Law enforcement officials swooped in and arrested one of Boston’s most notorious career criminals a couple of weeks ago. James “Whitey” Bulger had been “on the run” for 16 years when a tipster, perhaps spurred by a new series of “wanted” ads running during daytime TV hours, phoned in his location — a non-descript apartment building in Santa Monica, Calif. I doubt I’m alone in my bewilderment: The aging mobster had been hiding in plain sight, three blocks from the beach and within easy walking distance of Santa Monica Pier and one of my favorite West Coast lunch spots, One Pico at Shutters on the Beach. When he fled Boston in 1995, Bulger left behind a bad-guy-does-good legacy of Robin Hood proportions. Anecdotes about times he helped people out of a jam in his South Boston neighborhood abound. That legacy began to unravel as details of his alleged involvement in 19 murders — and the bodies of many victims — came to light in the years following his flight from justice. Bulger is back in Boston where the original racketeering charges he faced all those years ago are now superseded by charges that he committed or participated in 19 murders. Bulger pled not guilty in federal court yesterday. The trial will play out in its own time. In the meantime, I can’t help wondering, “Santa Monica. Really?” A major player on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List had been hanging out at the beach with his girlfriend since the mid-1990s and nobody could find him until now? — Lisa Matte, editor in chief