Inmate sentenced to more than 4 years in prison killing of Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger

James 'Whitey' Bulger, right, is escorted from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter at an airport in Plymouth, Mass., on June 30, 2011. (Stuart Cahill / The Boston Herald via AP)

CLARKSBURG, W.VA. — An inmate was sentenced to more than four years Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in a troubled West Virginia federal prison.

Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. DeCologero was already serving a 25-year sentence handed down in 2006 after he was convicted of buying heroin used to try to kill a teenage girl.

Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios “Freddy” Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, both prosecutors and the defense said DeCologero only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh said the sentence was “fair, just and appropriate” and “strikes the balance the court is trying to seek.”

DeCologero, 50, declined to speak when given the opportunity to address the court. Defense attorney Patrick Nash began by conveying an apology from DeCologero to Bulger's family as well as the inmate's own relatives.

Nash described DeCologero as the victim of an “abusive and neglectful” upbringing.

“Paul has had an incredibly difficult life,” Nash said. “As a result of that, Paul is a person who is easily led. Anyone who shows him attention, he's easily led.”

An uncle eventually took in DeCologero and made him part of a criminal organization, Nash said.

In Bulger's killing, “Paul was involved," Nash said. "He is guilty. But his role was limited.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Flower declined to comment after the sentencing.

According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving at Hazelton. An inmate previously told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit.

Prosecutors have said DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulger’s cell. Geas hit Bulger, while DeCologero served as a lookout and helped cover Bulger's body, Flower said Thursday. DeCologero's DNA was found on two blankets, the prosecutor said.

Geas has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. His hearing is scheduled for Sept. 6. Last year, the Justice Department said it would not seek the death penalty.

Another inmate, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release. McKinnon had served out a sentence for stealing guns from a firearms dealer.

Plea deals for the three men were disclosed May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on.

Prior to Bulger's death, employees at Hazelton had been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing. After Bulger was killed, prison officials were criticized for placing him in the general population instead of more protective housing.

A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of “malicious intent” by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters.

In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny.

Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang.

He became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run.

Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant.

DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say.

Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno’s killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said.