Luigi Mangione latest: UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect hires high-profile attorney and expected to waive extradition

The McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania who called in the tip that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione is eligible for law enforcement’s $60,000 reward — but he may not collect it for a while.

The manhunt for the masked gunman suspected of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 came to an end after six days when Larry, a McDonald’s employee, called 911, saying he recognized a customer nibbling on hashbrowns from the photos circulated by NYPD. Now, that worker is eligible to collect tens of thousands of dollars in reward money.

Mangione, 26, has been charged with second-degree murder in New York in connection to Thompson’s death. He also faces gun charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.

The FBI was offering up to $50,000 and NYPD Crime Stoppers was offering $10,000 for information that led to an arrest or conviction.

“The individual in Pennsylvania, who called in a tip, is eligible to receive the reward,” the Police Foundation board said in a statement Wednesday.

Since most rewards require a conviction, Larry might have to wait until a trial completes, which could take a year or more, the Associated Press reported.

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A TV anchor managed to interview men at the alleged shooter’s jail as they watched her program from their cells.

Mangione is at a state correctional facility in Huntingdon. The prisoners there complained about their living conditions and meals by screaming yes or no to the anchor’s questions.

Watch the interaction here:

Luigi Mangione’s family couldn’t merely afford medical care. They could afford to donate more than $1 million of their own money to healthcare.

That’s according to a report Monday from The Baltimore Banner, which chronicles the wealthy family history of the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Following the news of Mangione’s arrest Monday, his family released a statement saying they were “shocked.”

Io Dodds has the full story.

Luigi Mangione has retained a top New York attorney for his legal defense in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The Independent understands that Karen Friedman Agnifilo has been officially retained to represent Mangione, 26, in New York, after the executive, 50, was gunned down outside the New York Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on 4 December.

Here, The Independent takes a look at what we know about Ms Agnifilo:

A legal committee has raised $124,905 to pay for Luigi Mangione’s legal bills as he faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.

The December 4th Legal Committee launched the public appeal on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, which garnered the vast sum after the 26-year-old was changed in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The fundraiser has a goal of $200,000.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that he gets a fair trial with competent legal counsel,” said Carol Sherman, an organizer with the December 4th Legal Committee.

The group says that proceeds will go to “other political prisoners in the US” if Mangione’s charges are dropped, or he rejects the funds.

Other campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defence have been taken down by sites, such as GoFundMe.

The slain UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, “understood” that the health insurance giant had a public relations problem, and recognized the average American’s frustrations with the firm’s image.

Thompson, who was gunned down in the street in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, believed that the public didn’t understand UnitedHealthcare’s role in the nation’s health system, colleagues told the Washington Post.

“He understood that the public was frustrated with what they perceived the company’s actions to be,” a co-worker said. “He was actively articulating a vision that helped better educate and help people better understand what the company is doing.”

Luigi Mangione’s mother reportedly spoke to FBI officials the day before he was arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of murdering the CEO of a health insurance giant after federal authorities received a tip.

According to the New York Post, a police officer in San Francisco recognized the suspect in surveillance photographs being circulated by New York City police. Mangione’s parents had filed a missing persons report with the San Francisco Police Department in November, after he reportedly went on a solo trip to Asia, apparently without telling them where he was.

The tip reportedly came in four days before the parents were contacted.

Michelle Del Rey has the story.

Luigi Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, told NBC News.

The update comes after police said that there was “no indication” that Mangione was registered with UnitedHealthcare, whose CEO was murdered on December 4 in Midtown Manhattan.

“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest health care organization in America,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York. “So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” Kenny said.

Investigators are still looking into a motive and have said that he suffered from debilitating back pain.

New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CBS News that she believes Americans view health insurance companies denying their claims as an “act of violence.”

“I think that this collective American experience, which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world, all of that pain that people have experienced is being concentrated on this event. And it’s really important that we take a step back,” the Democrat said Thursday.

“This is not to comment and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them,” she continued.

Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder in connection to the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside his Manhattanhotel on December 4.

Mangione, 26, was spotted eating a meal inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning, with an employee calling the tip into police.

He is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail without bond as he awaits extradition to New York where he faces a murder charge. He also faces charges for gun law violations in Pennsylvania.

Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown. That launched a massive manhunt for the suspect who eluded police for nearly a week.

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