​CEO Slaying Ignites Healthcare Debate; Suspect Had Fake New Jersey ID

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — As police continue to investigate Luigi Mangione’s possible involvement in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a new detail in the high-profile case has a surprising connection to New Jersey: the suspect’s fake driver’s license.

Thompson, 50, was fatally shot outside a hotel in New York City last week as he arrived for company’s annual investor conference. The masked gunman fled the scene, setting off a massive police search.

Police arrested Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday. The 26-year-old Maryland native is charged with murder in connection with Thompson's death.

RELATED: From Privileged And Popular To An Accused Killer: The Story Of Luigi Mangione

On Monday, NYPD officials provided an update on the case, noting that Mangione was found in possession of several potential incriminating items, including a gun, a suppressor and a mask.

Mangione also had several phony pieces of identification – one of which was a fake New Jersey driver’s license that matched the one the alleged shooter used to check into a hotel before the shooting, authorities said.

The fake license, which bears the name “Mark Rosario,” lists a Sherman Avenue residence in Maplewood, New Jersey as its home address.

Maplewood police said they haven't had any interaction with either Mangione or anyone who goes by the name of "Mark Rosario," including the issuance of any firearm permits. The NYPD is conducting the investigation, police added.

NYPD officials said Mangione has ties to San Francisco, California, and his last known address was Honolulu, Hawaii. He has no prior arrest history in New York.

Thompson, who most recently lived in Minnesota, is being mourned by officials in that state as well as those closer to the shooting.

“I want to again extend my sympathies to Brian's family, his co-workers and all who knew him,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday.

Thompson's wife told CBS News that her late husband was “an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.” The “incredibly loving” father of two will be greatly missed, she added.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson,” UnitedHealth Group wrote last week in a statement about the shooting.

“Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him,” the company added.

‘THESE PARASITES HAD IT COMING’

Police investigators continue to probe what potential role Thompson’s career may have played in the shooter’s motive.

Notably, shell casings found near the scene were inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” – which describe tactics common to the health care industry, critics say. The phrase also mirrors the title of a 2010 book on insurance claims, “Delay, Deny, Defend,” written by a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School.

Friends have said that Mangione struggled with severe back pain, undergoing surgery for it last year.

The BBC reported that an account on Goodreads which matches Mangione’s name and photo lists two books about back pain, including “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry.” He gave a high rating to the so-called “Unabomber manifesto” by Theodore Kaczynski.

At the time of his arrest, Mangione was found in possession of a handwritten document that “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” police said.

Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, the Associated Press reported that the letter read: “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.”

“I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done,” the document reportedly said. “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”

The note also reportedly condemns companies that “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”

Several reporters asked about the document at Monday’s press conference in New York City, including if Thompson or any other people were specifically named.

“That document is currently in the possession of the Altoona Police Department as part of their investigation,” NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said.

“But just from briefly speaking with them, we don't think that there's any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny added.

Another reporter pointed out that a migrant teen was recently attacked and killed in the city’s financial district, asking if police have expended the same resources investigating both slayings.

“Any loss is a huge, huge loss,” Mayor Eric Adams replied. “But when you have a specifically targeted shooter, we didn't know if this person was going to carry out additional shootings … We knew we had to take him off the streets of the city.”

“So, the urgency was not so much that was he a CEO in comparison to someone that's a low-income New Yorker,” Adams added.

HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

The shooting has sparked a heated discussion about the health care industry in the United States, with many people sharing their own harrowing experiences in the wake of the tragedy.

UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance company in the nation, has seen criticism in recent years for allegedly using a flawed AI program to override doctors’ judgments and deny coverage to elderly patients. The company was also named in a U.S. Senate committee report about the denial of nursing care to patients recovering from falls and strokes in October.

A professor of health care ethics at a university in Missouri told NPR that UnitedHealthcare denied coverage for an important surgery about two days before it was scheduled earlier this year. She finally got it approved in the nick of time – albeit with a lot of stress and tears.

“While I’m not rejoicing about the UHC CEO being shot dead in the street, I'm not sad about it, either,” she wrote. “People deserve better than the U.S. health insurance industry, and chickens come home to roost.”

Other people have been sharing insurance stories involving UnitedHealthcare after the shooting, including an X user who wrote about the denial of a claim involving his mother’s lung cancer, and another who shared a letter of denial for his son’s wheelchair.

“All of a sudden, I am fired up again,” a former patient told PBS News, describing how UnitedHealthcare denied claims related to his wife’s fatal disease.

Some New Jersey residents are among those asking if frustration with the health care industry may have inspired the shooter’s decision to target Thompson – including a resident of Sherman Avenue in Maplewood.

“It’s terrible,” a longtime resident of the block told NorthJersey.com when asked about the shooting.

“You hear people have problems with health care and coverage getting denied, and maybe that happened to someone he knew or him,” the resident speculated. “What concerns me more is that this is another instance of gun violence. This country has a serious gun problem. It’s ridiculous.”

Despite the renewed frustration over the state of health care in America, some public officials have warned that the shooter, whoever he or she is, should not be admired.

“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shaprio recently commented. “Hear me on this, he is no hero.”

• See Related: $3B Merger Between UnitedHealth, Amedisys Would Be Bad For NJ, Feds Say

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.