By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-14 06:14:55 | Updated at 2024-12-14 08:57:02
2 hours ago
Luigi Mangione has taken on a powerful New York attorney to represent him as he faces murder charges for being the alleged assassin of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
The accused killer of top brass Brian Thompson, who was shot dead in the streets of New York City, captivated the country after he was captured by authorities following a five-day run from police.
He seems to be replacing colorful lawyer Thomas Dickey with Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former assistant district attorney who helped prosecute the Harvey Weinstein case in New York.
She's considered a creature of the New York state court system, with one source telling CNN Friedman Agnifilo 'knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse.'
'She's got as much experience as any human being, especially in the state court.'
CNN had previously employed Friedman Agnifilo as a legal analyst.
Friedman Agnifilo left Cyrus Vance Jr.'s Manhattan DA office after seven years in 2021 to go work in private practice, including at Geragos & Geragos, the high-powered LA firm that currently represents the Menendez brothers.
She studied political science and government before getting her Law degree at Georgetown.
Luigi Mangione is hiring a powerful New York attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to represent him as he faces murder charges for being the alleged assassin of the UnitedHealthcare CEO
The accused killer of top brass Brian Thompson, who was shot dead in the streets of New York City, captivated the country after he was captured by authorities following a five-day run from police
Friedman Agnifilo also co-hosts a podcast called MissTrial, with former New York Congresswoman Kathleen Rice and ex-federal prosecutor E. Danya Perry.
It comes as multiple crowdfunding attempts have been made to raise money for his defense, according to ABC News.
Mangione, 26, has been accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, outside of a New York City hotel on December 4.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges and had an actioned-packed day in court Tuesday fighting extradition to the Big Apple.
While Mangione is working to extend his stay in the Keystone State, New York officials are hoping to get him back with what is called a governor's warrant.
It's a warrant signed by the governor of a state where a fugitive flees after a crime. The governor in that state acts upon an official request from the governor of the state where the crime occurred.
In this case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to seek a governor's warrant from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, but the process could take more than a month.
On Wednesday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police have matched a gun found on Mangione with the shell casings recovered at the scene and his fingerprints with a water bottle and energy bar wrapper found nearby.
Friedman Agnifilo (pictured right) is a former assistant district attorney who helped prosecute the Harvey Weinstein case in New York
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside Manhattan's Hilton Hotel
Other evidence includes handwritten documents found in his possession casting his alleged crime as a legitimate response to what he viewed as corporate greed, some media outlets have reported.
Mangione lashed out himself on Tuesday as he was led into a courthouse, shouting in part, '...completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!'
The former Ivy League student had been apprehended with a 3D-printed pistol and black silencer, as well as a manifesto condemning the American healthcare system.
Mangione also had a spiral notebook in which he wrote a 'to-do list,' ahead of the grizzly shooting, CNN reported.
In it, he allegedly toyed with the idea of using a bomb to kill Thompson - but he decided against the prospect because it 'could kill innocents,' and determined a shooting would be more targeted.
He also reportedly mused that it couldn't get any better than 'to kill the CEO at his own bean-counting conference,' as Thompson was set to disclose the financial gains the company made this year.
Authorities have said Mangione's three-page manifesto is currently being investigated, which they have labeled a 'claim of responsibility.'
The document is a different piece of evidence from notebook - where he flirted with the idea of bombing Midtown to kill the millionaire healthcare boss.
Surveillance camera footage showed the gunman, suspected to be Mangione, shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson at point blank range outside of a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan on December 4
In the manifesto, Mangione allegedly wrote about the grandiose size of UnitedHealthcare and how much profits it makes, and went on to condemn health insurance companies more broadly for placing profits over care.
Details about his writing come amid the backdrop of the UPenn graduate's own experience with the medical world, as he had been struggling after a spinal injury. His elaborate online presence also showed he'd read multiple books on back pain.
'To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn't working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, [and] a lot of patience,' he allegedly wrote in the manifesto, according to the Daily Beast.
He went on to say he had 'respect' for federal investigators, and apologized for causing any 'traumas,' but seemed to defend his alleged actions.
'Frankly these parasites had it coming,' the manifesto wrote.
It claimed that the United States had the 'most expensive healthcare system in the world,' but blasted the system for making America only the 42nd in life expectancy.
