The McDonald’s employee who helped police trace the 26-year-old suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson might not receive the hefty $60,000 reward after all, it has been revealed. Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down Thompson in a targeted attack in New York last week, shooting him in the back outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare was holding an investors’ meeting.
Mangione was taken into custody at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania December 9. He was apprehended after an employee reportedly alerted cops, who had launched a massive manhunt for the suspect and had sought the public’s help.
The New York Police Department offered a reward of $10,000 for anyone who had information on the suspect. As the search grew more intense, the FBI added an additional $50,000 to the pot. Hundreds of tips were reportedly sent.
The McDonald’s worker said they saw Mangione “acting suspiciously” at the restaurant, and seemed to be carrying fraudulent documents. He was subsequently arrested, after officers found that he was in possession of fake IDs, a ‘ghost’ gun, silencer, clothes, and a mask that matched the one Thompson’s shooter was seen wearing. Mangione was later charged with murder and four other counts, including firearms charges.
Clearly, the tip-off from the employee played a significant role in Mangione’s arrest. But will the worker get the $60K reward? The rules are slightly complicated.
Who will get the reward?
As per rules, the McDonald’s employee will have to be put forward by an investigating agency, such as the Department of Defense or the FBI. This will then be reviewed by an interagency committee, and if approved, the suggestion will be passed on to the Secretary of State, who will sign off on the final decision.
That is not all. The entire reward amount could also be in dispute, considering payment amounts are based on factors such as the value of the information provided, the level of threat, the severity of danger or injury to people or property, and the degree of the source’s cooperation.
Coming to the $10K offered by the NYPD, it is important to note that the rewards program is granted through Crime Stoppers, where tipsters are given a unique reference number, which the tipster has to use to call back or check the status of the investigation online before lodging a claim with the NYC Police Foundation and the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors. These groups finally decide whether or not to approve the tip, and they also instruct the caller on how to receive it. Therefore, the informant might not be able to make the claim if they called 911 instead of Crime Stoppers.
In both cases, the reward will be given only if there is an indictment or a conviction from the court, following the arrest. The McDonald’s worker could be waiting for a long time, at the end of which they might not even get the reward.