Three men, including a mafia hitman, have been charged with the murder of notorious crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger, who was beaten to death in a West Virginia prison nearly four years ago.
Once one of America’s most wanted fugitives, Bulger was jailed in 2013 for being an accomplice to 11 murders, after leading the Winter Hill Gang that ran loan sharking, gambling, and drug racketeering in the Boston area.
However, he also lived a double life as an FBI whistleblower who exposed his rivals during a time when taking down the mafia was a federal priority.
He was killed within hours after being transferred to Hazelton Prison from a federal penitentiary in Florida.
Fotios Geas, 55, Paul J DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36, were all charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
DeColgero and Geas were also charged with aiding and abetting for first degree murder and assault resulting in serious personal injury, after it was alleged that they would have caused Bulger’s death by repeatedly hitting him in the head.
Both were identified as suspects in the murder in October 2018, but were never formally charged during the investigation.
Geas is also charged with murder, while McKinnon was charged with making false statements to a federal agent.
Geas remains imprisoned in Hazelton in West Virginia, while DeCologero is held elsewhere in the United States. McKinnon was arrested in Florida on Thursday after being released under supervision.
DeColgero was jailed for attempting to kill a teenage girl his uncle feared would “betray” his crew to the police, while Geas was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a number of violent crimes, including killing. of a boss of the Genoese crime family in 2003.
Bulger was beaten to death in prison in 2013
Bulger’s manager, John Connolly Jr, looked the other way about his mob’s crimes and often provided information about other gangsters in return.
The gangster became one of the FBI’s “Top Ten Most Wanted Men” after fleeing Boston in 1994.
Bulger spent 16 years as a fugitive before being captured in Santa Monica, California in 2011.
He was feared for his short temper and brutality.
Prosecutors during the trial claimed that he strangled two women with his hands and tortured a man for hours before shooting him in the head with a machine gun.
Bulger was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years for the 11 murders, plus other charges including racketeering.
He was called “Whitey” due to his light blond hair, but he was said to hate the nickname and preferred to be called Jimmy.
