Luigi Mangione's Pending Federal Indictment: A Look at Past Cases
This coming week, we might either see an indictment, delay, or drop in Luigi’s federal charges. I thought it would be insightful to make a post on the last 3 murder-related indictments in connection to New York prior to Luigi, to compare and contrast.
So to start, Luigi’s charges:
Luigi Mangione, 12/04/24
Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old American, is set to be indicted for federal charges in New York for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024. Luigi Mangione allegedly shot and killed Thompson in Midtown Manhattan with a 3D-printed ghost gun and silencer. A notebook (labeled a manifesto by authorities) was allegedly found revealing his rage against the insurance industry. Luigi faces charges for two counts of stalking and one count each of murder through use of a firearm, and a firearms offense, with murder through use of a firearm carrying the possibility of the death penalty.
Below, I’ve listed the 3 most recent federal murder-related indictments in New York, their perpetrators, and their sentences.
1. Nicholas J. Kieffer, 02/24/25
Nicholas Kieffer, a 33-year-old corrections officer, was indicted for second-degree murder in the death of Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility. On December 9, 2024, Brooks was transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility and, while compliant and handcuffed, was repeatedly beaten by Kieffer and other officers. The assault began in the prison’s Arsenal area, continued across the grounds to the infirmary, and persisted inside the infirmary, killing Brooks. Kieffer, along with five other officers, faced federal charges due to the involvement of state employees and the crime’s severity, though the case originated in Oneida County before federal pursuit.
2. Christian Keston John, 10/31/14
Christian John, the 33-year-old leader of the “Hull Street Crew” in Brooklyn, was indicted federally for racketeering, including six murders committed between 2000 and 2011 to further the gang’s criminal enterprise in Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York. His specific actions included murdering Charlemagne Lormand in 2000 by shooting him to eliminate a rival. In 2006, with Marvin Johnson, he lured Earle Kevin Obermuller to an abandoned building, duct-taped his head until he suffocated, then set his body on fire. In 2008, he killed Barry Haynes and Daquane Shelton in separate incidents, both shot to maintain crew dominance. In 2011, he ordered and oversaw the murders of Jason Bostic and Aaron Formey, directing crew members to bind them with duct tape and execute them. John also assaulted a crew member by tying him up and pouring boiling water on him. The federal case arose from the enterprise’s interstate drug trafficking and violence, leading to a guilty verdict in December 2014 and a mandatory life sentence.
- Marvin Johnson, 10/31/14
Marvin Johnson, a 32-year-old member of the same “Hull Street Crew” led by Christian Keston John, was indicted for racketeering tied to six murders in Brooklyn. His direct actions included working alongside John in 2006 to lure Earle Kevin Obermuller to an abandoned building, duct-tape his head, watch him suffocate, and burn his body to dispose of evidence. Johnson was also implicated in the broader crew activities, supporting the other five murders (Lormand, Haynes, Shelton, Bostic, and Formey) through participation in the gang’s violent operations, though his specific role in each wasn’t always detailed beyond the Obermuller killing. The federal indictment stemmed from the crew’s organized crime spanning drug trafficking, armed robberies, and murder-for-hire, resulting in a guilty verdict in December 2014 and a mandatory life sentence.
The last federal execution that was set to take place in New York occurred on June 19, 1953. Two individuals, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were “put to death at Sing Sing prison for espionage”. They were convicted of passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union.
Since then, no one convicted under federal jurisdiction in New York has been executed, though the federal death penalty remains an option for certain crimes. For example, in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would seek the death penalty against Payton Gendron for the racially motivated mass shooting in New York, in 2022, which killed 10 people. That case is still ongoing as of March 15, 2025, and no execution has occurred yet.