Accused assassin Luigi Mangione, who hails from a “old money” background, is in for a stark contrast as he gears up to spend his first Christmas in a grim prison environment, as per an expert’s analysis.
The man accused of carrying out the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is facing dual charges linked to the meticulously planned and emotionless shooting that transpired on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.
After being extradited from Pennsylvania to New York on December 19, Mangione was immediately turned over to FBI officials.
Federal prosecutors unsealed a four-count indictment charging Mangione, 26, with murder through the use of a firearm, stalking, and firearm offenses.
Mangione, now incarcerated at the infamous federal detention center in Brooklyn – the Metropolitan Detention Center – is navigating a reality he never envisioned, according to insights from a prison specialist.
‘HELL ON EARTH’
“Luigi, he’s like right now, his mind is a little f**ked up. He never thought that he’d be in the feds,” prison expert Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, told The U.S. Sun.
“He’s acclimating himself to his new surroundings. His lawyers are thanking God he’s in New York, and they don’t have to travel to Pennsylvania to visit him. So, he’s just adjusting to where he’s at.
“He’ll be there for a week or so, maybe two weeks. Then maybe in a month, they’ll move him where Diddy is.
“But [Diddy] can handle his s**t. I just know [Mangione] is f**king scared, and now they’re probably trying to force-feed him.
“They’re gonna offer him psych meds. He’s gonna be like a f**king zombie. That’s a given.”
You’re talking old, old, million old money. Now he can have cheese crackers, and maybe a bottle of a plastic bottle of soda.
Larry Levine
Levine, who served 10 years in federal prison on racketeering, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and narcotics trafficking charges, said Mangione is in a situation unlike anything he’s experienced before.
The Metropolitan Detention Center is plagued with inmate death and violence, rodents, raw sewage, understaffing, and a deteriorating infrastructure.
Cameron Lindsay, a former warden at the infamous federal building, told The New York Times in 2019 that the site is “one of the most trouble, if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons.”
‘OLD MONEY’ WEALTH
Mangione was born to a prominent, well-established Italian-American family in Baltimore, Maryland.
Nicholas Mangione Sr., the family patriarch and the young Mangione’s grandfather, left his 10 kids and 37 grandchildren an extensive multi-million dollar real estate portfolio, including country clubs, nursing homes, and a radio station.
Luigi Mangione came from a privileged upbringing, attending the prestigious high school Gilman School in Baltimore, where tuition is currently $37,690 per year.
He was on the wrestling and soccer teams and was valedictorian of his graduating class of 2016.
After high school, he continued his academic success, attending the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate and graduate studies.
Then, after college, Mangione landed several internships with tech companies and found a job as a software engineer at TrueCar, an online marketplace based in Santa Monica, California.
The perks of his job allowed Mangione to work remotely, and he eventually found himself living in a shared space in a high-rise apartment in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he paid about $2,000 per month.
During a trip to Thailand in April, Mangione boasted to another traveler that he was making “lawyer money” as a coder for TrueCar and claimed to have $6 million in his bank account thanks to his wealthy family, according to TMZ.
‘DIFFERENT LIFE, DIFFERENT WORLD’
However, Mangione’s elite lifestyle was upended when he was arrested on December 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles west of where he allegedly assassinated the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.
“You’re talking old, old million, old money,” Levine told The U.S. Sun.
“Now he can have cheese crackers and maybe a bottle of a plastic bottle of soda.
“He’ll buy a honey bun. It’s like all knock-offs, too. They don’t sell the real s**t in the feds.
“What is it called, Mrs. Freshly – I never heard of it until I went in. I saw it once at a $.99 store.
“So, he’ll be eating like off-brand, knock-off convenience, snacks, and s**t when he finally gets to get that.”
Levine added, “So, different life, different world, you know. It’s not like he’s in the state where you can buy your own TV set.
“He’s gonna have to deal with inmates, and he’s not gonna be making the decisions.
“So yeah, that’s a mindf**k.”
‘LIFE BEHIND BARS’
Levine compared Mangione’s living conditions in the Metropolitan Detention Center to “living in your bathroom.”
“You know, if he’s living in a cell like Diddy was for a while, you know how big those cells are? Picture living in your bathroom with no TV, no computer as well,” Levine said.
“That’s what his cell life will be like. You got nothing to read.
“Here’s your Bible, though. So, he’ll be reading the Bible, he’ll be getting discovery, but what real discovery is there.
“He didn’t commit a sophisticated crime. So, they’ll give him discovery, ‘We found this, and we found that this were his movements,’ for the next whatever period of time.
“The guy already admitted that he did it, so you know what kind of big investigation do you need on that.”
‘HUMAN PING-PONG BALL’
On Monday, Mangione pleaded not guilty to 11 state criminal counts, including a first-degree murder that brands him as a terrorist.
A grinning Mangione appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where his attorney raised issues with the New York City Police Department’s “staged” perp walk of her client.
“He’s a young man, and he’s being treated like a human ping-pong ball by two warring jurisdictions here,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued.
“They’re treating him like a human spectacle.”
Agnifilo questions Mayor Eric Adam’s presence at the December 19 perp walk, where dozens of heavily armed police officers and FBI officials waited for Mangione to arrive at a heliport near Wall Street.
“What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference – that is utterly political,” the attorney added.
“The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence.”
Despite her concerns, Judge Gregory Carro assured Agnifilo that Mangione would receive a fair trial, saying, “We will carefully select a jury.”
Mangione’s next court date in state court is scheduled for February 21.
Before then, he is expected to appear in federal court on January 18.
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.
