NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Six weeks before was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel in December, suspect Luigi Mangione mused about rebelling against 鈥渢he deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel鈥� and said killing the executive 鈥渃onveys a greedy bastard that had it coming,鈥� prosecutors revealed Wednesday.
The Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office quoted extensively from Mangione鈥檚 handwritten diary 鈥� highlighting his desire to kill an insurance honcho and praise for Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber 鈥� as they fight to uphold his state murder charges. They also cited a confession they say he penned 鈥淭o the feds,鈥� in which he wrote that 鈥渋t had to be done.鈥�
Mangione鈥檚 lawyers want the state case thrown out, arguing in court papers that those charges and a parallel federal death penalty case amount to double jeopardy.
They also want state terrorism charges dismissed, have asked for the federal case to go first and say prosecutors should be barred from using evidence collected during Mangione鈥檚 arrest, including , statements to police and the diary.
Manhattan prosecutors contend that there are no double jeopardy issues because neither case has gone to trial and because the state and federal prosecutions involve different legal theories.
His lawyers say that has created a 鈥渓egal quagmire鈥� that makes it 鈥渓egally and logistically impossible to defend against them simultaneously.鈥�
The state charges, which carry a maximum of life in prison, allege that Mangione wanted to 鈥渋ntimidate or coerce a civilian population,鈥� that is, insurance employees and investors. The federal charges allege that Mangione stalked an individual, Thompson, and do not involve terror allegations.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in both cases. No trial dates have been set.
Mangione鈥檚 鈥渋ntentions were obvious from his acts, but his writings serve to make those intentions explicit,鈥� prosecutors said in Wednesday鈥檚 filing. The writings, which they sometimes described as a manifesto, 鈥渃onvey one clear message: that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to bring about revolutionary change to the healthcare industry.鈥�
They quoted excerpts in which Mangione discussed options for the attack, such as bombing UnitedHealthcare鈥檚 headquarters, before deciding to target the company's investor conference in Manhattan. He wrote about plans to 鈥渨ack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention鈥� because it was 鈥渢argeted, precise and doesn鈥檛 risk innocents.鈥�
UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, 鈥渓iterally extracts human life force for money,鈥� Mangione wrote, envisioning the news headline, 鈥淚nsurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.鈥�
The company has said he was never a client.
Mangione is due back in state court June 26, when Judge Gregory Carro is expected to rule on his request for dismissal.
His lawyers asked Tuesday for his handcuffs and bulletproof vest to be removed during the hearing. They called him a 鈥渁 model prisoner, a model defendant鈥� and said the security measures would suggest to potential jurors that he is dangerous. Carro has not ruled on that.
Mangione鈥檚 next federal court date is Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson鈥檚 death.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as he arrived for the conference Dec. 4 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Police say 鈥渄elay,鈥� 鈥渄eny鈥� and 鈥渄epose鈥� were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe .
Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 at a McDonald鈥檚 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) to the west, and he is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has called the ambush 鈥渁 killing that was intended to evoke terror.鈥�
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for 鈥渁n act of political violence鈥� and a 鈥減remeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.鈥�
The killing and ensuing search for Mangione rattled the business community while galvanizing health insurance critics who rallied around him for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty bills. Supporters have flocked to his court appearances and flooded him with mail.
Mangione 鈥渄emonstrated in his manifesto that he was a revolutionary anarchist who would usher in a better healthcare system by killing the CEO鈥� of one of the biggest U.S. companies, prosecutors wrote. 鈥淭his brutal, cowardly murder was the mechanism that defendant chose to bring on that revolution.鈥�
Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
