A 36-year-old man told jail staff he had “weapons”, which resembled barbecue fork pizza cutter, inside his backpack as he tried to break an inmate out of prison
A man allegedly posed as a federal agent to accused CEO killer Luigi Magione out of his Brooklyn jail holding centre.
Mark Anderson, 36, allegedly posed as an FBI agent and walked into the intake section of the MDC Brooklyn jail on the night of Wednesday, January 28. It is reported that he tried to help accused UnitedHealthCare CEO killer, Luigi Mangione, out of prison.
The Mirror US reported that Anderson handed over his Minnesota driver’s license when Bureau of Prisons personnel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for his credentials. Anderson also showed officials random documents when asked for a court order. The documents included a form detailing how to sue the Department of Justice.
“Anderson also displayed and threw at the BOP officers numerous documents,” an FBI agent who signed the complaint wrote.
“I have reviewed those papers and they appear to be related to filing of claims against the United States Department of Justice,” the agent wrote.
The complaint does not identify the inmate by name, but a person in law enforcement confirmed that it was 27-year-old Mangione, according to multiple sources.
As jail staff moved to apprehend Anderson, he said he had weapons in his bag. Staff found a barbecue fork and what looked to be a pizza cutter inside his backpack.
Anderson was arrested hours after state prosecutors in Manhattan Supreme Court urged a judge to set Mangione’s murder trial for July.
Mangione was arrested five days after United Healthcare of Brian Thompson was shot dead on December 4, 2024. The killing sparked a nationwide conversation about the health insurance industry.
He is changed with stalking and fatally shooting Thompson as the CEO was walking into a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investors’ event by UnitedHealth Group.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Police said they discovered a gun and a manifesto in Mangione’s backpack. His attorneys have argued that the chain of custody for the evidence found in his backpack was not appropriately followed and that he was not read his Miranda Rights.
Federal prosecutors are trying to impose the death penalty on Mangione if he is convicted.