Grand Isle, a Louisiana seaside oasis, is buzzing over James “Whitey” Bulger’s post-arrest confessions.

This quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem, as the local market sign states, was named by Bulger as one of his favorite hiding places while on the run from the law, as the Boston Herald first reported.

For the couple he befriended, Bulger’s just-released post-arrest details come as a shock.

“That’s in my past, and I’d like to leave it there,” said Penny Gautreaux, who Whitey helped out with her kids and fixing appliances.

As for the $10,000 that Bulger said he gave the family to buy property for him in their name, Penny repeated Monday, “That’s in my past,” and hung up the phone.

Bulger admitted to federal marshals that he lived in Grand Isle for “some time before relocating to Santa Monica (Calif.)” where he was ultimately caught in June of 2011. Bulger was murdered in prison in 2018 after being convicted in Boston for his role in 11 murders.

He lived in Grand Isle with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, as the two made the best of their life in the shadows.

Grand Isle is nearly 7 miles long with an off-season population of about 800 to 1,000 residents. It’s the “smallest and craziest place to live,” according to the locals.

“If you came here, you’d see why Whitey stayed here,” said Leoda Blandsacker, who lived on the opposite side of a duplex from Whitey. “Nobody would find him here. You get used to transients. You are free in Grand Isle.”

Blandsacker said the couple was friendly and polite.

“Grand Isle is a place that can make or break you,” she told the Herald. “You fit in, or you don’t.” They worked hard to fit in.

Bulger and Greig took long walks on the beach while posing as husband and wife and had a dog, until they needed to put it down.

That’s when they left Grand Isle forever, with Blandsacker surmising the law could have been catching up to them.

“If you’re here for the wrong reasons, we’ll find out nine out of 10 times,” she added. “They catch you in those lies.”

Louise at the local tourism office, who requested her last name not appear in print, said men would often come to the spit of land in the Gulf of America to work on the oil rigs just offshore. One local EMT she remembered felt right at home until it was discovered he killed his family in another state and came to Grand Isle to start over.

The feds said when they attempted to dig deeper into the mobster’s fascination with the place, Bulger clammed up.

“Bulger refused to provide additional information when questioned further regarding his time in Grand Isle and his relationship with the Gautreaux family. He bought glasses for their kids and appliances for the home,” the feds noted. They all bonded over a love for dogs.

“But he never would tell anyone where he was because, upon questioning by law enforcement, he wanted individuals to be able to tell the truth.” He also didn’t want to “burden anyone” with the knowledge that he was hiding out on this narrow barrier island known for its trails, campsites, and a fishing pier.

After Grand Isle, Bulger and Greig traveled to Chicago where he ditched his car after learning his Thomas Baxter identity was known. Then the couple took a train to Los Angeles and headed down the coast to Santa Monica.

According to the feds, Bulger stated that he “had hidden and subsequently picked up money from all over the country. Upon questioning, Bulger described the amount of money as ‘a lot’ and stated that it was kept for him by individuals from whom he had done favors.” Some of the money was in Chicago, the memo states, but he refused to share more.

“The Grand Isle Birding Trail meanders through oak forests. The Butterfly Dome is home to native butterflies and plants. At Wake Side Cable Park, cables tow water sports enthusiasts along jumps and obstacles,” the tourism pitch reads, adding that it was formed by the mighty Mississippi.

It’s Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island, which offers “unblemished views of the Gulf, miles of beaches and boundless wildlife. Couple this with southern hospitality and mouthwatering seafood and you’ll discover why visitors have fallen in love with Grand Isle for two and a half centuries.”

It was also once home to 19th-century pirate Jean Lafitte and is susceptible to hurricanes.

It probably wouldn’t have helped if they added — serial killer and Winter Hill mob boss Whitey Bulger lived here while spending his ill-gotten gains, while others lived with the pain he left behind in Southie.

A reluctant Penny Gautreaux did admit Grand Isle is “a beautiful place.”

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