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| Photo Credit: Reuters. |
Three men Thursday were indicted on multiply felony charges in relation to their role in a 2018 prison murder of Bolton gangster Whitney Bulger, according to the Justice Department.
The
notorious Boston crime boss murder raised serious questions about why the known
“snitch” was kept in the West Virginia’s general prison population instead of a
more protection housing, The Associated Press reports.
Bulger who
also doubled as a secret FBI informer was slain at the age of 89, five years
into a life sentence he was serving for 11 murders and other offenses he was
convicted of in 2013, Reuters reported.
How did Bulger die?
On October
30, 2018, Bulger was found badly beaten in a high-security federal prison in
West Virginia- the U.S. Penitentiary, Hazelton, haven been transferred there a
day earlier, according to Reuters.
The three
men – Fotios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul I. DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36
were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to The
Associated Press. Geas and DeCologero allegedly struck Bulger in the head
multiple times which caused his death while McKinnon is facing a separate
charge of making false statements to a federal agent, according to prosecutors,
The Associated Press reported.
Who was Bulger?
The bureau
said Bulger operated a largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Bulger’s
accused killer, Geas who authorities say was a reputed mafia hitman was
indicted on Wednesday on a charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life
sentence, Reuters cited a statement from the Justice Department.
Geas was
serving a life term at Hazelton for the 2003 murders of Genovese crime family
boss Adolfo “Big AI” Bruno and associate Gary Westerman, according to Reuters.
Gea remains
in prison in Hazelton. DeCologero is being held in another federal prison
facility. McKinnon was released from prison last month after pleading guilty in
2015 to stealing guns from a firearms dealer. He was on federal supervised
release when the indictment was handed down, and was arrested Thursday in
Florida.
DeCologero Crew
The
Associated Press reported that DeCologero was part of an organized crime gang
led by his uncle on Massachusetts’ North Shore called the “DeCologero Crew.” He
was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenager girl his
uncle wanted dead fearing she would betray the crew to police. When they
discovered the heroine didn’t kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered
her and buried her remains in the woods, The Associated Press cited court
records.
Geas was a
close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an officially
a member because he is Greek and not Italian.
In the late
1994, Bulger’s FBI handler, John Connolly Jr., warned him he was about to be
indicted prompting him to flee the city into hiding for more than 16 years. A
$2 million bounty was placed on his head and was later captured at age 81 in
Santa Monica, California where he lived.