A prison inmate inmate was sentenced to more than four years on Thursday for his part in the 2018 beating that killed Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
Paul J. DeCologero, who the Associated Press (AP) identified as a “Massachusetts gangster,” had faced up to 10 years in prison for the assault on Burger. He was already serving a sentence of 25 years he received in 2006 for acquiring high-grade heroin that he allegedly used in a failed attempt to kill a teenage girl he believed would implicate his crew of crimes.
Bulger ran a crew of Irish mobsters in Boston during the 1970s and ’80s. He also notoriously served as an FBI informant, providing information to the agency on his gang’s main rival. In 1994, he fled Boston after being tipped off by an FBI agent that he was going to be indicted.
After more than 16 years on the run, Bulger was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. In 2018, the 89-year-old mobster was found beaten to death in his cell at a West Virginia’s United States Penitentiary, Hazelton. At the time of his death, he was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes.
In May, DeCologero and fellow inmates Fotios “Freddy” Geas and Sean McKinnon reached plea deals with prosecutors. The details of the plea agreement were not disclosed. Prosecutors, however, motioned that the three men had agreed to “cooperate” with the government.
The AP reported that prosecutors had previously said DeCologero and Geas beat Burger in the head with a lock soon after he arrived to the West Virginia prison from another facility. However, the AP said prosecutors on Thursday said DeCologero had served as a lookout during the beating and was not physically involved. (McKinnon has also been called a lookout during the incident.)
Newsweek reached out to an attorney for DeCologero via email on Thursday for comment.
The Justice Department found that Bulger’s death was a result of management failures, including over 100 officials finding out about Bulger’s move in advance and a lack of formal process for deciding which unit to house inmates at the prison. However, an inspector found no evidence of “malicious intent” by bureau employees.
In June, McKinnon, who had been serving a gun theft sentence, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his part in Bulger’s beating. He got credit for time spent in custody after his 2022 indictment and did not receive more prison time.
Geas faces a hearing on September 6 on murder charges that carry up to a life sentence. In 2011, he and his brother were sentenced to life for their parts in violent crimes that included the killing of mob boss in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
