He may also need a get out of jail free card.
Police discovered monopoly money in a backpack they believe belonged to the masked assassin who gunned down UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown, law enforcement sources told the Post.
The colorful play money was found by NYPD detectives inside of a gray backpack hidden in the brush in Central Park on Friday that may be the one the gunman ditched after the shooting, sources said.
Police tracked the shooter’s path into Central Park, where they conducted a search for his backpack Wednesday. New York Post
A backpack possibly belonging to the shooter was recovered by police investigators inside Central Park on Friday night. Obtained by NY PostThe backpack, similar to the one the shooter wore in the caught-on-camera killing, was recovered south of the carousel near Heckscher playground.
In addition to the board game cash, a jacket was also found inside, sources said.
What we know about the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Brian Thompson, the CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down Wednesday outside a luxury Midtown hotel in a “brazen, targeted attack,” police said.
- Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021. He joined the company in 2004. He was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice.
- Thompson’s wife, Paulette, said her husband had been getting threats before he was killed.
- Thompson’s shooting led to sick support online, and even spurred a tasteless lookalike competition in NYC.
- A person of interest has been nabbed by police officers inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.
- The suspect has been identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, originally from Towson, Md. He’s an Ivy League graduate who hated the medical community.
Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.
An undated photo of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group
Surveillance images show the suspect where he was staying before the shooting at the HI Hostel on the Upper West Side. DCPI
Authorities believe the suspect escaped through Central Park on a bike and proceeded to leave on a city bus headed for Atlanta, Georgia. Google MapsA photo obtained by The Post shows the backpack in seemingly good condition after police fetched it from the wooded area.
The bag was sent straight to a lab for forensic testing, according to police sources.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny described the backpack as “very distinctive.”
Peak Design founder and CEO Paul Dering said he believes that the backpack may be one of his company’s designs.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown just before dawn on Wednesday as he walked to an investor event without any security detail.
The assassin quickly fled after the caught-on-camera killing, sped through Central Park on a bike and at some point left the city on a Greyhound bus for Atlanta, according to authorities.
The NYPD deployed more than 100 officers and a fleet of drones to Central Park Friday to scour for clues as investigators have been following the gunman’s escape route.
Before the shooting, the still-unidentified suspect stayed at a hostel in the Upper West Side but kept his mask up – even in his room, according to the alleged shooter’s roommates.
“[The roommates] said he didn’t speak. He kept his mask on even when he was eating. He would pull the mask down to take a bite,” Kenny said.
He did reveal his face for a quick second while flirting with the woman working at the front desk. NYPD has widely circulated a photo of that moment.
The shooter has evaded law enforcement for four days as the FBI has joined in the massive manhunt.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday declined to say if authorities have identified the suspected murderer.
“The net is tightening,” Hizzoner said.
