Τhe lead suspect in the brutal murder of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger is a Greek-American: 51-year-old Fotios “Freddy” Geas, a mafia hitman serving a life sentence.
Geas is suspected of being one of two inmates entering Bulger’s cell at approximately 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Two hours later, Bulger was found dead, “beaten unrecognizable,” according to The New York Times, while the Boston Globe reported that Bulger’s eyes had nearly been gouged out.
Bulger had been convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders during his reign as the head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang from 1973-1985. He was a criminal informant for the FBI, snitching on organized crime in Massachusetts, while the agency turned a blind eye to his crimes.
Bulger’s activity as an informant may be the motive behind his murder, according to speculation in the American media. It is reported that Geas strongly disliked ‘rats’.
“Freddy hated guys who abused women. Whitey was a rat who killed women. It’s probably that simple,” Ted McDonough, a private investigator familiar with Geas, told the Boston Globe.
“He wouldn’t rat on anybody,” said attorney David Hoose, who represented Geas in the past, speaking to the Boston Globe. “And he had no respect for anyone who would,” Hoose added.
In 2011, Geas and his younger brother Ty were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the 2003 double murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, then the head of the Genovese crime family in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Bruno’s associate Gary Westerman.
The Geas brothers were groomed by Bruno’s rival, Anthony Arillotta, another associate of the Genovese crime family.
As Greeks, they could never become “made” members of the Italian mob. Nevertheless, the pair had received Arillotta’s imprimatur—or official approval—and faithfully carried out numerous crimes on his behalf.
“Nobody screwed with them,” McDonough told the Boston Globe. “Freddy, especially,” he added.
Eventually, Arillotta turned on the Geas brothers and became the star witness for the prosecution.
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