Three men, including a mafia hitman, have been charged with killing notorious Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger in a West Virginia prison. , said the U.S. Department of Justice. Thursday.
The indictments against Fotios “Freddy” Geas, Paul J. DeCologero, and Sean McKinnon came nearly four years after Bulger's murder. This led to questions as to why the known "snitch" was placed on the general public instead. of a more protective housing. The man was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Bulger was beaten to USP in October 2018 hours after he was transferred from a Florida prison where he was serving a life sentence for 11 counts of murder and other crimes. and died. Prosecutors allege that Geass and De Cologero punched Bulger in the head multiple times, causing him to die.
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The Department of Justice also charged Geass and DeCologero with aiding and abetting first-degree murder, in addition to assault that caused serious injury. . Geass faces a separate charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence, and McKinnon faces a separate charge of lying to federal investigators.
According to law enforcement officials at the time, Geass and De Cologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger's death, but were never charged as the investigation dragged on for years. The family told The Boston Globe.
Gaes remains in Hazelton Jail, while DeCologero is held at a separate federal prison facility. McKinnon, who prosecutors say had been released under federal custody when the indictment was served, was arrested Thursday in Florida. was suing an unnamed employee of the prison system for failing to protect him. Bulger, who workers and advocates have long warned of the dangerous conditions, was the USP he was in Hazelton, his third inmate to be killed in six months.
Bulger, who ran a largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and his '80s, became a gang leader at a time when defeating the Mafia was a top national priority. He served as an informant for the FBI, criticizing his rival. Federal Bureau of Investigation. He later became one of the country's most wanted fugitives.
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Prison Workers Union officials told The Associated Press in 2018 that Bulger was sent to a troubled federal prison that housed other New England gangsters. said it would be like handing him a "death sentence."
Federal law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that disciplinary issues prompted Bulger's transfer to USP his Hazelton following Bulger's death. Officials requested anonymity because they are not authorized to release details. In February 2018, Bulger threatened an assistant superintendent of a Florida prison, saying, "Your judgment day will come."
Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after being warned by FBI handler John Connolly Jr. that he would be prosecuted. With a $2 million bounty, Bulger is one of the FBI's "10 Most Wanted" criminals.
After more than 16 years on the run, Bulger was captured in Santa Monica, California when he was 81 years old. There he lived with his longtime girlfriend Katherine Greig in a rent-controlled apartment near the beach.
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DeCologero was part of an organized crime group called the "DeCologero Crew" on the North Shore, Massachusetts, led by his uncle.
He was found guilty of buying heroin that was used to try to kill his teenage girl, whom his uncle wanted dead. Her heroine didn't kill her, so another man broke her neck, dismembered her, and buried her body in the woods, court records say.
Geass was a close associate of the mafia and acted as an enforcer, but was not an official "made" member as he was Greek, not Italian.
Geass and his brother were involved in several violent crimes, including the 2003 murder of Genovese crime family boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011 for doing so. Prosecutors say another mob ordered Bruno's murder because he was angry with him for talking to the FBI.
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