Mob Hitman Reportedly Eyed As Suspect In Whitey Bulger's Prison Beating Death

Famed mob boss Whitey Bulger may have been killed by a Mafia hitman who was serving a life sentence for murder at the penitentiary, according to multiple reports.

Fotios "Freddy" Geas, 51, has been identified as a possible suspect in the killing at a high-security prison in West Virginia Tuesday, according to the Boston Globe. U. S. Bureau of Prison officials have released little information about the death other than to say Bulger was found dead in his cell at 8 a.m.

The Globe reports Bulger was badly beaten, with his eyes nearly gouged out.

Geas is serving a life sentence for the murders of Springfield mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, and mob associate Gary Westerman in 2003, according to MassLive. He was also linked to the shooting of a New York union boss, who survived.

But now, there's a potential new victim on his list and sources who know Geas said he had a reputation for not liking snitches. Bulger worked as an FBI informant during his reign of the Winter Hill Gang in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Freddy hated rats," Ted McDonough, a private investigator and friend of Geas' told the Boston Globe. "Freddy hated guys who abused women. Whitey was a rat who killed women. It's probably that simple."

Daniel D. Kelly, a former Geas attorney, called his old client "a dying breed," and said although he didn't know whether Geas was responsible for the crime, it was possible, MassLive reports.

"He has great disdain for informants," he told the news organization.

While there is speculation Geas may be behind the killing of the 89-year-old, who had just arrived at the West Virginia prison after being transferred from a Florida prison and serving time in a temporary facility in Oklahoma, no one has officially been linked to the death.

Some reports have emerged that Bulger was beaten to death by several other inmates. According to the New York Times, sources said the inmates may have been "affiliated with the mob."

Geas has a notorious reputation for being a violent criminal. He and his brother Ty Geas allegedly lured Westerman to a home under the guise it was a home invasion, then buried him in a grave already dug on the property, MassLive reports.

He was convicted on the charges after close friend Anthony Arillotta, another alleged mob member, became a government informant. Geas reportedly never got over the betrayal.

"Freddy is a man's man," Kelly told MassLive. "After Anthony Arillotta flipped, there was a back channel for Freddy to try to persuade him to cooperate too. He didn't even blink an eye. He didn't flinch. He just said no."

If the allegations are true, Geas may have earned himself coveted notriety in prison.

"He's a rich man now. He'll run any prison he's in," a source told MassLive.

[Photo: Getty Images]