BOSTON — James (Whitey) Bulger returned to a fog-shrouded Boston on Friday to face a litany of charges in a courtroom packed with people eager for a glimpse of his infamous face after a 16-year disappearing act.

Though Mr. Bulger, 81, sat quietly through most of the brief proceedings at the heavily guarded federal courthouse, he showed some of his old fire when Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler asked if he could afford a lawyer.

“I could if you gave me my money back,” Mr. Bulger said, prompting titters and gasps in the courtroom. He was apparently referring to the more than $800,000 in cash that was found in the apartment in Santa Monica, Calif., where Mr. Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, had been living under assumed names since at least 1996.

Although Ms. Greig, 60, accompanied him on the cross-country flight home, they made separate appearances in the courtroom, their days together over. She is charged with harboring a fugitive; Mr. Bulger is charged with 19 murders, as well as extortion, money laundering and other crimes.