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Accused UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione has achieved prominence inside a federal jail in Brooklyn, coming as no surprise to New York City defense lawyers with their own clients locked up inside, according to a new report.
Mangione has reportedly been dubbed an “ambassador” among inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the same facility where Sean “Diddy” Combs was locked up ahead of his federal sex trafficking trial.
There are three key factors to any inmate’s clout, according to Louis Gelormino, a Staten Island defense attorney.
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A photo montage shows Luigi Mangione in court in the foreground with his supporters in the hallway forming the background. (Mike Segar/Reuters; Pool)
“He allegedly, when you murder somebody and it’s a high-profile case, you automatically get a certain status in jail, sadly,” he told Fox News Digital. “The second part that gives him status is that he probably has a lot of money in his commissary, because he comes from a very rich family…You’re able to manipulate, buy people things and trade things and stuff.”
Mangione, an Ivy League alumnus, comes from a wealthy Maryland family and also attended an elite private high school in Baltimore.
Lastly is the support Mangione is receiving from people on the outside, who have donated more than a million dollars to his defense.
Supporters of Luigi Mangione gather outside Manhattan Supreme Court after terrorism charges were dismissed in the case of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
At each of his hearings, supporters show up with signs calling for his release. Some dress up like the character Luigi from Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros.” franchise.
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But Mangione has also been dubbed the MDC’s unofficial “ambassador” for helping other inmates acclimate to life in jail, according to Arthur Aidala, a New York defense attorney who is not representing Mangione but has other clients in the jail. He made the claim in an interview with People this week.
Slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s family was allegedly harassed in the hours after his murder by Shane Daley of Galway, New York. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
“When people get there and they don’t know what the heck is going on, he is kind of the one who welcomes them and does his best to allay their fears, and you know, kind of shows them the ropes of what life in the Metropolitan Detention Center is like, and what to do — and sometimes, more importantly, what not to do,” he told the outlet.
Aidala also called Mangione a “rule follower,” which he said also garnered him some respect from jail guards.
Luigi Mangione appears in court in February 2025 after officers uncovered a pair of heart-shaped notes smuggled to him inside a pair of socks included with a package of civilian clothes he was allowed to wear in front of the cameras. (Curtis Means/Pool)
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“A lot of folks in there, you know, they figure out a way to get in contraband, whether that be drugs or unauthorized cellphones and things like that,” he told the outlet. “But my understanding is that he’s not like that, and he hasn’t been written up for any violations of that sort.”
However, Mangione was involved in a courthouse incident when supporters allegedly smuggled him heart-shaped notes hidden in a pair of socks.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including murder.
He is accused of stalking and killing Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two and the top executive at one of the country’s largest health insurance providers, by shooting him in the back as he walked toward an investor conference in December 2024.