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s . Juror weeps as witness details strangling death of woman . After he was arrested in January 1995 , Flemmi tried arguing he had been given immunity for his criminal activity by FBI agents who looked the other way . One of them , disgraced agent John Connolly , was convicted of federal and state crimes and is serving 40 years in Florida . Brennan has been relentless in his questioning of Flemmi , referring to him as a rat . `` A rat is someone who scurries around and feeds on other people , '' Brennan pointed out . Flemmi defended his relationship with the FBI , saying both sides benefited : `` It was quid pro quo , survival . '' When asked whether the FBI agent Connolly ever suggested someone be killed , Flemmi answered , `` He gave us information and we acted on it . '' U.S. District Judge Denise Casper is reviewing the 30-person witness list submitted by Bulger 's attorneys . Many can testify about Bulger 's role as an informant but not about the federal murder and racketeering charges he faces . She 's expected to rule on which witnesses are relevant to Bulger 's defense . Man who 'd been set to testify against Bulger found dead .
His partner Steven Flemmi explains why he 's working with the government . ` ` I took the path of least resistance '' to spare his family many deaths , he says . Chicago mob boss James ` ` . '' Bulger is charged with murder and racketeering .