Edward Brian "Balloonhead" Halloran (c. 1957-11 May 1982) was a South Boston cocaine dealer and FBI informant who was murdered by Whitey Bulger in 1982.
Biography[]
Edward Brian Halloran was born in South Boston, Massachusetts around 1957, and he became a cocaine dealer with the nickname of "Balloonhead". Halloran became an associate of the Winter Hill Gang under Whitey Bulger, and he once murdered two drug dealers in a Chinese restaurant. In 1981, he attended a dinner at a Cuban restaurant in Miami, Florida with Bulger, Kevin Weeks, Stephen Flemmi, and former World Jai Alai president John B. Callahan, where he overheard Bulger and Callahan's plan to assassinate World Jai Alai owner Roger Wheeler. Halloran was given a suitcase of $20,000 to ensure that he told nobody about the plan, but, following Wheeler's murder in June 1981, Halloran went to the FBI to testify. Halloran offered information both about the murder of Wheeler and the death of Louis Litif, which he also witnessed; however, corrupt FBI agent John Connolly accused him of being on drugs and of hoping to cover up the restaurant murders, and he cut him off when Halloran refused to take a polygraph test.
Death[]
Halloran's death
On 11 May 1982, Halloran dined at Anthony's Pier 4 on the South Boston waterfront, where he ran into old friend Michael Donahue. Donahue offered to drive Halloran home, but, as the two left in Donahue's car, Kevin Weeks signalled Bulger, who left his own car with a .30 Carbine. Bulger opened fire on the car with the carbine, killing Donahue first. Halloran attempted to back the car up, but he was shot several times through the window, and his car crashed into another parked vehicle. Halloran then exited the vehicle, and he was shot several more times before Bulger shot him once in the head with a pistol, finishing him off.