Now, all these years later, Hank Brennan returns to the limelight, not as a defense lawyer, but as a special prosecutor of Karen Read, who has already endured one sham trial and now faces a second

A Massachusetts district attorney on Wednesday appointed a special prosecutor, who has represented James “Whitey” Bulger and other prominent clients in the past, to take on the Karen Read murder case.

Norfolk County prosecutors adding Hank Brennan, an independent lawyer, to lead the prosecution of Karen Read during a second trial represents an unusual step in a case without obvious conflicts of interest, experts say.