Luigi Mangione, charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is being housed inside the same New York detention center where hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs awaits trial for federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is where Mangione, 26, was taken after being extradited to New York. He was previously incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison on firearm offenses and charges related to the fake ID he showed law enforcement when they detained him at a McDonald’s in Altoona earlier this month.
Now in New York, Mangione is facing federal charges related to Thompson’s murder, as well as state charges in connection to the Dec. 4 shooting in Midtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Combs, from 2008 to 2024, is alleged to have “led a criminal enterprise that existed to facilitate his abuse and exploitation of women, to protect his reputation, and to conceal his conduct,” the Justice Department has said.
“As part of that criminal enterprise, Combs, along with other members and associates of the enterprise, committed crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Here is what you need to know about the detention center where Mangione and Combs are being housed.
What is the Metropolitan Detention Center?
Mangione and Combs are housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center because they face federal charges in New York City. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, a United States Department of Justice division, operates the facility. It is the only federal jail in New York City.
The facility, primarily used for post-arrest detention for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan or Brooklyn, has about 1,121 total inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. There are also outdoor recreation facilities, a medical unit with examination rooms and a dental suite at the facility, Fox News reported. A separate wing is available to inmates for educational programs and the jail’s library, the outlet added.
The Metropolitan Detention Center, which was opened in the early 1990s, has been criticized for its harsh conditions, even to the point that judges have refused to send individuals there.
Detainees have previously complained about constant violence, deplorable conditions, severe staffing shortages and the frequent smuggling of drugs and other contraband, the Associated Press reported in September.
In January, Judge Jesse Furman of the Federal District Court in Manhattan declined to send a man who pleaded guilty in a drug case there because of the conditions, BBC News reported.
District Judge Gary R. Brown of the Eastern District of New York wrote that the detention center had “dangerous, barbaric conditions” in a September sentencing opinion.
“We also take seriously addressing the staffing and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn,” the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement previously obtained by the AP. The jail’s agency team is trying to fix several problems, including by upping permanent correctional and medical staff, taking care of more than 700 backlogged maintenance requests and abiding by judges’ concerns, the outlet reporting.
Diddy requested release from Metropolitan Detention Center
Last month, Combs requested to be released from the Metropolitan Detention Center due to conditions in the facility making it “impossible” for him to prepare for trial.
Combs’ attorneys claimed that he does not have access to a “compliant” laptop they supplied a month ago so he can review “discovery that is critical to his defense and trial preparation.” The lawyers also state that frequent sweeps and lockdowns at the jail have prevented Combs from meeting with them.
“Even assuming Mr. Combs obtains a laptop and counsel is able to share critical discovery with him and visit him at the MDC every day, uninterrupted, it will be impossible for Mr. Combs to review this incredible volume of evidence under the present conditions,” his attorneys wrote in the request.
This request was ultimately denied in late November, and Combs is now expected to remain in jail as he awaits trial next year, multiple media outlets reported.
Who else has been housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center?
Before Combs and Mangione, other high-profile individuals were housed at the jail as they awaited trial, including singer R. Kelly, rapper Ja Rule, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, according to CBS News and NBC News.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a British former socialite who was convicted of child sex trafficking after being arrested in connection with deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was also housed at the jail.
Some of those high-profile figures stayed at the detention center after the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan closed in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The facility, where Epstein committed suicide in his cell in 2019, closed due to inhumane conditions. When OIG staff visited the jail in Manhattan in March 2022, they noticed “cracking and crumbling exterior walls; damage to cells, office spaces, flooring, and ceilings; and malfunctioning equipment that floods the surrounding area.”
This story was updated to fix a typo.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
