Fotios “Freddy” Geas, an ex-Mafia enforcer serving a life sentence, was given an additional 25 years in prison for bludgeoning notorious New England crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger to death in 2018. Geas pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the attack on Bulger, who was repeatedly battered in the head with a lock attached to a belt at USP Hazelton in West Virginia.
Geas had been behind bars since 2011 for multiple crimes, including the killing of Genovese crime boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno in 2003. He was identified early on as a suspect in Bulger’s killing, but wasn’t charged until 2022. Two other inmates were also charged for their roles in Bulger’s murder. Massachusetts gangster Paul DeCologero, already serving a 25-year sentence, acted as a lookout for Geas, while inmate Sean McKinnon pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about Bulger’s death.
Inmates at USP Hazelton were given advanced notice of Bulger’s arrival before he was placed in general population instead of protective custody, which led to criticism of prison officials. Bulger, who ran the Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s, was also an FBI informant who provided information on his gang’s main rival. He became a fugitive in 1994 after a tip from his FBI handler, and was captured in California in 2011 at the age of 81.
Bulger was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders and numerous other gangland crimes, many of which were committed while he was allegedly working as an FBI informant. His death at the hands of Geas and others marked the end of a long criminal career that included years on the run as one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. The added 25-year sentence for Geas serves as a final chapter in the violent saga of two notorious figures in organized crime.
While Geas will now spend an additional 25 years behind bars for his role in Bulger’s murder, he was already serving a life sentence for previous crimes. The brutal attack on Bulger in prison was just one more violent chapter in Geas’ criminal history, which included multiple convictions for serious offenses. The plea deals made by the three men involved in Bulger’s murder were disclosed in May, leading to the additional sentences handed down in court.
The murder of James “Whitey” Bulger by Fotios “Freddy” Geas and others was a brutal end to the criminal career of one of New England’s most notorious crime figures. The circumstances surrounding Bulger’s death, from being placed in general population to the involvement of other inmates in the attack, raised questions about the handling of high-profile prisoners in federal facilities. The legal proceedings that followed, resulting in additional sentences for Geas and his accomplices, brought closure to a violent chapter in the history of organized crime in the United States.
