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Years apart, a mobster and an insurance exec walked out onto a dark New York street. Both are killed. People feel some affection for the old-style hoodlum. For the insurance guy, not so much.
In December 1985, I covered the flamboyant murder of mob boss Pauly “Big Paul” Castellano, cut down in a fusillade of bullets fired at close range as he exited Sparks Steak House on E. 46th Street at about 5pm. There were four shooters assigned to kill the head of the Gambino Crime Family, all wearing trench coats and fur hats. According to epic mob snitch Sammy “The Bull” Gravano the murder had been ordered by Castellano’s rival John Gotti, who sat in a limo witnessing the bloody scene.
I remember traveling out to Staten Island to Castellano’s newly built McMansion a couple of days later to give my condolences to his widow, and maybe get her on camera for a couple of minutes. When I knocked on the door, a big burly man answered. I introduced myself, he said he knew me, and when I asked the big man if I could give my condolences to Mrs. Castellano, he thanked me for coming by. Through the half open door, I could see six or eight all-male mourners looking like the funeral scene in The Godfather.
The biggest difference between the Castellano assassination 39 years ago, and the assassination of insurance executive Brian Thompson last week near the Hilton Midtown Hotel on 53rd and 6th is that people felt sorry for the mobster.
I did not expect when asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper to comment on Thompson’s murder how many people wanted Thompson dead. Not him specifically, just any allegedly greedy, selfish, evil insurance executive.
Here is a representative sample from X.
“Today, we mourn the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down…. wait, I’m sorry – today we mourn the deaths of the 68,000 Americans who needlessly die each year so that insurance company execs like Brian Thompson can become multimillionaires.”
“I’m glad no one is helping find #UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer. Law enforcement should have treated Brian Thompson’s family exactly like United Healthcare treats its customers: always deny and make them file appeals.”
“Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare who stole about $70k a year off me back in the states and rejected like half of my freaking claims, has thankfully died today. Hopefully some more scummy medical insurance CEOs are next!”
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written in tiny letters or etched into the killer’s bullet casings. These are three of the infuriating tactics used by United Health Care to slow or limit payouts. The company is notoriously stingy when it comes to paying claims. Many speculate that the killer had a personal beef against Thompson or United Health Care, perhaps a loved one denied coverage. In any case, the hatred directed against Thompson and his ilk is widespread and deep.
At the time of his death Thompson was under active federal investigation for insurance fraud and insider trading that allegedly netted him at least 15 million when he dumped stock ahead of the bad news of the DOJ probe.
Condolences to his family. I was taught never to speak ill of the dead, but this guy was apparently a stinker. New York magazine’s headline was “The United Heathcare Shooting was Inevitable.” The Lede in The New Yorker was blunter, “A Man Was Murdered and You’re Laughing.”
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