Three inmates indicted in prison homicide of Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger
Three men were indicted Thursday in the 2018 beating death of a fellow inmate, the famed Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, the Department of Justice said in a release Thursday. Fotios "Freddy" Geas, 55, Paul "Pauly," J. DeCologero, 48 and Sean McKinnon, 36, were all charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
According to the Department of Justice, Geas, DeCologero and McKinnon were inmates at United States Penitentiary Hazleton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, when they allegedly killed Bulger in October 2018.
Geas and DeCologero are accused of striking Bulger over the head repeatedly, causing the injuries that led to his death. He was 89.
In addition to the conspiracy charges, Geas and DeCologero have also been charged with aiding and abetting first degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Geas was additionally charged for murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence. McKinnon is charged with making false statements to a federal agent.
Bulger was most famously known for his time as a Boston mob boss and was one of America's most-wanted criminals. In 2013, he was convicted of 11 murders and other crimes, after which he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, according to the Associated Press.
During his crime spree, Bulger also acted as an FBI informant, which many believe led to his prison death. Law enforcement sources told CBS News in 2018 that Bulger was severely beaten and the Boston Globe reported his eyes were nearly gouged out in the attack.
His family sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons after his death, alleging it failed to protect him from the men, according to The Associated Press.
"He was sentenced to life in prison, but as a result of decisions by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that sentence has been changed to the death penalty," Bulger's lawyer previously said.
Geas remains an inmate at the Hazleton Penitentiary and DeCologero is still in the federal prison system. McKinnon, who was on supervised release, was arrested Thursday in Florida, the Department of Justice said.
