Yes he was a rat. He's just trying to save face since he knows he'll never get out of prison again so all he has left is his name.

I do believe Conolly did put crap in there from other informants to keep Whitey a TE Informant so he could keep him on the streets. But it was well known the info for the Angiulo bug came from Whitey and Flemmi. I do think Flemmi was a rat before Whitey and once Whitey realized he could play the same game and stay on the streets he did it and played Conolly and Morris like a fiddle.

I also think the FBI played a dangerous game just like they did with Scarpa and lost, and will do anything to save face. Them not interviewing for this documentary tells you enough.

But until Whitey testifies and tells all like they threatened nobody is going to take him seriously.