From Newsgroup: nyc.politics

A suspect identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pa., Monday in connection to the Midtown Manhattan murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel following a five-day manhunt.

Mangione, who was held without bail at a Pennsylvania court appearance and hit with charges including carrying an illegal weapon and forgery, was the subject of an intense search since the Wednesday shooting, as NYPD investigators scoured camera footage and used drones, dogs, scuba divers and the NYPDrCOs high-tech rCLdomain awareness systemrCY to track his movements via bicycle, cab and bus and gather evidence.

The big break in the case came when he pulled down his mask to flirt with an Upper West Side hostel worker, exposing his face to a camera rCo and on Monday, a McDonaldrCOs worker more than 200 miles away from the scene recognized him and called in the tip.

A pair of officers from the Altoona police department who responded to the fast-food restaurant found Mangione sitting at a table toward the back, looking at a silver laptop, according to court documents. He was wearing a blue surgical mask.

At a press conference, Altoona Officer Tyler Frye, who has only six months on the job, said he and his partner rCLdidnrCOt even think twicerCY when Mangione complied with an order to pull down his mask.

Frye said Mangione handed over a fake New Jersey driverrCOs license and became quiet and started to shake when asked if herCOd been to New York recently.

After cops failed to verify his ID, he told them his actual name and was arrested for forgery. Asked why he lied, he said, rCLI clearly shouldnrCOt have,rCY according to charging documents.

Cops found a black 3D-printed pistol and silencer in his backpack after an inspection. It appeared to match the murder weapon seen in security video of the shooting, police sources told The News.

The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six 9-mm. full metal jacket rounds and one loose hollow point round.

At the press conference in Pennsylvania Monday evening, Lt. Col. George Bivens from the state police said Mangione tried to keep his devices undetectable and was generally rCLvery careful with trying to stay low profile, avoid cameras rCo not all that successfully in some cases.rCY

According to Pennsylvania prosecutors, Mangione had about $10,000 in cash on him. The NYPD said Monday that his fake ID matched the ID used to check into the hostel and was one of several he had, including a U.S. passport.

Mangione is accused in Pennsylvania of forgery, carrying an illegal weapon, tampering with records and giving a fake ID to law enforcement. The Maryland man will be initially processed in Pennsylvania and will have an opportunity to contest or waive his extradition when charging documents are brought in New York. Pennsylvania law enforcement officials said they would make him available to the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin BraggrCOs office when the time comes.

Mangione was also carrying a three-page, handwritten manifesto when cops found him, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday at a separate City Hall press conference.

rCLIt does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America,rCY NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Monday of the manifesto.

His screed included complaints about how insurers treated a sick relative and communicated that he was sorry for any hurt he caused but that his actions were necessary, police sources told the Daily News.

One of the sources said Mangione labeled those in the health care industry as rCLparasitesrCY more concerned with money than helping people.

Mangione was not on investigatorsrCO radar before the tip, and police didnrCOt have his name before Monday, officials said.

rCLThe combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what lead to this result [Monday],rCY Tisch said.

Added Kenny, rCLI really couldnrCOt put it on one thing, but if I had to, IrCOd put it on the release of that photograph from the media,rCY showing the shooting suspectrCOs face.

Mangione graduated as valedictorian of the private, all-boys Gilman School in 2016, according to the Baltimore schoolrCOs website. He went on to major in computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a masterrCOs degree in engineering in 2020.

Included in an online list of books Mangione read this year, according to a website, is Unabomber Theodore KaczynskirCOs rCLIndustrial Society and its Future,rCY which he rated four out of five stars. Police sources said MangionerCOs manifesto used language similar to his online writings about Kaczynski.

MangionerCOs last known address is Honolulu, police said. He has connections to San Francisco and no arrest history in New York City.

A cousin of his is Nino Mangione, a GOP lawmaker who represents a suburban Baltimore district in the staterCOs House of Delegates, the lawmakerrCOs office confirmed Monday. There is no indication that Nino Mangione had any ties to the shocking assassination.

Late Monday, Nino Mangione posted a statement from the Mangione family on social media, the Associated Press reported.

rCLOur family is shocked and devastated by LuigirCOs arrest,rCY the statement said. rCLWe offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.rCY

Police were offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the gunmanrCOs capture as the manhunt for the masked shooter continued. The FBI also offered $50,000 for information, resulting in an arrest and conviction of the suspect.

Chilling surveillance footage shows a gunman in a hoodie, mask, and sporting a large knapsack creeping up and shooting Thompson in the back on W. 54th St. near Sixth Ave. at about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Officials said the 50-year-old CEO of the Minnesota-based company was walking toward the Hilton to help prepare for an investor day conference sponsored by UnitedHealthcare.

After shooting Thompson in the back, the gunman fled the scene on a bicycle and disappeared in Central Park, but cops picked up his trail late Wednesday night on the Upper West Side.

Cops found the words rCLDeny,rCY rCLDelay,rCY and rCLDeposerCY written on the bullets rCo a supposed insurance industry mantra for delaying claims and maximizing profits rCo leading police to believe that the killer was motivated by a beef with the insurance industry.

NYPD detectives, with the help of Port Authority police, managed to track the gunmanrCOs movements from when he first arrived in the city. Police sources said the suspect arrived in Manhattan on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta on the evening of Nov. 24, more than a week before unraveling his murder plot.

He found his way to the HI New York City Hostel on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 104th St., where cops recovered images of the suspect without a mask and smiling at someone behind the reception desk.

At Monday nightrCOs press conference, the officer who apprehended Mangione was asked about arresting the most sought-after suspect in the country so soon into his new gig.

rCLI canrCOt say I was expecting it,rCY Frye said. rCLIt feels good to get a guy like that off the street, especially starting my career this way.rCY

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro expressed his condolences to ThompsonrCOs family and said Mangione isnrCOt the folk hero people rCLin some dark cornersrCY had built him up to be.

rCLHear me on this, he is no hero,rCY Shapiro said. rCLThe real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonaldrCOs this morning.rCY

https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/12/09/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-murder-arrest/
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