NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #11 *Arrest*

[GRT]

Well, it is all relative. Judging by Carole Lombard, Clark Gable was not hot IRL, but on the screen, he was amazing. So with LM, if we met him IRL, probably, average/good-looking

But it was:
mystification
First, the shooter
Then the bullets
Then the adjustor
Then the figutive from the police
Then they showed him from a vantage angle, smiling (and then the collective community gasped, ooh!)
Then he was arrested in McDonald's - boldly making a statement
Then he is walked down the streets of NYC surrounded by the whole brigade of cops
Hollywood, in essence.

Not the real person.

Excellent breakdown and analysis!

 

[Kapua]

I tend to agree with you, I think the response has been elitist. Were this a homeless person there would absolutely not be the fuss. MOO

The thing is the victim was the rich, powerful CEO of a healthcare company that has/had an algorithm that denied critical care to many. Sadly, some (hopefully a minority of) people have dehumanized him. The alleged perpetrator is also outside of the norm when it comes to criminals. He's from a wealthy and prestigious family who reportedly value their reputation and have kept a very low profile throughout this media circus so far. LM is intelligent, well-educated, personable, well-traveled and until recently, held down a good job. In other words, he's not your usual misfit loner with no future prospects. The response has been elitist, or you might say over-the-top, because the crime is highly unusual.

 

[justpeachy22]

rsbm

yes, i think this is really interesting! i too think it’s the same person, but i too wonder if the defense will be able to make the jury question things

- is it the same person in all the footage?
- the dna was found around a trash can with lots of other trash iirc, not on the crime scene, like you said
- yes he had a gun at the mcdonalds, but LE had been talking about a specific vetinary gun and this was a ghost gun
- yes he had the “letter to the feds”, but did the letter mention anything about the crime that hadn’t been in the media?

etc. etc.

First, we know that the shooter is the same person as the guy in the starbucks pic. Same jacket, same backpack.
Then, when you look at the starbucks pic in comparison to the hostel smiley pic, you can see he has a slightly different jacket on at the hostel, but has the same black face mask and facial features. That identity should be a slam dunk verification task for the prosecution to argue if the defense even tries to "make the jury question things." In regards to the gun, there was also proof in his social media that he had asked if anyone knew how to make that type of gun that he actually used. I don't recall the context in which that was asked.

 

[slowpoke]

Ha, I don’t know why this thought came to me today, but this shooting reminded me of the Game of Thrones, the fantasy tv series. Did/does Luigi see himself as like a Jon Snow?
Putting the comparison as a spoiler (hope this works), just in case you’ve not seen the series, but may want to in the future.

Spoiler

The Jon Snow character killed Daenerys to prevent more innocent people from inevitably dying under her tyrannical rule, having become the ‘Mad Queen’. She showed no sign that she was going to stop, so he felt it had to be done for the good of all.

Moo

 

[BrianJohnson]

Ha, I don’t know why this thought came to me today, but this shooting reminded me of the Game of Thrones, the fantasy tv series. Did/does Luigi see himself as like a Jon Snow?
Putting the comparison as a spoiler (hope this works), just in case you’ve not seen the series, but may want to in the future.

Spoiler

The Jon Snow character killed Daenerys to prevent more innocent people from inevitably dying under her tyrannical rule, having become the ‘Mad Queen’. She showed no sign that she was going to stop, so he felt it had to be done for the good of all.

Moo

Witty is the big boss, BT will just be replaced by another bean counter, nothing will change

 

[Trino]

BBM
In my community I've heard similar sentiment. Whether I'm in the gas station or volunteering at the food bank, it's all the same...people are upset and feel the health ins. companies had it coming.

Maybe insurance companies but not Brian Thompson, per se. Wonder why LM chose him.

 

[Warwick7]

Maybe insurance companies but not Brian Thompson, per se. Wonder why LM chose him.

Someone posted this up thread. Could be a reason why. M00

10M a year salary for United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson and utilizing AI to decline customers claims….yikes
Pretty sure he upset someone.

UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York

Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the US but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected.

apnews.com

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/business/insurance-claim-denials-unitedhealthcare-ceo/index.html

 

[Warwick7]

Witty is the big boss, BT will just be replaced by another bean counter, nothing will change

This is true.

 

[BrianJohnson]

Maybe insurance companies but not Brian Thompson, per se. Wonder why LM chose him.

My gut instinct tells me his target was probably Andrew Witty but when he saw him protected by security when he was staking them out he turned his attentions to BT who had no security, I suspect he was tracking them both previous day and decided on 1 of them

 

[BrianJohnson]

Someone posted this up thread. Could be a reason why. M00

10M a year salary for United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson and utilizing AI to decline customers claims….yikes
Pretty sure he upset someone.

UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York

Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the US but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected.

apnews.com

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/business/insurance-claim-denials-unitedhealthcare-ceo/index.html

He was well renumerated yes but he was also sackable, not top of the food chain, while “following orders” sounds very WW2 I suspect he had little say in the matter and was carrying out policies that Witty told him to carry out

 

[IDK]

He was well renumerated yes but he was also sackable, not top of the food chain, while “following orders” sounds very WW2 I suspect he had little say in the matter and was carrying out policies that Witty told him to carry out

Jumping off your post here — as far as the insider trading that BT was accused of— do you know if he allegedly committed that crime as a private citizen, or on behalf of UHS? The article below says it was “personally held”.


“Months before Thompson's murder, he and two other UnitedHealth Group executives were named in a 20-page complaint filed by the Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund.”

“The lawsuit, dated May 14, alleges Thompson sold more than $15 million of his personally-held UnitedHealth shares — just as the Department of Justice reopened an antitrust investigation into the company.
Thompson, along with the two other executives, didn't disclose the information to investors or the public, the lawsuit noted. This allegedly cost the plaintiff quite a bit of money.”

UnitedHealthcare CEO accused of insider trading and fraud, lawsuit shows

cbsaustin.com

 

[BrianJohnson]

Jumping off your post here — as far as the insider trading that BT was accused of— do you know if he he allegedly committed that crime as a private citizen, or on behalf of UHS?

“Months before Thompson's murder, he and two other UnitedHealth Group executives were named in a 20-page complaint filed by the Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund.”

“The lawsuit, dated May 14, alleges Thompson sold more than $15 million of his personally-held UnitedHealth shares — just as the Department of Justice reopened an antitrust investigation into the company.
Thompson, along with the two other executives, didn't disclose the information to investors or the public, the lawsuit noted. This allegedly cost the plaintiff quite a bit of money.”

UnitedHealthcare CEO accused of insider trading and fraud, lawsuit shows

cbsaustin.com

If he was guilty of any wrongdoing that is for a court/jury to determine, not LM to play judge, jury, executioner

 

[IDK]

If he was guilty of any wrongdoing that is for a court/jury to determine, not LM to play judge, jury, executioner

Of course, that is a given, IMO.

I was trying to understand from a legal perspective if the charges reflected personal vs corporate actions. I guess I answered my own question, since the funds were privately held. So not an action that his boss directed, in other words. All , IMO.

 

[Muddy K]

his ankles were chained - he couldn't take large steps or go any faster without tripping and falling

Yes, I did notice that. When I said the entire courthouse hallway "perp walk" struck me as showboating, I was referring to the phalanx of LE and suits surrounding LM. IMO, that kind of show of force had nothing to do with him, but rather whatever audience they're trying to message. (I'm probably not be in their target demographic.)

After all, it's not like LM was going to spontaneously combust, produce a ghost gun from somewhere on his person, or otherwise erupt into murderous violence. JMO.

 

[MassGuy]

Yes, I did notice that. When I said the entire courthouse hallway "perp walk" struck me as showboating, I was referring to the phalanx of LE and suits surrounding LM. IMO, that kind of show of force had nothing to do with him, but rather whatever audience they're trying to message. (I'm probably not be in their target demographic.)

After all, it's not like LM was going to spontaneously combust, produce a ghost gun from somewhere on his person, or otherwise erupt into murderous violence. JMO.

I have no idea if that particular perp walk was necessary or not, but the concern isn't about him doing something, but one of his crazy supporters.

 

[Warwick7]

If he was guilty of any wrongdoing that is for a court/jury to determine, not LM to play judge, jury, executioner

In a perfect world, yes, you are correct.
We live in a world tho that has lost its mind.

 

[snarast]

In a perfect world, yes, you are correct.
We live in a world tho that has lost its mind.

Yup, that’s what happens when you have business leaders making decisions about topics they don’t understand at all - and who are chosen because they are great networkers and not because of their ability to actually understand what they are doing and make appropriate risk assessments.

And it’s just going to get worse with the now ubiquitously hired shortcut AI help. IMHO.

 

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[LinasK]

I have not one ounce of sorrow for this fugitive now accused Defendant. I do however have sorrow for Brian Thompson's family and loved ones.

JMO

Agreed. I don't like being lumped in with everyone. I have no sympathy for fugitives and also don't find him good looking. He's a crazed murderer.

 

[LinasK]

As others have said, it mirrors closely the book critical of the Health Insurance Business "Delay, Deny, Defend"

But, LM was wanting to send a message so by switching 'Delay" to 'Depose' which means - according to Merriam-Webster - "

verb (used with object)​

deposed, deposing.

1. to remove from office or position, especially high office:
   The people deposed the dictator.
2. to testify or affirm under oath, especially in a written statement:
   to depose that it was true.
3. Law. to take the deposition of; examine under oath:
   Two lawyers deposed the witness

MOO - but it was word play and LM certainly did depose someone from high office but also a deposition is normally how you would settle a insurance dispute.

I wasn't aware of definition #1. To me the word depose means definitions #2 and 3.