An oddity that gives me a bad feeling that I can’t seem to shake…
As I continue working to edit & compile all of the content I filmed while in NYC to attend Mangione’s first state motion hearing in person, I’ll be releasing a series of shorter articles/essays that I’ve been drafting. I want to state clearly that my interest in this case is not a neutral one, and that I am not a neutral reporter. I’m a member of the public with strong opinions about this case, who also happens to be a lawyer and a writer. I’m exercising my right to free speech to cover this case exactly how I want to cover it—which is like I’m Luigi’s “cousin Vinny,” so to speak.
In examining and reflecting on my own feelings about Luigi Mangione and the legal aspects of the case, I had to ask myself, why exactly do I feel so defensive of him? Why have I taken such a special interest in this case? I don’t want to bang him—although I am the first to acknowledge his attractiveness is a major part of his fusion into the popular culture and attitude of the public towards the case. Like many, I was captured by the crime since December 4, 2024, and participated in the public conversation around it in the days leading up to the suspect’s photograph and name being released, as well as the manhunt that ended at the Altoona McDonald’s with Luigi’s arrest.
At first, my interest was not very different from every other member of the public. It’s an extremely fascinating crime, regardless of your thoughts on who did it or the ethical/philosophical discussion around what is or isn’t a justified killing. The idea that there is this super genius out there, who the mainstream media has painted as this prodigy, “tech bro” with the intelligence, engineering capabilities, and money/access to be able to so perfectly plan and execute this crime with a 3D printed gun and silencer, who then suddenly & inexplicably turned into the dumbest person alive right after committing the crime (having all of the evidence tying him to it, along with a “manifesto” at the Altoona McDonalds), is a difficult sell for me.
Approaching it like a defense attorney, the criminal complaints just have so many holes and obvious instances of reasonable doubt—along with claims that seem absurd on their face, with very selectively chosen information alongside very selective omissions. Everything about it had my bullshit radar going off like crazy, and that was before the public revelation that he is from a giant, affluent, Italian-American family who have all been completely silent about the case and his arrest.
This absolute, radio silence from the entire Mangione family gives me a horrible feeling in my chest that makes me uncomfortable when I think about it too long. I’m starting to feel it right now, as I put my thoughts about it into writing. It’s anxiety in my chest that comes from knowing something is off, without knowing exactly what it is or why. It’s very similar to the feeling I get when I realize a client has lied to me about something that they thought was inconsequential, which makes me realize they could be lying about everything, including the very consequential things.
I’m only half Sicilian-American, and just that half of my family is very stereotypical, in that they are very Catholic with a ton of kids. Luigi’s father, Louis Mangione, is one of ten children. Luigi is one of 37 first cousins and grandchildren to his grandparents, Nicholas and Mary Mangione. The idea that a huge, wealthy, powerful Italian-American family like this would all be 100% silent, giving no comments, no support, not even a generic statement of “everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” boggles my mind. It’s completely incompatible with my lived experience, and how most Italian or Sicilian-American families I know (including mine) would be behaving in these circumstances.
As I put it in a comment to my article detailing my experience in the courtroom, I have at least 20 relatives on the Sicilian-American side of my family who, if they started a huge fight with me at a family wedding, I wouldn’t be surprised—but who would still be in the front row behind me in court at the drop of a pin. The way Italian & Sicilian women feel about the men in their family, and the loyalty Italians & Sicilians have towards each other (and their blood relatives especially), is a well-known stereotype of our culture that anyone with any Italian or Sicilian ancestry can affirm is highly accurate. We are also famously LOUD, love to talk and tell stories, and are quite defensive/sensitive about being called criminals or murderers—probably something to do with a century of being treated like everyone with a vowel at the end of their name must have at least one member of their family in the mafia.
This is what makes it so amazing to me that not a single one of Luigi’s immediate or extended family has said anything at all, not even the most milquetoast, non-committal kind of statement. I can tell you that if my Sicilian Grandma were alive & healthy (may God rest her soul) and I stood accused of a high-profile murder for which I were facing the death penalty—that I was vehemently declaring my innocence of and had pled not guilty to—with all of these strange legal anomalies in the complaints and the way the prosecution is moving forward, she would be out there every day declaring my innocence and attending every court appearance. Same goes for my Mom. My Mom wouldn’t even have to believe in my innocence in her heart to still publicly support me and be at my hearings.
Like many Italian or Sicilian Americans, I grew up hearing the phrase “blood is thicker than water” a lot, always said as a reminder that anyone who isn’t your family cannot be fully trusted, and to never go against a family member in public. You can say whatever you want within the family, but you don’t say certain things to non-family, and you don’t let your guard down and treat anyone like blood who isn’t. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not always heed this advice, and have learned more lessons about this “the hard way” than I care to admit.
I can completely see and understand no one from Luigi’s family talking to the press outright—that would be a direct violation of the above policy. But not a single one of them supporting him at any hearing, or having any statement of support or innocence within the only statement released by his family? That’s the truly unfathomable part for me. And if you’re only going to release one statement before never speaking publicly on it again, why would that one statement contain more empathy for Brian Thompson than for your own family member? Why would it sound like the entire family has already accepted Luigi’s guilt?
The Mangione Family’s only statement was released by Antonino “Nino” Mangione, a politician serving as a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 42A since 2023. It appears below.
This is quite difficult to wrap my head around, because there are so many other ways you could respond to this without sounding like you think your own, beloved family member is guilty. Especially given a case like this, with so many areas of opportunity for reasonable doubt that even complete strangers (like me) have rallied to Luigi’s defense over them. After hearing/reading fairly poor reviews about the 41-minute HBO documentary titled “Who is Luigi Mangione” currently streaming on HBO’s Max, I finally sat down and watched it with my husband. This is supposedly a “documentary” that is about who he is, and it did not feature one single, solitary person in the entire thing who could call themselves a family member or close friend of Luigi’s. It didn’t even feature a breakdown of his family, or include the names of his siblings.
Instead, it featured representatives from the private security industry, journalists, law enforcement, the NYPD police chief and NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and even an individual who represents themselves as the organizer of Luigi’s “legal defense fund,” saying on camera that she could “totally understand why someone would want to kill this guy,” in which “this guy” is referring to Brian Thompson. Instead of even one person who could call themselves a third cousin or cousin by marriage or anyone who was a friend of his from childhood, there were two individuals featured as a “Mangione Family Friend,” who both miraculously seemed to have figured the whole case out already! Almost as though they had the official theory of the case explained to them, and they parroted it exactly back as instructed.
I searched exhaustively for any statements from any immediate or extended family member since December 9th, when Luigi’s name was released and he was arrested at the Altoona McDonald’s. The only thing that came close to a positive statement was reported by The Times of India1, claiming that Luigi’s sister, Luciana Mangione, had posted a picture of them together on social media with the words “praying for you.” Of course, this post can no longer be viewed and has been removed, as the article indicates. Why would his own sister remove something as innocuous as saying that she is praying for him? Why does it seem as though there is some kind of directive being followed by everyone close to him, without any deviation?
There is of course, a whole other discussion that needs to be had around the “December 4th Legal Defense” fund and why someone of the Mangione family’s wealth would need a legal defense fund. Thomas Dickey (Luigi’s PA attorney) and Karen Friedman Agnifilo (KFA, Luigi’s attorney in the NY State and Fed criminal proceedings) are not cheap lawyers, and they were retained almost immediately. Dickey was retained within 24 hours, so I initially assumed (like everyone else) that his wealthy family had retained him great attorneys. The “legal defense fund” raises a lot of questions for me, along with the Mangione family silence, because it indicates that his family are not the ones paying his lawyers. I have another deep-dive that will be coming out this week on the legal defense fund, so stay tuned (and subscribe!).
For now, I’ll end here and leave you to ponder the following: under what circumstances would you be completely silent if you were Luigi’s mother, father, sister, cousin, loved one, or close friend? Under what circumstances would you not even say that you’re praying for him, or that he’s got a right to a fair trial?
When I asked myself these questions, it became clear to me that the reason I feel so defensive about Luigi is that he has no one from his actual family standing with him. It makes me feel some type of way, as Gen Z says, imagining myself in his position—with no one in my big, fat, Sicilian-American family saying a word in my support.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! I do have court today, but will do my best to dedicate at least an hour to replying to comments/discussions here. One last note: I am not going to be answering or commenting on comments/questions made anywhere other than my Substack, as it takes too much time & energy. I encourage anyone who wants to engage with the topics I write about to do so here, on Substack.
As a bonus for paid subscribers, I’ll be publishing my raw notes from the courthouse and the hearing on 2/21 for paid subscribers only this week.
