THE alleged assassin charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will be housed in the same prison hellhole as embattled rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Luigi Mangione, who waived his extradition and arrived in New York City on Thursday, is now under federal custody and will be detained in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The federal cesspool is plagued with inmate death and violence, rodents, raw sewage, understaffing, and a deteriorating infrastructure.
“The MDC was one of the most troubled, if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons,” Cameron Lindsay, a former warden at the jail, told The New York Times in 2019.
In addition to Sean Combs, Mangione will be living under the same roof as three cartel figures, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, Nestor Perez “El Nini,” and Genaro Garcia Luna.
The prison complex once housed other high-profile inmates like shamed singer R Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, rapper Fetty Wap, Mexican drug lord JoaquÃn “El Chapo” Guzmán, and FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The MDC is the only federal complex in New York City after the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan was temporarily shut in August 2021.
FEDERAL DETENTION
Mangione was officially placed under federal custody at 1 pm, when he was extradited from Pennsylvania to Manhattan and was turned over to FBI officials by New York police officers.
Karen Agnifilo, Mangione’s attorney, did not seek bail during his hearing in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Agnifilo said she was blindsided by the new wave of federal charges against her client.
“These seem like two different cases,” the attorney, whose husband is representing Bad Boy CEO Combs in his federal sex trafficking case, said of the separate state and federal charges.
“The theory of the murder charge of the Manhattan DA case is terrorism and intimidating a group of people. This is stalking an individual.
“Is there one case, two cases, two investigations? Is there a joint investigation?” Agnifilo asked Judge Kahterarine Parker.
“Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like that and what’s happening here,” she added.
“This is a highly unusual situation that we find ourselves in.”
Mangione’s next court appearance is set for January 18, 2025.
PERP WALK
A large-scale NYPD presence from different rankings, including Mayor Eric Adams, flanked Mangione as he disembarked a helicopter near Wall Street.
NYPD detectives escorted the alleged assassin from the Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to Altoona Blair County Airport, where they boarded a Cessna 208 plane en route to New York.
“We relinquished him to the custody of the New York City Police Department, and they’ll be taking him back to New York City in a safe and secure manner,” Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks told reporters after Mangione’s extradition hearing.
The plane transporting Mangione arrived at Islip’s MacArthur Airport on Long Island at around 12:15 pm.
There, he was met by dozens of armed police officers who mounted him on an NYPD helicopter.
A sea of police officers escorted Mangione, who was chained from the wrists and ankles and sporting an orange prison jumpsuit, from the Lower Manhattan heliport to an unmarked police van.
“Luigi Mangione was brought back to New York City to answer to charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,” Mayor Adams wrote on X.
“Those who bring illegal guns to our city will face justice.”
Mangione was allowed to change into street clothes at his federal court appearance, sporting a white button-down shirt with a navy three-quarter zip sweater over, and khaki pants.
After the hearing, his attorney addressed the media briefly, saying, “We’re going to respectfully decline to make any comment at this time.
“Mr. Mangione appreciates everyone’s support. Thank you so much,” Agnifilo added.
‘CHECKS EVERY BOX’
The recent federal indictment disclosed new details about Mangione’s three-page handwritten manifesto authorities found in his backpack.
The notes expressed the suspect’s frustration with corporate greed and branded insurance companies “parasites,” according to court documents.
The University of Pennsylvania graduate had been planning to kill Thompson as early as August 15, the indictment states.
An entry in the notebook read, “The details are finally coming together,” read court documents.
“I’m glad – in a way – that I’ve procrastinated,” Mangione allegedly wrote, saying it gave him time to learn more about the company he was targeting.
“The Notebook entry also stated that ‘the target is insurance’ because ‘it checks every box,'” the indictment said.
Mangione allegedly penned, “This investor conference is a true windfall… and – most importantly – the message becomes self-evident.”
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s murder
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Here is everything we know about Thompson’s murder so far.
Monday, December 2 – Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am – Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am – Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm – Thompson’s estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm – Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it’s unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am – Reports claim the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am– Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It’s believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am – A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He’s wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon – Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It’s also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm – Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 – Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.
