Luigi Mangione, alleged offender in the homicide case of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, has secured legal representation by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, previously the chief prosecutor at Manhattan’s district attorney’s office. She will be defending him after he has been extradited back to New York. Agnifilo Intrater LLP, the current employer of Friedman Agnifilo, confirmed the lawyer’s decision to represent the alleged gunman, but stated that no further remarks will be made on the matter at present.
‘Karen Friedman Agnifilo from the legal practice of Agnifilo Intrater LLP is now officially the representative for Luigi Mangione in court in New York,’ confirmed the law firm. Just hours after the announcement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. that Mangione might cease to contest his extradition to New York, Mangione, aged 26, hired Friedman Agnifilo. In New York, he is faced with charges of second-degree murder in the case of Thompson’s killing, which occurred outside a Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4.
He was apprehended at a fast-food outlet in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he now faces additional charges related to forgery and weapons. Bragg, as he addressed a Friday afternoon press conference, suggested that Mangione might cease to contest his extradition. ‘The defendant might decide to waive,’ Bragg stated. ‘However, this waiver is not final until confirmed in a court proceeding, which, as per the court officials in Pennsylvania, can only happen on Tuesday.’
Who did Mangione pick to represent him and why? Friedman Agnifilo previously working as public servant at the Manhattan district attorney’s office will possibly work to her advantage while she defends Mangione. A University of California graduate who later graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1992, Friedman Agnifilo served for seven years at the New York City office under District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
During her time there, she was instrumental in prosecuting high-profile cases of violent crimes, including complex cases involving a mental health angle, as well as unsolved homicides. In her role as the main assistant district attorney at the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Friedman Agnifilo held responsibility for approximately 500 lawyers, support staff of 700, and was in charge of nearly 80,000 cases annually.
Prior to working under Vance Jr., Friedman Agnifilo was employed by former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, acting as the general counsel to the criminal justice coordinator. But before Friedman Agnifilo signed on, Pennsylvania attorney Thomas Dickey was initially hired to head the defense team for Mangione, who is currently held without bail in Pennsylvania.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him in Pennsylvania. Since his arrest, he has been protesting against his extradition to New York. During Mangione’s extradition hearing that took place on a Tuesday at the courthouse of Blair County in Pennsylvania, Dickey was present with Mangione.
Dickey, an expert trial lawyer with 41 years in private practice, is an Altoona High School and Saint Francis University alumnus with a law degree from Ohio Northern University. His professional career spans several years in private practice and at the Blair County Public Defenders Office, and he will continue to represent Mangione in a private capacity.
In a recent update, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) claimed that there seems to be a match between Mangione’s fingerprints and those found at Thompson’s shooting site. Jessica Tisch, NYPD Commissioner, at a Wednesday press conference, informed the public that ‘the prints of the person of interest’ match prints found on a water bottle, and a wrapper for a protein bar found near the crime scene.
She further commented that the shell casings found at the location of the crime seemed to correspond with the 3D-printed firearm in Mangione’s possession when he was apprehended in Altoona. Despite Mangione’s protest against extradition to New York, a handwritten document was discovered at the time of his arrest in Pennsylvania.
In this so-called ‘manifesto,’ Mangione asserted that he acted alone. He also expressed an apology for any ‘strife or traumas’ that his actions might have induced. In his manifesto, Mangione talked about the U.S. having the world’s priciest healthcare system, criticizing that while the earnings of large corporations rise, ‘our life expectancy’ does not.
In his letter, he condemned corporations for ‘continuing to exploit our nation for significant profits as the American public has let them get away with it.’ It further claimed, ‘It’s not about awareness now; it’s about the evident power struggle.’ He declined to hide his sentiments, starkly voiced in the document, indicating he was the ‘first to confront it with such radical honesty.’