‘Whitey’ Bulger case: Former mafia hitman sentenced for murdering gangster in prison

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia –

A former mob hitman was set to be sentenced Friday for the deadly jailhouse beating of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger after striking a deal with prosecutors to change his not guilty plea.

Prosecutors said Geas repeatedly struck the 89-year-old Bulger in the head with a lock attached to a belt just hours after Bulger arrived at the Hazelton Penitentiary in West Virginia from another Florida prison in October 2018.

Bulger, who led the largely Irish gang in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, was an FBI informant who betrayed his gang’s chief rival, according to the bureau. Bulger has vehemently denied ever being a government informant.

Bulger became one of the country’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run and convicted in 2013 of 11 murders and dozens of other gang crimes.

Geas, who authorities say was a mob hitman, is already serving a life sentence for previous violent crimes. In connection with Bulger’s death, he was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, each of which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Justice Department said last year it would not seek the death penalty.

Court records do not indicate how Geas will plead, but the court has scheduled sentencing for the same plea hearing. Plea agreements for Geas and two other Hazelton inmates were announced May 13, and an attorney for Geas did not oppose the government’s motion.

Another inmate, Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero, was sentenced in August to more than four years in prison for assault. Prosecutors said he acted as a lookout while Geas beat Bulger. A third inmate, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI agents and received no additional prison time.

A jailhouse witness told a grand jury that DeCologero told him Bulger was a “snitch” and that they planned to kill him once he arrived at their unit.

In this June 23, 2011, photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger is seen. (U.S. Marshals Service)