Official: Hit man for Mafia suspected in Bulger’s slaying

BOSTON — A Mafia associate and 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 exinvestigator briefed on the case said Wednesday.

The former official said that Fotios “Freddy” Geas, 51, and at least one other inmate are believed to have been involved in Bulger’s killing.

Authorities have not disclosed the cause of death. Nor have they said why Bulger, 89, was moved to to the prison, or why a known informant was in the general population instead of more protective housing.

Geas, 51, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for his role in several violent crimes.