Luigi Mangione: Ivy League Graduate Charged in CEO Murder
Luigi Mangione, 26, has been arrested over the killing of the CEO of United Healthcare, Brian Thompson, in New York last week.
On Monday, Mangione was taken into custody at McDonald’s in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, in the west of NYC, after he was recognised by a customer at a fast food outlet.
According to the police, Luigi is a graduate from Ivy League and also from a notable Maryland family, who was found in possession of a gun and a handwritten document that had “motivation and mindset” inscribed on it.
He was arraigned before a court in Pennsylvania on a five-count indictment and has been denied bail. Mr. Mangione was persecuted a few hours later on murder and four other counts, including firearms, by the New York investigators.
The 50-year-old CEO was terribly shot in the back while holding an investor meeting last Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare, the medical insurance giant, stood.
Police reported that his killing was planned in advance. Mangione was apprehended over the possession of a gun, forgery, and fake identification to police, and he is currently serving a jail term in Pennsylvania. Earlier on
Monday, he appeared in court wearing jeans and a dark blue jersey and was bound on the wrists and ankles. He was calm during the hearing, occasionally looking around at those present, including the media.
Last week’s shooting incident triggered a huge investigation, as New York City investigators used one of the world’s largest digital surveillance systems as well as police dogs, drones, and divers in a Central Park lake in searching for the culprit.
Finding Mr. Mangione was a complete surprise to the investigators, as they did not have his name on a list of suspects before Monday. It was a customer at McDonald’s in Altoona who recognised the suspect from media news and alerted an employee, who called the police.
Court papers stated that when police got there, he gave them a fake New Jersey driver’s license with the name Mark Rosario. The criminal complaint added that he “became quiet and started to shake” when an officer asked if he had been to New York recently.
The court papers further stated that he only gave his real name after he was threatened with arrest if he lied about his name again. When the officer asked him why he lied, he said, “I clearly shouldn’t have.”.
During the search, the police discovered a “ghost”gun”—which could have been 3D-printed—and a loaded magazine with six rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Prosecutors also noted that he was also carrying a US passport and $10,000 cash, $2,000 of it in foreign currency, which Mr. Mangione denied the amount in court.
The officials added that the three-page handwritten document found in his possession indicated he harboured “ill will towards corporate America.”.
The words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene of Mr. Thompson’s murder, the investigator said.
Officials believe this could be a reference to what critics call the “three Ds of insurance.”
– tactics used by insurance companies to reject payment claims by patients in America’s complicated healthcare system.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the same day, commented that the weapon and suppressor used by the suspect were both consistent with the weapon used in the murder of Mr. Thompson.
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Mr. Mangion will soon be given the choice of either waiving his extradition to the state of New York or contesting it.
If he waives it, he will immediately be made available to New York authorities. If he contests it, the process could take between 30 and 45 days.
Mr. Mangione’s family said they were “shocked and devastated” by his arrest.
In a family statement posted on Monday on social media by the defendant’s cousin, Nino Mangione, Maryland state legislator, they said, “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson, and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
Mr. Mangione, as a teenager, attended a private all-boys school in Maryland, where he was class valedictorian, a title usually awarded to students with the best grades. He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League college.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as a data engineer in California. Also, TrueCar, a website for car buyers, confirmed that he was employed there until 2023.
Content Credit| Igbakuma Rita Doom
Picture Credit | https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2024/12/09/suspect-in-ceos-murder-hails-from-real-estate-family/
