Fotios A. "Freddy" Geas, 41, of West Springfield, MA (right), was indicted June 5 on one count of murder in aid of racketeering, according to a press release from the Boston office of the FBI.Geas is accused of paying $10,000 to Frankie A. Roche for the Nov. 23, 2003, murder of Springfield Mafia bigshot Adolfo Bruno. U.S. attorneys say the payment was made on behalf of Bruno's underlings in the Springfield, MA, crew of the Genovese Crime Family.
Roche pleaded guilty in April to killing 57-year-old Bruno (below right) with a .45-caliber pistol as Bruno exited a Springfield social club. Defense attorneys for Geas say Roche is cooperating with the continuing federal investigation of the Bruno murder.
Geas faces a possible death penalty if convicted on the charge.
After Roche's guilty plea, attention turned toward Geas and Brandon D. Croteau. Geas and Croteau were initially named as codefendants in a state-level case stemming from the Bruno murder. The state case was never brought to trial. Croteau was not mentioned in the FBI press release.
The FBI reportedly also has information linking Bruno's successor Anthony J. Arilotta (above left) to the crime. According to the Bureau, Arilotta obtained approvals from higher-ups in the Genovese family to murder Bruno. Documentation indicates that Pasquale "Scop" Deluca and Arthur "Artie" Nigro were Arilotta's superiors within the crime family. Both men pleaded guilty in New York to unrelated charges in 2007. Arilotta, who in a plea deal admitted membership in the Genovese Crime Family, has been serving a three-year sentence in a Massachusetts State Prison for gambling and loansharking and was sentenced to an additional five years for an unrelated murder conspiracy. Nigro, reputed captain in the crime family, pleaded guilty to using threats of violence to acquire a commercial rental property at lower than market price. He was sentenced to 51 months in prison.
