The retired FBI agent who led the hunt for Whitey Bulger will tell the story of capturing the mob boss at Temple Emanuel in Andover on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Rich Teahan, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, and Boston 25 News investigative journalist Bob Ward will discuss their book, Face to Face with Whitey Bulger: An FBI Agent's Account of Capturing and Debriefing Boston's Most Notorious Gangster, at the temple's Brotherhood breakfast series. The event, titled "Whitey and Whitefish," runs from 9:15 a.m. to noon in the Social Hall and is open to the public.

The program is the season opener for the Brotherhood breakfast series, which organizers say "offers a departure from our traditional programming."

Teahan commanded the Whitey Bulger Task Force during the 16-year international manhunt for the mob boss. He helped devise the roughly $50,000 public service TV announcement that led the FBI to the Santa Monica, California, apartment complex where Bulger was hiding with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

That announcement, according to Boston 25 News, aired in 14 media markets on June 20, 2011. A tip came in two days later, and Bulger was captured.

Teahan then conducted what the book's publisher describes as the only law enforcement interview Bulger ever granted. It lasted roughly six hours aboard a Justice Department jet flying Bulger back to Boston.

"He tried to control the conversation the whole time," Teahan said on a May 2026 Boston 25 News podcast. "What struck me about him was how articulate he was, high IQ, but very very very narcissistic, extremely so."

Ward, who has covered the Bulger saga for Boston 25 News for 30 years across a four-decade career, co-wrote the 254-page book with Teahan. Exposit Books, the true crime imprint of McFarland Books, published it in April 2026.

The breakfast event was announced by Andover News on Oct. 5. Admission is free for current Brotherhood members and $15 per person for all others. Temple Emanuel encourages advance registration so organizers can plan the food. Details and sign-up are available at templeemanuel.net.

The Brotherhood breakfast series continues through the season. Future dates are posted at templeemanuel.net.