Three Inmates Agree to Plea Deal in Death of Whitey Bulger

Three fellow prison inmates charged in the brutal bludgeoning death of James (Whitey) Bulger, the wily and charismatic Boston gangster who had evaded a federal dragnet for 16 years, have agreed to a plea deal, according to a filing by federal prosecutors in West Virginia on Monday.

Fotios Geas, Paul J. DeCologero and Sean McKinnon faced murder and conspiracy charges after Mr. Bulger, 89, was found beaten to death in his cell in 2018, just hours after being transferred from a Florida lockup where he had been serving two consecutive life sentences for his role in 11 murders.

The details of the agreement were not disclosed. In a three-page motion, prosecutors said that the three men had agreed to “cooperate” with the government in preparing a report specifying the circumstances of Mr. Bulger’s killing at the Hazelton federal prison in Bruceton Mills, W.Va.

Prison officials had quickly identified Mr. Geas as a suspect in the immediate aftermath of the attack. After a four-year investigation, prosecutors said Mr. DeCologero, a Boston-area gang leader, also took an active role in battering Mr. Bulger, while Mr. McKinnon served as a lookout.

Calls to the U.S. attorney’s office and to lawyers for the men, who have all remained in federal custody, were not immediately returned.

On Oct. 30, 2018, less than 12 hours after Mr. Bulger, who used a wheelchair and was in failing health, was transferred to Hazelton from a Florida prison, security camera footage showed at least two inmates rolling Mr. Bulger out of view into a corner of a room.