James ‘Whitey’ Bulger Murder: Former Mafia Hitman Sentenced to 25 Years

Former Mafia hitman Fotios “Freddy” Geas received an additional 25 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger.

Bulger, 89, was killed in 2018 within hours of arriving at the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton. Prosecutors say Geas used a lock attached to a belt to strike Bulger in the head, but defense attorneys say Geas struck Bulger with his fist.

Bulger, the leader of a predominantly Irish gang in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders and dozens of other gang-related crimes. He has just been transferred to a West Virginia prison from a Florida prison, where he was serving a life sentence before he was beaten to death.

Geas, 57, was sentenced Friday in federal court in northern West Virginia after pleading guilty to manslaughter and assault causing serious bodily injury in the killing of Bulger.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and 10 years in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily harm. He will serve this sentence in addition to his current life sentence.

The sentence Geas received from prosecutors is longer than the government’s guidelines, but he did avoid more serious charges, such as murder, which could have earned him a life sentence.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh, who sentenced Geas, said he found the final sentence to be “fair, reasonable and just.”

According to Assistant District Attorney Brandon Flower, the proposed sentence was based in part on the ages of Bulger and Geas.

“Mr. Geas won’t really get a chance to go outside,” Flower said. “That’s where he’s going to spend the rest of his days.”

Meanwhile, defense attorney Nathan Chambers said in court Friday that Geas disputed some witness statements included in a presentencing report. Chambers also said an autopsy report showed Bulger’s cause of death was a single blow to the left ear.

“There is no evidence that a weapon was used, let alone a padlock,” Chambers said.

However, Flower later said that the defense and prosecution previously agreed on the facts of the case, including what happened to Bulger.

The former hitman and his brother Ty Geas were both mobsters and were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for violent crimes, including the 2003 murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a leader of the Genovese crime family in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Paul J. DeCologero, a Massachusetts inmate who lived at Hazelton, was also accused of repeatedly punching Bulger during the attack. Another inmate, Sean McKinnon, was said to have been their lookout.

DeCologero and McKinnon, like Geas, took plea deals. DeCologero, who already served 25 years, was given four more years in August after pleading guilty to an assault charge in Bulger’s murder. Meanwhile, McKinnon was sentenced in June to time served after pleading guilty to falsifying statements to federal agents.

According to a 2022 U.S. Department of Justice report, Bulger’s death was the result of multi-level management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons.

The Bulger family filed a lawsuit against the agency and 30 prison system employees, but it was dismissed by a federal judge in 2022.

Chambers also called the agency’s conduct “shocking” and “outrageous” in court on Friday.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.