BOSTON -- The United States attorney's office has denied reports that famed "Godfather" actor Robert Duvall has asked for a seat in the courtroom for reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's racketeering and murder trial.
An unspecified film company associated with Duvall inquired about seating, a U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman told The Huffington Post. But no one asked to reserve a seat specifically for Duvall, who played Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen in the Oscar-winning film saga.
"The film office called, but not on behalf of Mr. Duvall," spokeswoman Christina Sterling told HuffPost on Friday. "It was not for the actor."
Duvall has been in Boston and other parts of Massachusetts recently to film "The Judge," and reports that the actor wanted to attend Bulger's trial appeared in the Boston Globe and New York Daily News.
Attempts to reach Duvall and his representatives were unsuccessful.
Seating in the small courtroom at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse is limited, so Duvall or anyone else looking for admission to the Bulger proceedings might have to make an offer the courthouse can't refuse.
There are approximately 70 seats, but only 15 are available to members of the public. The rest are reserved for victims' families, members of the press, Bulger's relatives, the prosecution and defense, and officials from some government agencies.
Civilians interested in attending the trial must put their name on a list, starting at 7:30 in the morning. Additional space has been set up in an overflow room with televisions broadcasting a live feed from the court.
Bulger, 83, has pleaded not guilty to 19 murders and other charges stemming from his alleged reign over a lucrative criminal empire that raked in money from extortion, gambling and drug dealing.
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