3 Charged In 2018 Murder Of Boston Gangster James Whitey Bulger

Bulger’s death has raised questions about why the notorious “villain” was placed in the general population of a West Virginia prison instead of more protective housing. The men — Photios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul J. DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36 — were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Geas and DeCologero struck Bulger in the head multiple times, causing his death. McKinnon is charged separately with making false statements to a federal agent. Bulger, who ran the predominantly Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, served as an FBI informant who busted his gang’s main rival, according to the bureau. He later became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. Bulger has vehemently denied ever being a government informant. Authorities have not released a possible motive for Bulger’s slaying, which came hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia from a prison in Florida. He was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes. Bulger, right, is escorted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth, Mass., after attending hearings in federal court in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/File/The Boston Herald/The Associated Press) Geas and DeCologero are also charged in federal court in West Virginia with accessory to first-degree murder, along with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Geas faces a separate charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence. “In the truest irony, Bulger’s family has lived through the excruciating pain and trauma he caused so many of their relatives, and the justice system is now coming to their aid,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins said in an emailed statement. Geas, who authorities say was a Mafia hitman, remains jailed in Hazelton. DeCologero is being held in another federal prison. 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 issued and was arrested Thursday in Florida. A vehicle with bullet holes and broken glass that was shown to the jury hearing Bulger’s extortion and murder trial is seen in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June 2013. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, according to law enforcement officials at the time, but they remained innocent as the investigation dragged on for years. Bulger’s family sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 30 unnamed prison officials over his death, claiming it appeared the gangster was “deliberately sent to his death.” A federal judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit in January. Hank Brennan, who represented Bulger and his family, accused the Justice Department of waiting to file charges until after the family’s lawsuit was dismissed to avoid releasing information in the criminal case that could be used against the government in the civil case of the family. Auctioneer Bob Sheehan searches for a pottery mug, shaped like a rat, that was among items belonging to Bulger and Catherine Greig that were auctioned in June 2016 in Boston. The proceeds were distributed to the families of Bulger’s victims. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press) “They’re just protecting themselves like they’ve always done,” Brennan said. “There couldn’t be an investigation that would take this long.” The three men were placed in solitary confinement throughout the investigation, family members told The Boston Globe. McKinnon’s mother told the newspaper that her son, who was a relative of Geas at the time of Bulger’s murder, told her he knew nothing about the murder. Daniel Kelly, Geas’ attorney, said Thursday that the charges were not a surprise but did not warrant his client’s continued solitary confinement. It was not immediately clear whether McKinnon and DeCologero had attorneys available to comment on their behalf. DeCologero was part of an organized crime gang led by his uncle on the North Shore of Massachusetts called the “DeCologero Crew.” After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million reward on his head, Bulger, shown in an undated photo released by the FBI in 1998, was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived. with Greig. (FBI/File/The Associated Press) He was convicted of buying heroin that was used to kill a teenage girl his uncle wanted dead because he feared she would betray the crew to the police. The heroin didn’t kill her, so another man snapped her neck, dismembered her and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer, but he was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian.

He left Boston on a tip

Geas and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Gennovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno killed because he was upset about talking to the FBI, prosecutors said. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after FBI operative John Connolly Jr. warned him he was about to be indicted. After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million bounty on his head, he was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived in a controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend. , Catherine Greig. Bulger is pictured with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg in this undated photo entered into court evidence by Bulger’s defense team on July 31, 2013 and released to the media by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. (US Attorney for Massachusetts/Handout/Reuters) His transfer to Hazelton was prompted by disciplinary issues, said a federal law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details. In February 2018, Bulger threatened an assistant warden at a prison in Florida, telling her “your day of reckoning is coming.” A correctional workers union official told the AP that year that sending Bulger to the troubled federal penitentiary that housed other New England gangsters was like giving him a “death sentence.” But Bulger never admitted to working for the FBI. Court documents released in the civil case brought by his family showed he was interviewed by staff after he arrived at Hazelton about whether there were reasons he should be kept away from the general population. An intake screening form signed by Bulger said he answered “no” to the question “have you assisted law enforcement agents in any way?”

title: “3 Charged In 2018 Murder Of Boston Gangster James Whitey Bulger Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Rosie Hesley”

Bulger’s death has raised questions about why the notorious “villain” was placed in the general population of a West Virginia prison instead of more protective housing. The men — Photios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul J. DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36 — were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Geas and DeCologero struck Bulger in the head multiple times, causing his death. McKinnon is charged separately with making false statements to a federal agent. Bulger, who ran the predominantly Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, served as an FBI informant who busted his gang’s main rival, according to the bureau. He later became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. Bulger has vehemently denied ever being a government informant. Authorities have not released a possible motive for Bulger’s slaying, which came hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia from a prison in Florida. He was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes. Bulger, right, is escorted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth, Mass., after attending hearings in federal court in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/File/The Boston Herald/The Associated Press) Geas and DeCologero are also charged in federal court in West Virginia with accessory to first-degree murder, along with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Geas faces a separate charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence. “In the truest irony, Bulger’s family has lived through the excruciating pain and trauma he caused so many of their relatives, and the justice system is now coming to their aid,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins said in an emailed statement. Geas, who authorities say was a Mafia hitman, remains jailed in Hazelton. DeCologero is being held in another federal prison. 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 issued and was arrested Thursday in Florida. A vehicle with bullet holes and broken glass that was shown to the jury hearing Bulger’s extortion and murder trial is seen in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June 2013. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, according to law enforcement officials at the time, but they remained innocent as the investigation dragged on for years. Bulger’s family sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 30 unnamed prison officials over his death, claiming it appeared the gangster was “deliberately sent to his death.” A federal judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit in January. Hank Brennan, who represented Bulger and his family, accused the Justice Department of waiting to file charges until after the family’s lawsuit was dismissed to avoid releasing information in the criminal case that could be used against the government in the civil case of the family. Auctioneer Bob Sheehan searches for a pottery mug, shaped like a rat, that was among items belonging to Bulger and Catherine Greig that were auctioned in June 2016 in Boston. The proceeds were distributed to the families of Bulger’s victims. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press) “They’re just protecting themselves like they’ve always done,” Brennan said. “There couldn’t be an investigation that would take this long.” The three men were placed in solitary confinement throughout the investigation, family members told The Boston Globe. McKinnon’s mother told the newspaper that her son, who was a relative of Geas at the time of Bulger’s murder, told her he knew nothing about the murder. Daniel Kelly, Geas’ attorney, said Thursday that the charges were not a surprise but did not warrant his client’s continued solitary confinement. It was not immediately clear whether McKinnon and DeCologero had attorneys available to comment on their behalf. DeCologero was part of an organized crime gang led by his uncle on the North Shore of Massachusetts called the “DeCologero Crew.” After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million reward on his head, Bulger, shown in an undated photo released by the FBI in 1998, was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived. with Greig. (FBI/File/The Associated Press) He was convicted of buying heroin that was used to kill a teenage girl his uncle wanted dead because he feared she would betray the crew to the police. The heroin didn’t kill her, so another man snapped her neck, dismembered her and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer, but he was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian.

He left Boston on a tip

Geas and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Gennovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno killed because he was upset about talking to the FBI, prosecutors said. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after FBI operative John Connolly Jr. warned him he was about to be indicted. After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million bounty on his head, he was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived in a controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend. , Catherine Greig. Bulger is pictured with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg in this undated photo entered into court evidence by Bulger’s defense team on July 31, 2013 and released to the media by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. (US Attorney for Massachusetts/Handout/Reuters) His transfer to Hazelton was prompted by disciplinary issues, said a federal law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details. In February 2018, Bulger threatened an assistant warden at a prison in Florida, telling her “your day of reckoning is coming.” A correctional workers union official told the AP that year that sending Bulger to the troubled federal penitentiary that housed other New England gangsters was like giving him a “death sentence.” But Bulger never admitted to working for the FBI. Court documents released in the civil case brought by his family showed he was interviewed by staff after he arrived at Hazelton about whether there were reasons he should be kept away from the general population. An intake screening form signed by Bulger said he answered “no” to the question “have you assisted law enforcement agents in any way?”

title: “3 Charged In 2018 Murder Of Boston Gangster James Whitey Bulger Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Josef Tully”

Bulger’s death has raised questions about why the notorious “villain” was placed in the general population of a West Virginia prison instead of more protective housing. The men — Photios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul J. DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36 — were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Geas and DeCologero struck Bulger in the head multiple times, causing his death. McKinnon is charged separately with making false statements to a federal agent. Bulger, who ran the predominantly Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, served as an FBI informant who busted his gang’s main rival, according to the bureau. He later became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. Bulger has vehemently denied ever being a government informant. Authorities have not released a possible motive for Bulger’s slaying, which came hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia from a prison in Florida. He was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes. Bulger, right, is escorted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth, Mass., after attending hearings in federal court in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/File/The Boston Herald/The Associated Press) Geas and DeCologero are also charged in federal court in West Virginia with accessory to first-degree murder, along with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Geas faces a separate charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence. “In the truest irony, Bulger’s family has lived through the excruciating pain and trauma he caused so many of their relatives, and the justice system is now coming to their aid,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins said in an emailed statement. Geas, who authorities say was a Mafia hitman, remains jailed in Hazelton. DeCologero is being held in another federal prison. 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 issued and was arrested Thursday in Florida. A vehicle with bullet holes and broken glass that was shown to the jury hearing Bulger’s extortion and murder trial is seen in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June 2013. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, according to law enforcement officials at the time, but they remained innocent as the investigation dragged on for years. Bulger’s family sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 30 unnamed prison officials over his death, claiming it appeared the gangster was “deliberately sent to his death.” A federal judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit in January. Hank Brennan, who represented Bulger and his family, accused the Justice Department of waiting to file charges until after the family’s lawsuit was dismissed to avoid releasing information in the criminal case that could be used against the government in the civil case of the family. Auctioneer Bob Sheehan searches for a pottery mug, shaped like a rat, that was among items belonging to Bulger and Catherine Greig that were auctioned in June 2016 in Boston. The proceeds were distributed to the families of Bulger’s victims. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press) “They’re just protecting themselves like they’ve always done,” Brennan said. “There couldn’t be an investigation that would take this long.” The three men were placed in solitary confinement throughout the investigation, family members told The Boston Globe. McKinnon’s mother told the newspaper that her son, who was a relative of Geas at the time of Bulger’s murder, told her he knew nothing about the murder. Daniel Kelly, Geas’ attorney, said Thursday that the charges were not a surprise but did not warrant his client’s continued solitary confinement. It was not immediately clear whether McKinnon and DeCologero had attorneys available to comment on their behalf. DeCologero was part of an organized crime gang led by his uncle on the North Shore of Massachusetts called the “DeCologero Crew.” After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million reward on his head, Bulger, shown in an undated photo released by the FBI in 1998, was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived. with Greig. (FBI/File/The Associated Press) He was convicted of buying heroin that was used to kill a teenage girl his uncle wanted dead because he feared she would betray the crew to the police. The heroin didn’t kill her, so another man snapped her neck, dismembered her and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer, but he was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian.

He left Boston on a tip

Geas and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Gennovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno killed because he was upset about talking to the FBI, prosecutors said. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after FBI operative John Connolly Jr. warned him he was about to be indicted. After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million bounty on his head, he was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived in a controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend. , Catherine Greig. Bulger is pictured with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg in this undated photo entered into court evidence by Bulger’s defense team on July 31, 2013 and released to the media by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. (US Attorney for Massachusetts/Handout/Reuters) His transfer to Hazelton was prompted by disciplinary issues, said a federal law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details. In February 2018, Bulger threatened an assistant warden at a prison in Florida, telling her “your day of reckoning is coming.” A correctional workers union official told the AP that year that sending Bulger to the troubled federal penitentiary that housed other New England gangsters was like giving him a “death sentence.” But Bulger never admitted to working for the FBI. Court documents released in the civil case brought by his family showed he was interviewed by staff after he arrived at Hazelton about whether there were reasons he should be kept away from the general population. An intake screening form signed by Bulger said he answered “no” to the question “have you assisted law enforcement agents in any way?”

title: “3 Charged In 2018 Murder Of Boston Gangster James Whitey Bulger Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Lori Robinson”

Bulger’s death has raised questions about why the notorious “villain” was placed in the general population of a West Virginia prison instead of more protective housing. The men — Photios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul J. DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36 — were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Geas and DeCologero struck Bulger in the head multiple times, causing his death. McKinnon is charged separately with making false statements to a federal agent. Bulger, who ran the predominantly Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 1980s, served as an FBI informant who busted his gang’s main rival, according to the bureau. He later became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. Bulger has vehemently denied ever being a government informant. Authorities have not released a possible motive for Bulger’s slaying, which came hours after he was transferred to USP Hazelton in West Virginia from a prison in Florida. He was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes. Bulger, right, is escorted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth, Mass., after attending hearings in federal court in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/File/The Boston Herald/The Associated Press) Geas and DeCologero are also charged in federal court in West Virginia with accessory to first-degree murder, along with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Geas faces a separate charge of murder by a federal inmate serving a life sentence. “In the truest irony, Bulger’s family has lived through the excruciating pain and trauma he caused so many of their relatives, and the justice system is now coming to their aid,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins said in an emailed statement. Geas, who authorities say was a Mafia hitman, remains jailed in Hazelton. DeCologero is being held in another federal prison. 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 issued and was arrested Thursday in Florida. A vehicle with bullet holes and broken glass that was shown to the jury hearing Bulger’s extortion and murder trial is seen in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June 2013. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, according to law enforcement officials at the time, but they remained innocent as the investigation dragged on for years. Bulger’s family sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 30 unnamed prison officials over his death, claiming it appeared the gangster was “deliberately sent to his death.” A federal judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit in January. Hank Brennan, who represented Bulger and his family, accused the Justice Department of waiting to file charges until after the family’s lawsuit was dismissed to avoid releasing information in the criminal case that could be used against the government in the civil case of the family. Auctioneer Bob Sheehan searches for a pottery mug, shaped like a rat, that was among items belonging to Bulger and Catherine Greig that were auctioned in June 2016 in Boston. The proceeds were distributed to the families of Bulger’s victims. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press) “They’re just protecting themselves like they’ve always done,” Brennan said. “There couldn’t be an investigation that would take this long.” The three men were placed in solitary confinement throughout the investigation, family members told The Boston Globe. McKinnon’s mother told the newspaper that her son, who was a relative of Geas at the time of Bulger’s murder, told her he knew nothing about the murder. Daniel Kelly, Geas’ attorney, said Thursday that the charges were not a surprise but did not warrant his client’s continued solitary confinement. It was not immediately clear whether McKinnon and DeCologero had attorneys available to comment on their behalf. DeCologero was part of an organized crime gang led by his uncle on the North Shore of Massachusetts called the “DeCologero Crew.” After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million reward on his head, Bulger, shown in an undated photo released by the FBI in 1998, was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived. with Greig. (FBI/File/The Associated Press) He was convicted of buying heroin that was used to kill a teenage girl his uncle wanted dead because he feared she would betray the crew to the police. The heroin didn’t kill her, so another man snapped her neck, dismembered her and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer, but he was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian.

He left Boston on a tip

Geas and his brother were sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Gennovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno killed because he was upset about talking to the FBI, prosecutors said. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after FBI operative John Connolly Jr. warned him he was about to be indicted. After more than 16 years on the run and with a $2 million bounty on his head, he was captured at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California, where he lived in a controlled apartment near the beach with his longtime girlfriend. , Catherine Greig. Bulger is pictured with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg in this undated photo entered into court evidence by Bulger’s defense team on July 31, 2013 and released to the media by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. (US Attorney for Massachusetts/Handout/Reuters) His transfer to Hazelton was prompted by disciplinary issues, said a federal law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details. In February 2018, Bulger threatened an assistant warden at a prison in Florida, telling her “your day of reckoning is coming.” A correctional workers union official told the AP that year that sending Bulger to the troubled federal penitentiary that housed other New England gangsters was like giving him a “death sentence.” But Bulger never admitted to working for the FBI. Court documents released in the civil case brought by his family showed he was interviewed by staff after he arrived at Hazelton about whether there were reasons he should be kept away from the general population. An intake screening form signed by Bulger said he answered “no” to the question “have you assisted law enforcement agents in any way?”