Luigi Mangione: Judge tosses 2 state murder charges related to act of terrorism
Luigi Mangione (C), accused killer of US insurance CEO Brian Thompson, arrives for a hearing in New York City on February 21, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A judge dismissed two murder charges related to acts of terrorism as Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, made his first Manhattan courtroom appearance in five months on Tuesday.
Judge Gregory Carro tossed out the most severe charge, first-degree murder, accusing Mangione of murder as a crime of terrorism.
The judge said the evidence presented to the grand jury was insufficient to support the terrorism charge.
Carro also tossed a second-degree murder charge, related to killing as an act of terrorism.
The rest of the indictment remains, with the judge refusing to dismiss another second-degree murder charge, to which the accused killer has pleaded not guilty.
Mangione will be tried in state court on a charge of intentional murder in connection with Thompson’s murder.
Mangione returned to a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday for the first time in five months, hoping the judge will either dismiss state murder and terrorism charges or suppress evidence seized during his arrest.
Mangione is accused of shooting and killing CEO Brian Thompson with a 9 mm handgun equipped with a silencer on a Midtown Manhattan street on Dec. 4, 2024.
After a several-day manhunt, Mangione was captured in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
When police found Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, he was carrying a backpack that investigators said contained the alleged murder weapon, a fake ID and a red notebook he used as a diary.
“I finally feel confident about what I will do,” one entry said, according to authorities. “The target is insurance. It checks every box.”The defense argued police lacked a warrant, making the search of the backpack illegal.
A federal grand jury charged Mangione in April with two counts of stalking, firearms offense and murder through the use of a firearm, a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty, if convicted.
He also faces state charges in New York in connection with the shooting.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges in New York and Pennsylvania as well as the federal charges. The simultaneous prosecutions put him in what his attorneys have called an “untenable situation” and they’ve asked Judge Gregory Carro to dismiss the state case, or at least put it on hold.
Prosecutors are hoping the judge will set a date for trial.Mangione is also being ordered to appear in a Pennsylvania courtroom regarding those state charges. While he is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the Blair County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania wants the accused killer to appear in court for a pretrial motion hearing scheduled for Nov. 7.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione has pleaded not guilty to charges of forgery, possession of an instrument of a crime and giving a false ID to an officer.
Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is seeking an expedited deposition from News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch within the next 15 days as part of his defamation lawsuit against Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal.
Trump filed the $10 billion suit earlier this month after the Journal reported that Trump allegedly sent Epstein a bawdy letter in 2003 that was included in a book made for Epstein’s 50th birthday, which Trump has denied.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was convicted in 2008 for sex trafficking of minors then was arrested again in 2019 and died by suicide in jail shortly thereafter.
In a court filing on Monday, Trump’s attorneys said they are seeking the expedited deposition in part due to Murdoch’s “age and health,” noting he is now 94 years old.
The filing also reiterated their claim that Trump reached out directly to Murdoch before the article was published to tell him the letter was fake, and that Murdoch allegedly replied that “he would take care of it.”
Murdoch’s direct involvement, Trump’s attorneys say, “further underscores Defendants’ actual malice and intent behind the decision to publish the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about President Trump identified in the Complaint.”
“Because Murdoch is a director and majority owner of News Corp, he sits in the unique position of having readily available all documents, communications, and other information related to the Article and the decision to publish it,” the filing states.
“Moreover, if the purported letter in the Article somehow actually exists, which it does not, and the Defendants have it in their possession, which they do not, Murdoch has easy access to it,” says the filing.
The filing says Trump’s lawyers communicated their request to Murdoch’s attorneys via phone.
The judge ordered Murdoch to file a response to Trump’s motion by Aug. 4.
In response to the suit, a spokesperson for Journal owner Dow Jones said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Coast Guard has released its final report on the catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, which killed five people on a deep-sea voyage to the Titanic wreckage in June 2023, criticizing the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, and singling him out as a major reason for the disaster.
The 335-page report, released Tuesday, comes nearly a year after the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation held a two-week hearing into the unprecedented implosion of the experimental vessel.
Rush was warned repeatedly about how dangerous his submersible was and not only ignored all the warnings, but threatened anyone who raised concerns, according to the report released Tuesday. Many who spoke up were threatened with lawsuits or termination, it said.
“A false sense of safety and security was created by Mr. Rush through his misrepresentation of the TITAN’s safety, achieved by falsely claiming substantial safety margins, misleading mission specialists regarding testing procedures, and exaggerating the number of hull test dives for the final TITAN hull,” the report says.
Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, was among those killed in the implosion. Had he survived, the Coast Guard’s investigative team would have recommended manslaughter charges to the DOJ, the report said.
“This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable,” Jason Neubauer, Titan MBI chair, said in a statement about the report’s release. “The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence. There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework. I am optimistic the ROI’s findings and recommendations will help improve awareness of the risks and the importance of proper oversight while still providing a pathway for innovation.”
In addition to Rush, those killed in the June 2023 implosion included French explorer and Titanic expert Paul Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
The submersible company suspended all exploration and commercial operations after the deadly implosion.
In response to the report, OceanGate said in a statement, “We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023, and to all those impacted by the tragedy. After the tragedy occurred, the company permanently wound down operations and directed its resources fully towards cooperating with the Coast Guard’s inquiry through its completion.”
The board heard from more than two dozen witnesses during its September 2024 hearing. They included several former employees of OceanGate.
The main purpose of the hearing was to uncover the facts related to the implosion — including the submersible’s design, operation and safety protocols — to help determine the cause of the incident and make recommendations to prevent similar casualties. The board also set out to determine if there was any evidence of misconduct, negligence or violations by anyone licensed or certified.
The report also singles out OceanGate’s “inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan,” as was often highlighted during the board hearing last year.
“OceanGate’s toxic safety culture, corporate structure, and operational practices were critically flawed and at the core of these failures were glaring disparities between their written safety protocols and their actual practices,” the report says.
Ahead of the report’s release, the Coast Guard said in June that its Marine Board of Investigation was in the “final portion of its analysis phase” as part of its over two-year probe, and that the report would come out once the commandant’s review was completed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the implosion and will make its own determination as to the probable cause. That investigation is ongoing. A final report is expected in the coming months.
The Coast Guard’s hearing last year revealed one of the last messages sent from Titan to the surface vessel Polar Prince as the doomed submersible descended toward the ocean floor.
The short text messages were the only means of communication between the Titan crew and the personnel on the Polar Prince as the vessel attempted to reach the Titanic, which sits 3,800 meters below sea level.
At approximately 2,274 meters, the Titan sent the message, “All good here,” according to an animation created by the Coast Guard that showed the text communications.
The last communication from the submersible was sent at approximately 3,341 meters: “Dropped two wts,” meaning drop weights, according to the Coast Guard.
All communications and tracking from the submersible to Polar Prince were lost at 3,346 meters, according to the Coast Guard.
Neubauer revealed during the hearing that the master of the Polar Prince told them that in hindsight, he believes he felt the ship “shudder” around the time when communications with the sub were lost.
The Coast Guard also released footage during the hearing that showed Titan debris, including the tail cone, aft dome, aft ring, hull remnants and carbon fiber debris, on the seafloor. The footage was from a remotely operated vehicle, which located the Titan debris approximately 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic following a four-day search.
The Coast Guard heard lengthy testimony from David Lochridge, the former director of marine operations for OceanGate, who had raised concerns about the Titan’s carbon fiber hull.
“I knew that hull would fail,” Lochridge said during the hearing. “It’s an absolute mess.”
He also testified that the company wasn’t interested in scientific research and only cared about making money, and that Rush “liked to do things on the cheap.”
Lochridge said he was fired days after he submitted a report in January 2018 outlining his safety concerns about the submersible’s carbon-fiber hull, including imperfections, and he subsequently filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. His whistleblower retaliation case was closed in late 2018 after he and OceanGate entered a settlement agreement in their respective lawsuits, OSHA said. Lochridge’s safety allegations regarding the Titan were referred to the Coast Guard, OSHA said.
Issues and concerns with the Titan and its transport were revisited in testimony throughout the hearing.
In 2022, the thruster controls malfunctioned and caused the vessel to spin once it reached the Titanic depth, though the pilot was able to retrain it himself and they completed the dive. In another dive that year, a loud bang was heard as the Titan ascended. The NTSB determined that the hull’s strain response changed after this loud bang incident in subsequent dives, an agency official testified.
In 2023, the Titan partially sank four weeks before the implosion following a night of high seas and fog, according to the Coast Guard. Days before the implosion, passengers slammed against the vessel during resurfacing when the platform malfunctioned.
One former OceanGate employee testified that there were also concerns about having to tow the sub on the open seas when they switched to using the Polar Prince in 2023.
The Titan had 70 equipment issues in 2021 that needed correcting, and 48 more in 2022, according to the Coast Guard.
The submersible made 13 successful dives to the Titanic wreckage until its fatal implosion.
(BOSTON) — Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins was arrested Thursday on federal extortion charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Federal prosecutors allege the 67-year-old Massachusetts sheriff had pressured a cannabis company executive for a secret investment deal worth $50,000.
Tompkins, who had led the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2013 and oversaw about 1,000 employees, was arrested in Florida and charged with two counts of extortion, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
According to federal court documents, Tompkins had used his position as sheriff to force his way into buying pre-IPO (initial public offering) stock in a Boston cannabis company at a discounted price. When the investment later lost value, prosecutors alleged he demanded and received a full refund of his money.
The scheme started in 2019 when the cannabis company, which wasn’t named in court documents, wanted to open a store in Boston, the indictment stated. The company needed Sheriff Tompkins’ help, according to the indictment, as his department would refer former inmates to work at the store, which was required by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for their state license.
Federal investigators said Tompkins allegedly took advantage of this partnership. According to the indictment, he pressured a company executive, reminding them that he had helped with their license application. The executive feared Tompkins would end their partnership if they didn’t give in to his demands for stock, prosecutors said.
After getting the shares in November 2020, court documents showed Tompkins initially saw his $50,000 investment grow to about $138,000 when the company went public.
However, when the stock price later fell, prosecutors alleged Tompkins demanded his money back. The executive paid him through five separate checks, with some labeled as “loan repayment” to hide what the payments were really for, according to the indictment.
The executive agreed to the demands for repayment, fearing Tompkins would use his position to harm their business operations, according to the indictment.
“What the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear cut corruption under federal law,” FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks said in a statement.
If found guilty, Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement that the case showed her office’s commitment to fighting public corruption.
“Elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest and law abiding – not self-serving,” Foley said in the press release.
According to federal officials, Tompkins will first appear in court in Florida before facing the charges in Boston at a later date.
ABC News reached out to Tompkins’ attorney who did not immediately respond for comment.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment when contacted.
