Gerard O'Neill

Gerard Michael O'Neill (September 1, 1942 – August 22, 2019) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and writer. A long time investigative reporter for The Boston Globe, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting three times.

This article is about the journalist. For the physicist and space activist, see Gerard K. O'Neill.

Gerard O'Neill
Born
Gerard Michael O'Neill

(1942-09-01)September 1, 1942
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 22, 2019(2019-08-22) (aged 76)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist, editor
Spouse(s)
Janet Reardon
​
(m. 1968)​
Children2

Life and career

Born in Boston, O'Neill graduated from Stoughton High School and Stonehill College; earning a degree in English at the latter institution in 1964.[1] He attended George Washington University Law School before earning a master's degree in journalism from Boston University in 1970.[1] For 35 years he was an investigative reporter and editor for The Boston Globe, and was notably one of the three original reporters on the Globe's " Spotlight" team.[1] He was first awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 1970 for a major investigation of corruption in Somerville, Massachusetts; an award he would receive two more times during his career.[2]

O'Neill's most notable piece of investigative reporting was in 1988 when he and journalist Dick Lehr published a story revealing that mobster Whitey Bulger was an FBI informant while still actively committing crimes. The two men would go on to write three books together, including two about Mr. Bulger: “Black Mass: The Irish Mob, the FBI, and a Devil’s Deal” (2000) and “Whitey: The Life of America’s Most Notorious Mob Boss” (2013).[1] The former book was an Edgar Award[3] winner, and was made into a 2015 movie starring Johnny Depp as Bulger.[1][2]

O'Neill died on August 22, 2019 from interstitial lung disease at his home in Needham, a close-in suburb of Boston.[1]

References
  1. Seelye, Katharine Q. (August 23, 2019). "Gerard O'Neill, Boston Globe Investigative Reporter, Dies at 76". The New York Times.
  2. Marquard, Bryan (August 23, 2019). "Gerard O'Neill, Spotlight editor who defined investigative reporting in Boston, dies at 76". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  3. Leckey, Susan (2015). The Europa Directory of Literary Awards and Prizes. Routledge. p. 231. ISBN 9781135356323.


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