Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League graduate accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was never a client of the medical insurance giant, a senior NYPD official revealed Thursday.
Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC that he suspects the alleged 26-year-old gunman may have targeted Thompson due to the size and influence of the health insurance company.
Kenny said investigators found evidence that Mangione was aware UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference at a Manhattan hotel the day of the cold-blooded slaying.
When Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Monday, he was also in possession of a manifesto-type note that mentioned UnitedHealthcare and accused health insurance companies of corporate greed, sources have previously told The Post.
“We have no indication that he was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America,” Kenny told the outlet.
“So that’s possibly why he targeted that company.”
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Thompson as the 50-year-old CEO walked to the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference on Dec. 4.
The University of Pennsylvania grad led police on a five-day manhunt that ended when he was taken into custody at the fast-food joint after an employee recognized him and called the police.
Along with the two-and-a-half-page manifesto that was addressed to “the Feds,” cops also recovered a 3D-printed pistol, 3D-printed silencer, a loaded Glock magazine and multiple fake IDs in his backpack.
Police said the ballistics from the ghost gun matched the shell casings recovered from the crime scene, with Mangione’s fingerprints matching a water bottle and a granola wrapper found near the crime scene.
Mangione is facing murder charges and is being held at the State Correctional Institution in Huntington, Pennsylvania, after a judge denied him bail earlier this week.
The suspected killer has challenged extradition orders that seek to return him back to New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul said he will be indicted “any day now” for the fatal shooting.
She added that a warrant for his extradition will be issued the moment he is charged.
He has pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges levied against him, including murder and gun possession.