(Boston, Massachusetts) The FBI is celebrating the 79th birthday of a Mafia killer by doubling the reward for information leading to his arrest.

The bureau now has a $2 million bounty on the head of “Whitey” Bulger. Bulger was the head of Boston’s notorious Winter Hill Gang but disappeared in 1995 after he was tipped off by a former FBI agent that he was about to be indicted on federal racketeering charges.

Police later charged him in absentia in connection with 19 murders and placed him on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list, right under Osama bin Laden.

For 30 years, Bulger has eluded law enforcement.  A master of disguise described as “a human chameleon,” there have been unconfirmed sightings of Bulger in more than 30 countries.

His age and his average, non-distinct looks have helped him blend in wherever he is. FBI wanted posters describe Bulger as between five-foot-seven and five-foot-nine, between 150 and 160 pounds, with a medium build, blue eyes and thinning white or silver hair. 

Sounds like the man next door? He could be -   over the years the FBI has issued several alerts to the worldwide gay community.

In 2001, police in Tulsa, Okla. – where Bulger was charged, but never arrested, in the 1981 murder of a local businessman – first warned that Bulger has “an affinity” for the gay community and could be hiding in any gay neighborhood in America or Canada.

Bulger has long-running ties to the gay community.

In the 60s and 70s, Bulger was the reputed owner of two Boston gay clubs, although his name never appeared on the clubs’ liquor licenses.

Boston police also say he was a regular in those years at Jacques, a third gay club. He reportedly made casual friendships with a number of gays who unaware of who he was.

Why he preferred to hangout at Jacques has remained another of the mysteries surrounding Bulger. Most other mobsters at the time frequented Italian social clubs in Boston’s North End.

Bulger apparently planned for life on the run by leaving cash in safe deposit boxes around the world, including Florida, Ireland, England and Canada, authorities said.

Despite conducting more than 50 interviews with political opponents, former college classmates and even folks who happen to live next door to the governor’s mansion, federal agents conducting a background check in 1982 couldn’t find anything bad to say about him.

Dreyfus, a moderate Republican and one of Wisconsin’s most beloved politicians, died Jan. 2 at age 81. He served as governor from 1979 to 1983. The FBI records were released to The Associated Press under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The background check was done when Dreyfus was being considered for an appointment by then-President Ronald Reagan to the federal Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, which hands out large awards to college students entering graduate school.

It’s unusual for someone serving in such a high political office to be so well liked. Dreyfus had plenty of chances to attract enemies as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1967 to 1979 during the turbulent Vietnam War era.

And yet, nothing.

“All persons interviewed highly recommended him for a position of trust and responsibility,” concluded a summary of the investigation sent to Fred Fielding, then legal counsel to Reagan. Fielding now serves as President Bush’s legal counsel.

The most negative comments in the report come from an unnamed political opponent who criticized Dreyfus as not being a “tough businessman.” Even so, the person said Dreyfus was likable and had no objections to the appointment.

A number of other prominent state and federal politicians, business leaders, federal judges and state Supreme Court justices were interviewed but have their names blocked out, presumably because they are still alive. But none of them had anything negative to say.

Despite his popularity, Dreyfus decided not to seek re-election as governor after serving one term. One of his most lasting achievements was signing a gay rights measure that made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment and public accommodations.

The FBI report, compiled just two months after Dreyfus signed that historic legislation, doesn’t specifically mention it. But it does say “Dreyfus urged Republicans to open their doors to people who had too long been excluded from party affairs – women, minorities, urban workers and students.”

So, after all that checking and all the effusive praise, did Dreyfus get the position?

The answer appears lost to history.

His son, Lee Dreyfus Jr., a judge in Waukesha County Circuit Court, doesn’t remember. It’s not listed on his official biography, and the foundation doesn’t have records that old showing who served on its board.

“It certainly would have been something he might have had an interest in,” said his son, who added that he was unaware about the FBI check. “It just wasn’t anything we ever discussed.”