Luigi Mangione, the Maryland Ivy Leaguer accused of murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, has retained the same counsel from a New York prison as disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Craig Rothfeld, a former financial professional who became a white-collar defendant after being arrested for investment and tax fraud, “has extensive experience with the NYC Department of Corrections and the New York State Department of Corrections,” according to a bio on his website.
In December 2015, he and two business partners were convicted of defrauding 15 investors of $11 million, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Rothfeld was also accused of falsifying business records. He received a sentence of 1 ½ to 4 ½ years in prison.
UNITED HEALTHCARE CEO KILLING: IVY LEAGUE PROFESSOR TALK ABOUT RADICALIZATION NO LONGER SUSPECTED IN COLLEGE
Luigi Mangione leaves the courtroom following his appearance in New York City Criminal Court Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. Magnione has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson. (Rashid Umar Abbasi of Fox News Digital)
Rothfeld’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment, but his company, Inside Outside Ltd, posted a link to a New York Post article about his hiring on its website.
In addition to consulting with defendants from indictment to sentencing, Inside Outside also works with their defense attorneys on specific court filings and supporting documents.
DEATH PUNISHMENT FOR SUSPECT LUIGI MANGIONE
Prison counselor Craig Rothfeld, left, speaks with Diana Fabi Samson, Harvey Weinstein’s attorney, outside Queens Criminal Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Mangione is accused of orchestrating the cross-country spree that included the Dec. 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson just outside the hotel where his company was scheduled to hold an investor conference later that morning.
Thompson, from Minnesota, traveled to New York City for the event.
Mangione then fled the city and led police on a five-day interstate manhunt, which culminated in his arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after employees and customers spotted him on a wanted poster.
Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on July 19, 2024 in New York City. Prosecutors are preparing to retry the former movie star following the dismissal of his 2020 rape case. (Kena Betancur-Pool/Getty Images)
Police found him with the suspected murder weapon, which included a 3D-printed receiver and suppressor, and a fake ID they said he was checking out at a Manhattan hostel before the shooting.
Mangione faces a slew of charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism at the state level and first-degree murder in federal court. He faces lesser charges of carrying a false ID and criminal possession of a firearm in New York and Pennsylvania.
He is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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Weinstein was a Hollywood movie star who was convicted of a sex crime in 2020. A court later overturned his conviction, and he remains in prison awaiting a new trial while facing another charge.
He was also convicted of sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2021 and faces similar charges in London.
Fox News’ Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
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