Former hitman sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder of mobster Whitey Bulger

A former mob hitman already serving a life sentence was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for the 2018 fatal prison beating of notorious Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger.

Prosecutors said Fotios “Freddy” Geas used a belt lock to repeatedly strike the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at Hazelton, a troubled U.S. prison, in October 2018 from another Florida prison. Defense attorneys disputed that characterization on Friday, saying Geas struck Bulger with his fist.

The U.S. Justice Department said last year that it would not seek the death penalty against Geas for Bulger’s murder.

The sentences – 15 years for manslaughter and 10 years for assault causing serious bodily harm – will be consecutive to Geas’ current life sentence.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh agreed with prosecutors’ recommendation for a sentence that exceeded the government’s sentencing guidelines. The judge dismissed more serious charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, each of which carried a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to Assistant District Attorney Brandon Flower, the proposed sentence was based in part on Bulger and Geas’ ages, 57.

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

Geas did not want to make a statement in court before his sentence was handed down.

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

Bulger became one of the country’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994 after a tip from his FBI contact that he was facing charges. 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 gangland crimes.

Another Hazelton inmate, Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero, was sentenced in August to more than four years in prison on an assault charge in the Bulger killing. Prosecutors say he acted as a lookout for Geas.

A third inmate, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents. McKinnon was given no additional prison time and was sent back to Florida to complete his supervised release. He had been serving a sentence for stealing guns from a gun dealer.

According to court records, inmates learned in advance that Bulger would arrive at the West Virginia facility. DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulger’s cell during the attack.

An inmate testified before a grand jury that DeCologero told him Bulger was a “snitch” and that they planned to kill him if he came into their unit.

Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and served as its enforcer, but was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno’s killing because he was angry that Bruno had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said.

Plea deals for Geas, DeCologero and McKinnon were announced on May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation continued.

After the killing, experts criticized Bulger’s transfer to Hazelton, where employees have previously raised alarms about violence and understaffing, and his placement in general population rather than in protective housing.