Rakes may have been poisoned; how body got to Lincoln still unknown

Steven Rakes, whose body was found in Lincoln on July 17, may have been poisoned, according to a report by Fox-25 News in Boston.

Rakes, 59, a Quincy resident, had accused mobster James “Whitey” Bulger of extorting his liquor store from him in 1984 and threatening him in front of his children. Rakes was looking forward to testifying against Bulger at his trial, but prosecutors told him several days before his death that he would not be called as a witness. Rakes had last been seen publicly the day before leaving Whitey Bulger’s trial at federal court in South Boston, and when his body was found, he was wearing the same clothes from court, Fox-25 News reported.

WBZ-TV in Boston also reported today that according to sources, Rakes’ body was moved after he died.

Rakes’ body was found on the afternoon of July 17 about 15 feet off Mill Street by a jogger. His car was later found several miles away in Waltham. An autopsy revealed that there was no trauma to the body. Determining the cause of death may hinge on the results of toxicology tests, which can take several weeks.

Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen reported on July 19 that “cops say the death is suspicious, probably because they don’t believe the body ended up there by accident.”