Inmates at a West Virginia prison were taking bets on how long mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger would survive after his transfer there, but key federal prison officials were oblivious to the threat to his life, according to a Justice Department watchdog report released Wednesday that identified a cascade of shocking failures leading up to Bulger’s 2018 killing.

The Justice Department inspector general’s report did not establish that any Bureau of Prisons employees acted with malicious intent or improper motive, but the investigation found that a manager at USP Hazelton specifically requested that Bulger be transferred to his unit even though he knew there was at least one other former organized crime figure housed there.

The manager told investigators that he was not aware of any concerns or threats against Bulger, while inmates later told prison officials “everyone knew” Bulger would be killed because he was a “rat,” the report says….

The inspector general’s report doesn’t fully answer that question, but says prison officials settled on Hazelton because it was closer to Bulger’s family in Boston, because it had good medical facilities, and because it “took good care of inmates.”

[It sure took care of Bulger. — Ed]