TRUE CRIMEUnitedHealth CEO Murder Suspect Luigi Mangione Held in 'Laid-Back' Jail, Says Former Inmate
An ex-inmate claimed the detention center where accused killer Luigi Mangione is held is surprisingly relaxed.
April 21 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Luigi Mangione is currently behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since the shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024.
Is the jail as terrifying as you might think? According to a new report, Gene Borello, a former inmate, described the facility as dark but surprisingly "laid-back."
Luigi Mangione remains behind bars in Brooklyn, N.Y.
"It's like a big dormitory. There are dorms with bunks and lockers. There is only ever 20-something people in there at most at once," he explained to In Touch. "You are not confined, it's open."
"There's one guard in the office, and the inmates are free to 'come and go' unless they're on lockdown. It is a laid-back, cool spot if you have to do time, it's really easy. There's no violence on that side or anything," he added.
But how does Mangione fit into this so-called paradise? Borello insisted that because of his high-profile crime, he's stuck where the spotlight shines.
On the flip side, Borello described the "other side" of the prison as brutal with "stabbings and cuttings all day," and he likened it to "being on the street."
Mangione reportedly has his own cell — which his lawyers are trying to outfit with a laptop to avoid printing out a staggering 15,000 pages of discovery related to his case.
Luigi Mangione's supporters have rallied for him in the past few months.
- UnitedHealthcare CEO's Accused Murderer Luigi Mangione Locked Up at Same Brooklyn Prison as Sean 'Diddy' Combs
- 'Free Luigi!': Inmates at Prison Where CEO Murder Suspect Is Being Held Slam Conditions, Want Him to Be Transferred to Riker's Island
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs 'Throwing Tantrums' Over Luigi Mangione 'Getting All the Attention' Behind Bars, Source Claims: His 'Ego Is Bigger Than Life'
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Meanwhile, the stakes are sky-high, with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing federal prosecutors will pursue the death penalty. But experts also believe securing a conviction could prove challenging.
Mangione's supporters rallied fiercely, raising over $800,000 for his defense and even performing TikTok dances outside the jail for a dose of solidarity.
Luigi Mangione is a 'folk hero to many,' said a former federal prosecutor.
"I have never seen a criminal defendant, much less an accused murderer, receive as much sympathy," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek. "He is a folk hero of sorts to many."
Borello speculated that Mangione might soon be on a one-way trip to a penitentiary after his trial.
Luigi Mangione's life will change if he's convicted.
"Right now, it's cool, but obviously, he is going to get life in prison," Borello said.
Borello isn't shy in describing the abyss waiting for inmates — calling a regular penitentiary "h--- on earth," where freedom is just a faint memory.
"Inmates are on lockdown 'most of the time,' and the people living there skip 'cutting' and go straight to riots, 'gang wars,' and 'killing each other,'" they stated, noting they can be only be out of cells for "three or four months out of the whole year."
