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?
Private investigator Ted McDonough, who knew Geas, told The Boston Globe: "Freddy hated rats."
"You've got to be smarter than that." He added: "If I was the warden of Hazelton, I would have never, ever allowed him to be put within my general population. It is just too risky."
Bulger's attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., blamed his death on prison officials, saying Bulger "was sentenced to life in prison, but as a result of decisions by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, that sentence has been changed to the death penalty."
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