Police reveal significance of “coordinator” assassination of UnitedHealth CEO. [with UPDATE]

Written by Lambert Strether of Corrente.

I started this post with an exploration of nicknames. In the end, I couldn’t keep writing about “Unitedhealth CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged assassin” and “CEO assassin” seemed too general for the case. The Internet is interesting because “claims adjuster,” or “coordinator.” The earliest example I can find is:

Instant Memes:

Meme again:

UPDATE PLOT TWIST: Now it has a name. From the New York Post: “The suspect in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been identified as former Ivy League student Luigi Mangione.“:

Mangione played football at Gilman School in Baltimore in 2016, where he was valedictorian of his high school senior class, according to the online site. High school tuition at the boys’ school is nearly $40,000 per year.

When he graduates, he plans to pursue a degree in artificial intelligence with a focus on computer science and cognitive science at the University of Pennsylvania, according to an interview with Baltimore Fishbowl.

According to his LinkedIn profile, the technology expert graduated magna cum laude in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE), Computer and Information Science from a private Ivy League institution in Philadelphia.

He also completed a Master of Engineering (MSE) in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.

So here goes. (I will continue to use “The adjuster” because Mangione was not convicted.) Yahoo News Live Blog:

Mangioni was taken into custody by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at about 9:15 a.m. at a McDonald’s restaurant about 300 miles west of New York City. An employee of the fast food chain recognized Mangioni in a photo released by the New York Police Department and contacted local law enforcement. Tish said. [NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny] He later added that Mangione was “sitting there eating” when police approached him. They found several items they believe link him to the fatal shooting in Manhattan, including a ghost gun matching a weapon seen in video of the crime, a silencer and a fake New Jersey identification card matching one the suspect used to check in. A Manhattan hostel, a U.S. passport with his real name on it, handwritten documents or declarations that police say speak to Mangione’s motivations and mindset, and clothing, including a mask, matching those worn by the suspect. Kelly said documents in Mangione’s possession show he appears to have “some ill will toward corporate America.”

(Times Live Blog The customer who called 911, not the employee, spoke. Also, “mask” is incorrect. The adjuster wore two outfits. One was black and one was baggy blue. There are a lot of inconsistencies.) Labor reporter Kim Kelly says:

The moderator also had a Twitter account:

You must request a click-through. But Yang is right. An Okay, but if that idea is true, why hold the CEO accountable in a very personal way?[1]What about the consequences of “an amorphous system outside of our control,” in this case the health insurance industry? Again, there are many inconsistencies. And speaking of disagreement, why did the Adjuster get hung up on all that? Why not throw it away? Are scheduled juries invalid?

With this, I’d like to go back to my original, very simple plan for this post. It can be expressed in the form of a question. If I were employed by one of the national security agencies, what would I consider that agency? What are the salient features of the incident? And where can I find more control than I already have? Summary of ABC Adjuster’s stay in Manhattan. Relevant topics are underlined.

The gunman used and paid for guns during the 10 days he was in the city, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. He also kept his passport while checking into the hostel. He was captured on some of the thousands of surveillance cameras that blanket Manhattan, allowing police to build a timeline of his movements.

I will now present a constellation of these three topics (cash, masking, fake IDs) that future mimetic regulators are prepared to regard as problems that discourse will already have to solve if they are to be avoided.

cash

at alphabet:

The 10-day investigation period was the subject of intensive investigation. Sources said police collected a lot of video of the suspect from across the city, including in subways, taxis and McDonald’s. Sources said he kept his mask on.

at washington post:

In the photo released by the police, it appears that this person used it before the shooting.

at times:

Police searched the hostel, where he allegedly presented fake identification, paid money and stayed in a room with two unknown men.

at fox:

The suspect reportedly paid the money at Starbucks.

at new york times:

Police said they have a list of passengers on the Greyhound bus but do not plan to confirm the suspect’s identity or board him.

So if you want to look at it this way, using cash should be deprecated as it makes it easier for assassins to get around.

masking

at AP:

The gunman was clearly on the move almost the entire time he was in the city, including during the attack and while eating, but considering America’s largest city and its network of security cameras, he left a trail of evidence. “According to all indications we have from witnesses, Starbucks and the hostel,” Kenny said.

at new york times:

He then went to a hostel on the Upper West Side. , cash was also used when eating. Kenny said the only time he lowered his mask was when he was talking to a hostel worker and smiling at her.

at slate:

A darkly-clad gunman ambushed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson early Wednesday in midtown Manhattan, where Thompson’s company was hosting a conference.

at Wapo:

The gunman fired several shots at Thompson before fleeing the area on his bicycle and disappearing into Central Park.

at boston globe:

Late Saturday, police released two more photos of the shooting suspect that appear to have been taken from a camera mounted inside the taxi. The first shows him looking from outside the vehicle, while the second shows him looking through the partition between the rear seat and the front of the cab. In both .

at CNBC:

[Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch] The assailant said he was last seen early this morning in Central Park on Center Drive. Kenny said the gunman wore black and white sneakers and a “very distinctive” gray backpack. The shooting video shows the criminal wearing a hooded jacket.

So if you want to look at it that way, masks should be deprecated as they make it easier for assassins to hide their identity.

fake id

at AP:

Investigators believe the suspect used and paid in cash, Kenney said. The hostel has shared and private rooms, a cafe, and is located one block from Columbia University.

at fox:

The suspect in the brutal murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson used a fake ID to check into a New York City hostel before the brazen execution-style killing, police sources told Fox News.

at new york post:

According to sources, the suspect used this ID to reserve a space at the HI New York City Hostel, located at 891 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, on November 30th. But a follow-up investigation uncovered it, the source said.

at new york times:

[A] A senior law enforcement official said he used a fake New Jersey identification to reserve a room at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he stayed before the killings.

Again, you should avoid using fake IDs as they make it easier for assassins to hide their identity.

conclusion

Clearly, the corporate security team responded immediately to the adjuster’s claim adjustment. at new york times:

On Wednesday afternoon, hours after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan, dozens of chief security officers from Fortune 500 companies around the world joined a video call. Additional protection measures for officers participating and moving around the area were discussed, AFP reported. Security experts joining the conversation.

The discussion included best practices and a review of executive protection programs, according to expert Dave Komendat, retired Boeing chief security officer and president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, a Seattle-area consulting firm. He said every security official on the video call was faced with a presentation on the current state of their security program and a request from higher-ups to take a closer look at their own practices.

And the “upper classes” did not. only Because they fear for their lives. at yahoo finance:

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) fell for the second session in a row today as investors appeared to be considering a backlash against the company following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning.

However, cash, masking, and fake IDs are not included in the scope of corporate security. It’s a national problem. Fortunately, efforts are underway to enable national security agencies to crack down on all of them.

• cash. NC’s Nick Corbishley has written frequently about the “dystopian dream of a global central bank digital currency” (and its preference for dull normals over coins and paper). As shown above, the discourse is prepared with the following contents.war on cash“Reinforced; publicity work has already been completed.

• masking. NC has already implemented a mask ban. The discourse is also gearing up for more bans. What follows is a bit of exaggerated rhetoric. New York Mayor Adams:

‘Please continue to believe that he can hide behind a mask. We revealed his face. Let me reveal who he is…

• fake id. To that end, we have the long-overdue Read ID Act.By 2025, Americans will need a Real ID to travel. The requirements are:.” Here again the discourse is prepared.

Of course, as a society we can avoid these draconian measures by having a health care system that does not cause resentment in the people it serves. But who wants that?