Fugitive South Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, wanted for 19 murders, was captured last night in Southern California, the result of a tip from FBI television spots that began airing this week. His capture ended a 16-year manhunt that spanned the globe. 
 
 Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, and Steven Martinez, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, released a statement this morning confirming that FBI agents had arrested the fugitive, who was on the bureau's Ten Most Wanted list, and his companion, Catherine Greig, in California. Neither resisted arrest. Cash and guns found hidden in the apartment were seized, police confirmed. 
 
 "Recent publicity produced a tip that led agents to a residence in Santa Monica, California, where they located Bulger and Greig Wednesday evening," the statement said. 
 
 The arrests of Bulger, 81, and Greig, 60, were initially announced by FBI headquarters on Twitter. 
 
 The arrest is a long-sought victory for the FBI, whose reputation was sullied by its connection to the mobster and whose fruitless efforts to find the fugitive had been regarded by some with suspicion. 
 
 Bulger did not appear to be in good health, an official said. 
 
 "I don't think he's in a position to be fighting anybody," the official said, adding, "They got a confession from him." 
 
 Bulger's brother, former president of the state Senate William M. Bulger, had little to say this morning when a reporter knocked on the door of his South Boston home. 
 
 "No comment," said William Bulger, who answered the door in his T-shirt. Informed that his brother had been arrested, Bulger said, "Thank you." 
 
 Assistant US Attorney Brian Kelly, part of the prosecution team that brought the federal charges against Whitey Bulger, said this morning, "It's a long time coming and we're glad he's finally in custody." 
 
 Bulger fled just before his federal racketeering indictment in January 1995. It was later revealed in federal court in Boston that he was a longtime FBI informant who had been warned by his corrupt handler, former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., that he was about to be arrested. 
 
 Betrayed by the revelation that Bulger was an informant, several of his former associates began cooperating against him, leading to the discovery of secret graves of his victims in the Boston area and additional charges that Bulger murdered 19 people. 
 
 Authorities had investigated two possible Bulger sightings in Southern California. In 2000, a tipster reported seeing Greig having her hair done at a salon in Fountain Valley, the newspaper reported. In 2005, the FBI investigated whether Bulger may have been the elderly man who robbed three Orange County banks. 
 
 But ultimately, the trail appeared to grow cold and no link was made to the mobster. 
 
 On Monday, the FBI announced that after years of focusing on Bulger, it was launching a new initiative aimed at daytime TV viewers. 
 
 It began airing a 30-second public service announcement in 14 cities across the United States urging people to be on the lookout for Greig, a dental hygienist who was devoted to her appearance, had plastic surgery in the past, and frequently had her hair cut and teeth cleaned. The spots aired during daytime shows, including, "Ellen," "The View," and "Live with Regis & Kelly." 
 
 A woman who answered the door at the South Boston home of Greig's sister, Margaret McCusker, was told of the arrest by a Globe reporter this morning. "They found him? Finally," she said. "I want my sister to come home." 
 
 Travis Andersen and Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
 
 © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company. 

 FBI officials said the public service announcements were directed at women who might recognize Greig, 60. They also doubled the reward being offered for her capture to $100,000 from $50,000. 
 
 The campaign focused on finding Bulger's longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, and included television commercials in 14 major cities where there had been reported sightings of the couple. 
 
 "Recent publicity produced a tip which led agents to Santa Monica where they located both Bulger and Greig," said Richard Deslauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Boston, and Steven Martinez, the FBI's assistant director in charge in Los Angeles, in a statement. 
 
 FBI officials said Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger was arrested after 17 years on the lam from a tip resulting from a new publicity campaign about the case. 
 
 The FBI placed ads seeking the pair last year in a national dentists journal, including the ad above. 
 
 ABC News reported Thursday that the FBI also placed ads this year in Plastic Surgery News hoping medical professionals who performed cosmetic surgery on Greig might come forward. 
 
 Bulger was believed to have been traveling with Greig for the last several years, according to the FBI. Greig was a dental hygienist by occupation. Authorities say she dyed her hair to disguise her appearance. The media campaign was aimed at women in their 60s, the same demographic as Greig, in hopes of developing leads. FBI officials had noted that Grieg frequented beauty salons. 
 
 Officials have not disclosed details about how they got the tip and whether it focused on Bulger or Greig. There have been reporting sightings of the pair for years -- but no lead to solid clues about their whereabouts. 
 
 The push marked the latest in numerous efforts by authorities to track Bulger since he went on the run more than a decade ago. 
 
 In 2008 the FBI doubled the reward offered for Bulger's capture to $2 million from $1 million. At the time a video announcement of the increased reward called him "a predator in every sense of the word." 
 
 The FBI had been seeking Bulger since he fled Boston in 1994 as he was being sought in connection with at least 19 slayings and other charges. 
 
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 Photo: James "Whitey" Bulger and Catherine Greig in FBI ad. Credit: FBI 

 For one of the FBI's most wanted men, legendary Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger appeared to live an open, somewhat routine life a few blocks from the beach in Santa Monica. 
 
 John Weiskopf, 63, who lives across the street from where Bulger, 81, was staying, recalled seeing the man, who turned out to be the famed crime boss, and his girlfriend in the neighborhood. 
 
 "They've been here a while," said Weiskopf, a screenwriter, film producer and novelist. "I would see them out here walking their dog. They were very unassuming." 
 
 Photos: The hunt for James "Whitey" Bulger 
 
 The FBI had been seeking Bulger since he fled Boston in 1994 as he was being sought in connection with at least 19 murders and other charges. He and longtime companion Catherine Greig, 60, were taken into custody after authorities received a tip, the FBI said. 
 
 Bulger and Greig are scheduled to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. 
 
 Authorities seized weapons and a large amount of cash inside their apartment, sources told the Los Angeles Times. 
 
 It's unclear how long they lived on 3rd Street in Santa Monica, but if they were hiding, they were doing so in plain sight of neighbors. 
 
 "The seemed normal," said an attorney who lived in the Princess Eugenia complex, where Bulger and Greig had an apartment on the third floor.
– James “Whitey” Bulger has confessed, one anonymous official tells the Boston Globe. Authorities found plenty of guns and cash in the Santa Monica apartment where they nabbed Bulger and longtime Girl Friday Catherine Greig, but the two went quietly, the official said, noting that Bulger seemed to be in poor health. “I don’t think he’s in a position to be fighting anybody,” he said. “They got a confession out of him.” The couple certainly wasn't making much effort to hide, neighbors tell the LA Times. “They've been here a while,” said one. “I would see them out here walking their dog. They were very unassuming.” The FBI found the couple just a day after it started running daytime TV ads focusing on Greig. Earlier, they’d put ads about her in dentistry journals—Greig was a dental hygienist by trade—and Plastic Surgery News. The publicity blitz produced the fateful tip, though authorities wouldn’t say precisely where it had come from.