Massachusetts to face charges.

James ” Whitey” Bulger appeared in federal court Thursday in Los Angeles with his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, who was also remanded to Boston, Massachusetts to face charges.

U.S. authorities arrested Bulger and Greig late Wednesday in an apartment in the town of Santa Monica, California near Los Angeles. He had been on the run for more than 16 years.

The 81-year-old man was the leader of the violent Winter Hill Gang in Boston. It was a largely Irish mob that ran several criminal ventures. He fled in 1995 after being told by a former FBI agent that he was about to be charged.

Bulger was once an FBI informant. He provided the law enforcement agency with tips about his gang's main rival, the New England Mob.

His legend as a fugitive grew over the years. Many books have been written about him, and he was the inspiration for a character played by actor Jack Nicholson in the 2006 film, “The Departed.”

The arrest of Bulger and the 60-year-old Greig came less than two days after the FBI sparked new interest in the case by using a 30-second television ad aimed at women around Greig's age, to determine her whereabouts and ultimately his.