WASHINGTON—Three individuals accused in the 2018 prison murder of infamous Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger have agreed to plea deals with prosecutors, as per court documents filed on Monday.
The plea agreements for Fotios “Freddy” Geas, Paul J. DeCologero, and Sean McKinnon were revealed nearly six years after the 89-year-old gangster was fatally beaten in his cell at a troubled West Virginia prison.
Mr. Geas, a former Mafia hitman, and Mr. DeCologero, a member of a Massachusetts gang, were alleged to have repeatedly struck Bulger in the head while Mr. McKinnon acted as a lookout.
Mr. DeCologero reportedly informed an inmate witness that Bulger was an informant and that they had planned to kill him as soon as he entered their unit. He also mentioned using a belt with a lock attached to it to bludgeon Bulger to death, according to prosecutors.
Although Mr. Geas and Mr. DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, no charges were filed for years as the investigation continued.
Prosecutors in West Virginia federal court have requested hearings to change the men’s not-guilty pleas and proceed with sentencing, without disclosing further details about the plea deals, which have not yet been filed in court.
Belinda Haynie, a lawyer for Mr. Geas, declined to provide a comment on Monday. Attorneys representing the other two defendants did not respond immediately to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Last year, the Justice Department announced that it would not pursue the death penalty for Mr. Geas and Mr. DeCologero, who were charged with murder. All three men faced charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries a potential life sentence. Additionally, Mr. McKinnon was charged with making false statements to a federal agent.
Bulger, who led the predominantly Irish mob in Boston during the 1970s and ’80s, worked as an FBI informant who provided information on his gang’s main rival. He became one of the country’s most sought-after fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994 following a tip from his FBI handler about an impending indictment. Bulger was apprehended at the age of 81 after evading capture for over 16 years.
In 2013, he was convicted of a series of 11 murders and numerous other criminal activities within the mob, many of which were committed while he was reportedly working as an FBI informant.
Bulger was murdered shortly after being transferred from a Florida detention center to USP Hazelton in West Virginia and placed among the general prison population. The decision to transfer Bulger to Hazelton, where staff had previously raised concerns about violence and understaffing, and to house him in the general population instead of a more secure setting, was widely criticized by experts following his death.
An investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general in 2022 determined that Bulger’s killing resulted from multiple management failures, widespread incompetence, and flawed policies within the Bureau of Prisons. While no evidence of intentional harm by bureau employees was found, a series of administrative mishaps left Bulger vulnerable to rival gang members behind bars.
Mr. DeCologero, associated with an organized crime group led by his uncle in Massachusetts, was convicted of purchasing heroin intended to kill a teenage girl his uncle wanted eliminated for fear of her potential betrayal to authorities. When the heroin failed to kill her, another individual allegedly broke her neck, dismembered her, and buried her remains in the woods, court records indicate.
Mr. Geas, closely linked to the Mafia and serving as an enforcer, was not officially inducted as a “made” member due to his Greek heritage rather than Italian. In 2011, he and his brother were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in various violent crimes, including the 2003 murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a boss in the Genovese crime family in Springfield, Massachusetts. Prosecutors claimed that another mobster ordered Bruno’s killing because he was displeased that Bruno had cooperated with the FBI.
Mr. McKinnon, previously on federal supervised release after a conviction for stealing firearms from a dealer, was arrested on charges related to Bulger’s murder.
By Alanna Durkin Richer and John Raby
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