A former Mafia hitman was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison in the fatal 2018 prison killing of a notorious Boston gangster. James “Whitey” Bulger.
Federal inmate Photios “Freddy” Geas was sentenced in federal court in northern West Virginia after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Prosecutors initially said Geuss used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit Bulger, 89, in the head within hours of arriving at the troubled US penitentiary in Hazleton from another lockup in Florida in October 2018. Defense lawyers disputed that. The characterization, says that Geuss hit Bulger with his fist.
Geass, 57, was already serving a life sentence for previous violent crimes. The Justice Department said last year that it Will not seek death penalty Against him in the Bulger murder.
Bulger, who ran a mostly Irish gang in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s, also served as an FBI informant who rated on his gang’s main rival, according to the bureau. Bulger vehemently denied ever being a government informant.
Bulger became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he would be indicted. He was captured at the age of 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of which were committed while he was said to be an FBI informant.
Another Hazleton inmate, Massachusetts gangster Paul J. Decologero, was sentenced to more than four years in prison Charged with assault in August’s murder of Bulger. Prosecutors said he acted as Geass’s scout. A third prisoner, Sean McKinnon, pleads to guilt Lying to FBI special agents in June. McKinnon was not given any additional prison time and was returned to Florida to complete his supervised release. He served a sentence for stealing guns from an arms dealer.
According to court records, the inmates learned ahead of time that Bulger would arrive at the West Virginia facility. DeCologero and Gius spent about seven minutes in Bulger’s cell during the attack.
An inmate testified before a grand jury that DiCologero told him Bulger was a “snitch” and planned to kill him as soon as he arrived in their unit.
Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and worked as an 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 killing of Genovese crime family boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another gang member ordered Bruno killed because he was upset that Bruno had spoken to the FBI, prosecutors said.
Plea deals for Geas, DeCologero and McKinnon were announced on May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects soon after Bulger’s death, but remained uncharged for years as the investigation progressed.
After the murder, experts criticized Bulger’s transfer to Hazleton, where workers were already raising alarms about violence and understaffing, and his placement in general population rather than more protective housing.
Bulger’s death was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies within the US Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons. Watchdog found In the 2022 report. The inspector general found no evidence of “malicious intent” by any bureau personnel but said a series of bureaucratic errors had left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters.
That year, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Bulger’s family against the bureau and 30 unidentified prison system employees.
In July, the US Senate passed legislation to bring greater transparency to the bureau following a report by The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny.
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