Topline
Three men have been charged for the 2018 killing of notorious Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, who was beaten to death at a federal prison in West Virginia where he was serving a life sentence.
This June 23, 2011, file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James “Whitey” … [+]
Key Facts
Paul “Pauly” DeCologero, 48, Fotios “Freddy” Geas, 55, and Sean McKinnon, 36, have all been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Prosecutors said DeCologero and Geas carried out the killing, hitting Bulger in the head multiple times—both also faces charges of aiding and abetting first-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
McKinnon faces an additional charge of making false statements to a federal agent.
DeCologero and Geas both remain incarcerated, with Geas still being housed at United States Penitentiary Hazleton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, where Bulger was killed.
McKinnon was on supervised release and was arrested in Florida on Thursday, according to the Justice Department.
What To Watch For
The men face life in prison if convicted for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Key Background
Bulger spent more than 16 years on the run from the law after fleeing Boston in 1994, when he was tipped off about a pending RICO indictment against him for running a violent Irish-American organized crime empire. Bulger was finally captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, California, in response to a tip the FBI received. At the time of his arrest, Bulger was No. 1 on the FBI most wanted list, assuming the spot after a Navy SEAL operation killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden earlier in the year. A jury convicted him on 31 counts in 2013 relating to his crimes as a mob boss, finding he participated in 11 murders. He was handed two life sentences following the guilty verdict, which he started serving in several federal prisons. He arrived at United States Penitentiary Hazleton on October 29, 2018, but only spent a day there before he was murdered. A law enforcement official told the New York Times his body was beaten so badly in the murder that it became “unrecognizable.” Bulger was 89 when he was killed.
Further Reading
Whitey Bulger’s Fatal Prison Beating: ‘He Was Unrecognizable’ (New York Times)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/08/18/3-charged-in-whitey-bulger-prison-slaying/