By Steve Neavling
The man charged as the lookout in the prison murder of infamous Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of lying to federal agents.
Sean McKinnon, 38, was sentenced to time served after prosecutors dismissed a more serious murder conspiracy charge as part of a plea agreement, the Guardian reports.
McKinnon was among three inmates charged in the brutal killing of 89-year-old Bulger in his cell on the morning of Oct. 30, 2018, less than 12 hours after he was transferred to Hazelton federal prison in West Virginia.
McKinnon is accused of serving as the lookout while Fotios (Freddy) Geas and Paul DeCologero beat Bulger to death. Their cases are still in court.
As part of a plea deal, McKinnon had faced up to five years in prison on the lying charge, in addition to a $250,000 fine.
But U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh credited McKinnon with the nearly two years he spent in prison after his indictment in the case, allowing him to leave the courtroom without more jail time.
When Bulger was killed, McKinnon was serving an eight-year sentence for stealing a dozen firearms and trading them for heroin and cocaine. After being released in the summer of 2022, he was rearrested on the new charges related to Bulger’s death.
