Cops are looking for the vandals who have left menacing “wanted” posters featuring prominent CEOs in the wake of last week’s Midtown assassination of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson.
The bizarre posters — many of which have been torn down — popped up around the borough, notably in Lower Manhattan, since the Dec. 4 execution of Thompson outside the Hilton hotel on West 54th Street. His killing led to a flood of social media posts that sympathized more with the shooter than with the victim, as many individuals shared their negative experiences with the insurance company and a general hatred for big business in America.
The wanted posters in Manhattan declare that “healthcare CEOs should not feel safe” following Thompson’s murder, quoting the three words scrawled on shell casings found near Thompson’s body: “Deny, Defend, Depose.” The words have been linked to the vernacular used by health insurance companies seeking to deny claims from the insured for coverage of medical treatment, procedures, and prescriptions.
One such poster amNewYork Metro found on Dec. 11 in Lower Manhattan shows an image of Thomas Halloran, identified as the CEO of Fidelis Care, which provides health insurance coverage to 2.5 million people around New York state. On the company website, Fidelis Care notes that it is a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, which offers health care coverage to more than 28.5 million people nationally.
amNewYork Metro reached out to Fidelis Care for comment on the matter and is awaiting a response.
Whether the posters are serious or satirical is irrelevant to the NYPD, which has launched an investigation. Earlier this week, top brass expressed great concern that Thompson’s assassination might lead to other copycat incidents involving corporate executives.
“We are aware of the posters and investigating,” an NYPD spokesperson told amNewYork Metro on Dec. 11.
The wanted poster amNewYork Metro encountered on Wednesday night included statements that seemed to glorify the actions of Thompson’s alleged assassin, identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione of Maryland. Following an intense manhunt, Mangione was picked up by police at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA on Dec. 9 — who found in his possession a 3D-printed gun and suppressor that seemed to match the weapon used in the murder.
The suspect also had a fake ID that had been presented at an Upper West Side hotel where he allegedly stayed ahead of the Dec. 4 killing. On Wednesday, police sources also revealed that Mangione’s fingerprints are a likely match to those found on a Kind bar wrapper and a water bottle purchased from a Midtown Starbucks that the suspected assassin visited on Dec. 4 and discarded nearby.
Mangione remains locked up in Pennsylvania as he protests extradition proceedings. He faces charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon upon his return to New York.
Meanwhile, ABC News reported Thursday that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has convened a grand jury to consider a potential criminal indictment of Mangione — a move that may hasten the extradition process. However, a DA Alvin Bragg spokesperson could neither confirm nor deny that report with amNewYork Metro.
