Western Massachusetts gangster convicted of manslaughter of Boston gangster Whitey Bulger

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

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

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

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The sentences – 15 years for manslaughter and 10 years for assault – will be served consecutively to the life sentence to which Geas is currently sentenced.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh agreed with a sentencing recommendation from prosecutors that exceeded government guidelines. Kleeh said he thought the end result was “fair, reasonable and just.” The judge dismissed more serious charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, both of which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Flower said the sentencing recommendation was based in part on the ages of Bulger and Geas (57).

“Mr. Geas will not have the opportunity to go out,” Flower said. “That’s where he will spend the rest of his life.”

Geas declined to testify in court before the verdict was announced.

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

Bulger became one of the country’s most wanted criminals after escaping Boston in 1994. His FBI handler tipped him off that he would face 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 gang-related crimes.

Another Hazelton inmate, Massachusetts mobster Paul J. DeCologero, was sentenced in August to more than four years in prison for assault in connection with Bulger’s killing. Prosecutors said he served as a scout for Geas. A third inmate, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents. McKinnon received no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to complete his parole. He had been serving a sentence for stealing a gun from a gun dealer.

According to court documents, the prisoners 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.

One inmate testified before a grand jury that DeCologero told him Bulger was a “snitch” and that they planned to kill him as soon as he entered their unit.

Geas was a close ally of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but did not officially become a member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their involvement in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a boss of the Genovese crime family in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno’s killing because he was upset that Bruno had spoken to the FBI, prosecutors said.

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

After the murder, experts criticized Bulger’s transfer to Hazelton, where workers had already raised alarm about violence and staff shortages, and his placement in the general population rather than in more secure housing.

An investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general found in 2022 that the murder was the result of multiple management errors, widespread incompetence and faulty policies at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of “malicious intent” by agency employees, but said a series of bureaucratic errors left Bulger at the mercy of rival mobsters.

In court on Friday, defense attorney Nathan Chambers called the prison department’s conduct “shocking” and “outrageous.” He said Geas disputed some witness statements included in a pretrial report and noted that an autopsy found the 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.

Flower later said that the defense and prosecution had previously agreed on the facts of the case, including who entered and left Bulger’s cell and what happened to Bulger.

Also in 2022, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Bulger’s family against the office and 30 unidentified prison system employees.

In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to restructure oversight and increase transparency in the agency after Associated Press reports exposed systematic corruption in the federal prison system and led to increased scrutiny by Congress.