MAFIA HIT MAN suspected in Whitey Bulger’s slaying

BOSTON: A Mafia hit man who is said to hate "rats" is under suspicion in the slaying of former Boston crime boss and longtime FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger, who was found dead hours after he was transferred to a West Virginia prison, an ex-investigator briefed on the case said Wednesday.

The former official said that Fotios "Freddy" Geas and at least one other inmate are believed to have been involved in Bulger's killing. The longtime investigator was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities have not disclosed the cause of death.

Among the many unanswered questions after Bulger was found dead on Tuesday: Why was he moved to the prison? And why was a frail 89-year-old like Bulger a known "snitch" placed in the general population instead of more protective housing?

Attorney Hank Brennan said Bulger had a hip injury and was in a wheelchair when he was attacked. Brennan represented Bulger during his 2013 trial.

Geas, 51, 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 Genovese crime family boss who was gunned down in a Springfield, Massachusetts, parking lot.

Private investigator Ted Mcdonough, who knew Geas, told The Boston Globe: "Freddy hated rats."

"Freddy hated guys who abused women. Whitey was a rat who killed women. It's probably that simple," Mcdonough told the newspaper, which first reported that Geas was under suspicion.

It was not clear whether Geas has an attorney. Several other lawyers who represented him over the years didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.