Luigi Mangione is pushing to appear in-person in a Pennsylvania court — in a “smart” move that could force his lesser gun raps to be dropped, an expert told The Post.
Manhattan federal prosecutors — who are handling the terrorism case against Mangione for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — have said they won’t transfer the alleged murderer from New York to Blair County, Pa. for a hearing in a much less serious gun case.
At the same time, Mangione’s lawyers have been exercising his rights to a speedy trial and to appear in court by insisting he gets a hearing while also refusing to let him appear virtually in the Pennsylvania case — which could force prosecutors in the Keystone State to drop the charges if they can’t fulfill his rights, former prosecutor Neama Rahmani told The Post.
“The defendant demands and insists that he be present in person for any and all critical stage proceedings in Pennsylvania and will not agree to waive or diminish in any way, his right o be present as protected by both the Constitution of the United States and of this Commonwealth,” Mangione’s lawyer, Tom Dickey, wrote in court papers Tuesday.
Mangione’s lawyers might be attempting to get the gun charges dismissed, since prosecutors can’t legally deny him his rights to a speedy trial and to appear in court for a hearing currently scheduled for Nov. 17, Rahmani said.
“Obviously they have a right to a speedy trial and they have a right to be present in person for all proceedings. That’s the law,” Rahmani said. “So they are probably trying to jam up Pennsylvania prosecutors, knowing that they can’t fulfill their obligations to move the case forward and to make sure that the defendant is present, to try to pressure them to dismiss the case.”
“It’s not like [his lawyers] want Mangione prosecuted in Pennsylvania,” Rahmani continued. “They know he can’t be prosecuted because of everything else that’s going on. But by not waiving their rights, that’s going to put pressure on Pennsylvania prosecutors to dismiss.”
Rahmani said Blair County prosecutors should dismiss the gun case because keeping it going while two much more serious murder cases are pending is a waste of resources. And they could always bring the gun case back later if either of the other New York cases fails, since double jeopardy hasn’t been triggered yet.
“If he’s convicted and put on death row, are [Pennsylvania prosecutors] really going to prosecute this case?” Rahmani said. “I assumed they wanted to hold him and arrest him for weapons charges, but I didn’t think they would actually pursue them when he’s facing two separate murder cases in New York. It does not make much sense and it’s sort of a waste of time.”
Mangione allegedly executed the healthcare honcho outside of a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 and then went on the lam for five days until authorities tracked him down to a McDonalds in Altoona, Pa. where he was arrested and charged with weapons possession, forgery and false identification. He allegedly had a “ghost gun” in his backpack at the time of the arrest.
He separately faces murder charges in Manhattan state court and terrorism and murder charges in Manhattan federal court where he could potentially face the death penalty.
Federal prosecutors have said they won’t transfer Mangione from a Brooklyn federal lockup for a hearing in the Pennsylvania case until after the federal case has concluded, citing logistics, costs and safety concerns involved in moving him.
“Notably, the logistics and costs for the transportation and housing of defendant-Mangione were significantly greater than a typical inmate due to the intense media and public attention generated by the New York allegations,” Blair County prosecutor Peter Weeks wrote in court papers last week.
“Further, there were significant security concerns regarding the custody and transportation of defendant-Mangione due to the public attention the case has received and the threats received by the criminal justice system regarding [his] prosecution,” Weeks continued.
But Dickey said in Tuesday’s filing, that the prosecutor’s office “up to this point, has not exercised due diligence in its attempts to make [Mangione] available in person for all court proceedings.” Dickey wants a hearing to be scheduled to discuss the issue.
Weeks told The Post by email that they are pressing forward with the case.
“The Blair County District Attorney’s Office has and will continue to take the steps necessary to preserve the Blair County prosecution despite Mr. Mangione’s refusal to participate remotely,” Weeks wrote.
Mangione’s team declined to comment.
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