Mafia hit man a suspect in ‘Whitey’ Bulger death

Inside the West Virginia penitentiary where James “Whitey” Bulger was beaten to death, there is little shock about his violent demise, apparently at the hands of fellow inmates.

The notorious 89-year-old former Boston mobster, who was serving two consecutive life sentences plus five years for his role in 11 murders, was found unresponsive at 8:20 Tuesday morning just hours after he arrived at the prison. A Mafia hitman identified as Fotios “Freddy” Geas, who is serving a life sentence at the prison for murder, is a suspect in Bulger’s death, The Associated Press reported.

“Am I surprised there’s been another murder? No,” said Richard Heldreth, president of Local 420 of American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800 employees at the U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, W.Va. “It wouldn’t surprise me if there was another one tomorrow. We are severely understaffed.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating Bulger’s death as a homicide — the third inmate slaying at the Hazelton facility in seven months.

In September, inmate Demario Porter, 27, who was serving a 26-month sentence for a parole violation, was killed after a violent altercation with another inmate. In April, inmate Ian Thorne, 48, who was serving a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder, was killed in a fight in a housing unit.

Union officials have raised a flurry of concerns over the last year about acute understaffing and lethal violence at the prison, which is categorized as a high-security lockup. There are more than 3,000 inmates at the prison complex.

“We’re short of 42 correctional officers,” Heldreth said, noting that the Hazelton complex is authorized to have 445 correctional officers, but only has 403. “It affects the security of the prison.”