Luigi Mangione may never be convicted of murder following his bombshell decision to plead guilty to federal stalking charges Friday — thanks to “creative lawyering” that leaves his state case hanging in the balance, experts told The Post.
Just hours after the healthcare-hating pretty boy copped to charges in Manhattan federal court, which could land him life behind bars, his bulldog legal team filed papers asking to have his separate state murder case tossed out over double jeopardy.
It’s a technical move that could cost Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a marquee conviction in one of the biggest cases of his career.
“It’s very creative lawyering by his lawyers to do this,” said Mark Bederow, a veteran Big Apple attorney and former Manhattan DA prosecutor. “The loser here is the Manhattan DA.”
Mangione’s attorneys Marc Agnifilo and wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo argue that trying the 28-year-old killer on a state case — on charges of second-degree murder and various firearms counts — would constitute double jeopardy. Double jeopardy laws protect people from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.
They say that although the charges Mangione faced in the state and federal cases were different, they stemmed from the same crime — the cold-blooded 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Former prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained the Empire State has a special law that “says that there cannot be a second or subsequent prosecution in New York State Court arising from the same transaction or occurrence as a previous case.
“So that’s the magic language, the same transaction or occurrence,” he said.
Both lawyers said it’s likely that Mangione will see the state murder charges thrown out.
“It is essentially the same facts,” Bederow said of the state and federal cases. “I mean, the only real difference is the federal charges include the stalking component. But ultimately, it’s shooting and killing Brian Thompson.”
The only move that Bragg’s office has is to argue the circumstances of the murder charges are different from those in the stalking charges, the lawyers said.
“They’re gonna have to argue that the [stalking and murder] statutes are designed to protect against different evils, [that] there’s different facts that weren’t covered in the federal plea and charges,” Bederow explained.
Rahmani said the feds “botched” their case and in turn “sabotaged and torpedoed” Bragg’s case.
Federal prosecutors lost their bid to seek the death penalty against Mangione and the murder and firearms charges they mounted were also struck down — all of which should have prompted the feds to dismiss the leftover stalking charges, Rahmani explained.
“The case was completely gutted,” the lawyer said. “They should have dismissed the case and let the state [case] proceed.”
“There’s a very good chance that the state murder charges are going to be dismissed,” Rahmani said. “If I was the DA, I would be pissed that the feds completely sabotaged and torpedoed my case.”
In Mangione’s Friday motion to dismiss, he claimed he’s been a “pawn” for both prosecutors’ offices — “which have sensationalized this case and misapplied statutes in an effort to overcharge him.”
“By explicitly coordinating and planning the order of prosecutions against Mr. Mangione so as to maximize his punishment and increase each government’s chances to convict him, the facts here do not allow the District Attorney’s Office to continue to prosecute Mr. Mangione under the Fifth Amendment,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote.
Either way, the Sept. 8 trial in the state case is unlikely to proceed on time, if it goes forward at all, with the double jeopardy arguments likely to be fought all the way up in New York’s top court, Bederow said.
“Ultimately, this is destined to be handled by the New York Court of Appeals, you would think,” Bederow said. “So this is gonna go on for some time. But I don’t think you’re going to be starting a trial on September 8. That’s for sure.”
Bragg’s office Friday said it is “prepared to litigate the defense motions.”
“The Manhattan DA’s Office remains committed to seeking justice for Mr. Thompson and his family,” said DA spokesman Doug Cohen.
If the state case gets dismissed, it would mean Mangione would avoid having to serve his sentence in a state prison and would instead get a slight upgrade in a federal facility, Bederow said.
Rahmani said the feds “botched” their case and in turn “sabotaged and torpedoed” Bragg’s case.
Federal prosecutors lost their bid to seek the death penalty against Mangione and the murder and firearms charges they mounted were also struck down — all of which should have prompted the feds to dismiss the leftover stalking charges, Rahmani explained.
“The case was completely gutted,” the lawyer said. “They should have dismissed the case and let the state [case] proceed.”
“There’s a very good chance that the state murder charges are going to be dismissed,” Rahmani said. “If I was the DA, I would be pissed that the feds completely sabotaged and torpedoed my case.”
In Mangione’s Friday motion to dismiss, he claimed he’s been a “pawn” for both prosecutors’ offices — “which have sensationalized this case and misapplied statutes in an effort to overcharge him.”
“By explicitly coordinating and planning the order of prosecutions against Mr. Mangione so as to maximize his punishment and increase each government’s chances to convict him, the facts here do not allow the District Attorney’s Office to continue to prosecute Mr. Mangione under the Fifth Amendment,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote.
Either way, the Sept. 8 trial in the state case is unlikely to proceed on time, if it goes forward at all, with the double jeopardy arguments likely to be fought all the way up in New York’s top court, Bederow said.
“Ultimately, this is destined to be handled by the New York Court of Appeals, you would think,” Bederow said. “So this is gonna go on for some time. But I don’t think you’re going to be starting a trial on September 8. That’s for sure.”
Bragg’s office Friday said it is “prepared to litigate the defense motions.”
“The Manhattan DA’s Office remains committed to seeking justice for Mr. Thompson and his family,” said DA spokesman Doug Cohen.
If the state case gets dismissed, it would mean Mangione would avoid having to serve his sentence in a state prison and would instead get a slight upgrade in a federal facility, Bederow said.
