Fotios "Freddy" Geas (born April 4, 1967) is an American criminal associated with the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He is a former Mafia hitman operating out of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

and often worked with his brother Ty. He was accused of having orchestrated the 2018 murder of

Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent. The organization itself derives its n ...

mobster

Whitey Bulger James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (; September 3, 1929 – October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Bos ...

in prison, and was charged in relation to the incident in August 2022.

Criminal career

Geas was born into a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

family; therefore, he could not be a

made Made or MADE may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom * ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music * ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016 * ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013 * ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007 *'' M.A.D.E. ...

member of the Italian Mafia. Geas and his brother Ty were well known enforcers feared within their community. The Geas brothers worked with Anthony Arillotta, another mobster. In 2003, Arillotta was formally inducted into the Genovese crime family. Arillotta had requested that the Geas brothers kill his brother-in-law, Gary Westerman. Acting boss Arthur Nigro organized a hit on aging gangster

Adolfo Bruno Adolfo Bruno (; November 24, 1945 – November 23, 2003), also known as "Big Al", was an Italian-born American mobster who was a caporegime with the Genovese crime family based in New York City, who ran an organized crime operation out of Spring ...

. Both hits were carried out in 2003. In 2011, Geas was charged with the murders of Gary Westerman and Adolfo Bruno. He was also indicted as the getaway driver in the failed assassination attempt of Bronx union boss, Frank Dabado, after Dabado was involved in an argument with Nigro over

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

concert tickets. During the 2011 trial, Geas was shocked to see his former associate Arillotta testify against him. Geas was known for his strict code. He despised snitches and men who abused women. Geas refused to cooperate with law enforcement and was sentenced to life in prison.

Murder of Whitey Bulger

On October 29, 2018, infamous Boston gangster

was transferred from the

Federal Transfer Center The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

in Oklahoma City to

United States Penitentiary, Hazelton The United States Penitentiary, Hazelton (USP Hazelton) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in West Virginia. The high-security facility has earned the nickname "Misery Mountain" by the inmates who are incarcerated the ...

, in West Virginia. At 8:20 a.m. on October 30, the 89-year-old Bulger was found unresponsive in the prison. Bulger was in a wheelchair and had been beaten to death by multiple inmates armed with a sock-wrapped padlock and a

shiv The word Shiv or shiv may refer to: People with the name * Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a West Indies cricketer nicknamed Shiv Arts, entertainment, and media * Shiv, a fictional location in Magic: The Gathering, see Dominaria * Shiv, a villain in the ...

. His eyes had nearly been gouged out and his tongue almost cut off.Prison drops visits after Whitey Bulger slaying
, ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'', Laurel J. Sweet, November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018. This was the third homicide at the prison in a 40-day span. Correctional officers had warned Congress just days before the most recent Hazelton death that facilities were being dangerously understaffed. Geas was the primary suspect in orchestrating the killing of Bulger. In August 2022, he along with Paul DeCologero and Sean McKinnon were indicted on first degree murder charges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geas, Fotios 1967 births Genovese crime family People from Springfield, Massachusetts American gangsters of Greek descent Criminals from Massachusetts Mafia hitmen Living people