Ex-Mafia hitman who killed Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger sentenced to 25 years
What’s another 25 years when you’re already serving a life sentence?
Fotios “Freddy” Geas — the ex-Mafia enforcer already serving a life sentence — was given an additional 25 years by a judge Friday for bludgeoning notorious New England crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger to death inside a federal prison in 2018.
He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the brutal attack on Bulger.
Geas had been behind bars since 2011 for multiple crimes, including the 2003 killing of Genovese crime boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno.
Prosecutors said Geas repeatedly battered the 89-year-old Bulger in the head with a lock attached to a belt hours after the gangster’s arrival at USP Hazelton in West Virginia.
Bulger had been moved from another lockup in Florida.
Inmates were given advanced notice of Bulger’s arrival.
Two other inmates were charged for the roles they played in Bulger’s murder.
Massachusetts gangster Paul DeCologero was sentenced in August to four additional years in federal prison, after pleading guilty to assault. He was already serving a 25-year sentence.
DeCologero acted as a lookout for Geas, prosecutors said.
Inmate Sean McKinnon also pleaded guilty in June. He admitted he lied to FBI special agents when asked about Bulger’s death and what he knew.
McKinnon, who was serving 22 months for stealing firearms, was given no additional prison time and was released from custody.
Plea deals for the three men were disclosed in May. Geas and DeCologero were identified early on as suspects in Bulger’s killing, but weren’t charged until 2022.
After his killing, prison officials were slammed for placing the high-profile Bulger in general population instead of protective custody.
Bulger ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s.
He was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang.
He became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted.
He was captured at age 81 in California after more than 16 years on the run.
Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant.
