Story by Ashleigh Fields - The Hill Politics
Luigi Mangione, the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter, hired Karen
Friedman Agnifilo to represent him in a New York courtroom as he faces
charges for second degree murder.
Agnifilo is a well-known attorney who spent more than twenty years
working in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in roles ranging
from chief assistant district attorney to chief of its trial division
and deputy chief of the sex crimes unit.
“She knows every corridor, every judge, every clerk in the courthouse,”
a New York prosecutor told CNN.
Experts believe her insider knowledge of the city’s legal system as a
top prosecutor will help her navigate a defensive strategy for Mangione,
who law enforcement has linked to the crime scene where United
Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in Midtown Manhattan.
Investigators say the gun found on Mangione during his arrest in
Pennsylvania matches the shell casings found outside of the Hilton Hotel
where the murder took place. Police also matched his fingerprints with
DNA on items near the location.
Authorities are still working to acquire a warrant issued from Gov.
Kathy Hochul (D) to extradite Mangione, who is being held without bail
in Pennsylvania, to New York.
Agnifilo, who obtained a law degree from Georgetown Law and previously
served as a legal analyst for CNN and hit TV show Law and Order, will
use her experience to represent Mangione in one of the year’s most
high-profile cases.
“Karen Friedman Agnifilo has a three-decade background in criminal
justice, litigation, and trials,” says her bio for the Agnifilo Intrater
LLP law firm.
“Her practice focuses on criminal defense in state and federal courts,
leveraging her extensive experience prosecuting serious violent crimes,
including complex homicide cases, from accusation to investigation to
arrest and trial.”
It also details the creation of several departments under her leadership
at the Manhattan DA’s office, one of which includes the identity theft
bureau.
Mangione was in possession of a fraudulent ID when he was arrested in
Pennsylvania. The false documentation could be presented at trial during
legal proceedings relating to the shooting and his swift departure from
New York.
Agnifilo will address his actions amid requests for interviews,
exclusives and analysis after weeks of media attention drew eyes to the
case.
However, widespread coverage is no strange circumstance for her current
law firm which also picked up Sean Diddy Combs as a client amid his sex
trafficking and racketeering charges a few months ago.
