McDonald’s employee who called 911 during CEO shooting eligible for reward, but it will take time

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than 400 calls have been made to the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers line during a five-day manhunt for a masked gunman who was ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.

NYPD officials said about 30 of those tips were useful as information about the shooter’s movements before and after shooting on December 4. But police didn’t identify a suspect until after a 911 call came in from a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Up to a $60,000 reward has been offered by the FBI and Crime Stoppers to anyone who calls in with a tip that leads to a break in the case. But police and prosecutors quickly made arrests and charges 26-year-old Luigi Mangionepayment of any award may take significantly longer and may be less than the full amount after taxes and the role of tips are taken into account.

Exactly who will receive the reward or share of the reward is still being determined, officials said. Federal and local reward programs actually operate under different rules, but both have the ability to offer multiple rewards of varying sizes depending on the results of these tips.

How can someone get rewarded?

The FBI’s reward program, which offered a reward of up to $50,000 in this case, requires that a tip or information lead to an arrest and conviction.

Phone calls and emails to the FBI press office seeking details of the specific reward program were not returned, but websites for the various rewards offered by the agency outline similar processes. The person giving the tip must be appointed, usually by a federal investigative agency. The panel then considers the tips and their role in the investigation and decides whether to award the full amount.

The NYPD Crime Stoppers reward, which is funded by the New York Police Foundation and the NYPD Detective Bureau, typically offers up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment. In this case, the Detective Bureau increased that amount to $10,000, and a judgment is required for its share.

“The public’s help is essential to solving crimes and keeping our communities safe,” the Police Foundation board said in a statement Wednesday. “A person in Pennsylvania who submitted a tip is entitled to a reward.”

A McDonald’s employee called 911, who wrote down the number and usually the name. The informant calls Crime Stoppers, remains anonymous. The program promises to never track cell phone numbers or record information about callers, instead providing them with a unique identification number that they can use to check case status and reward potential.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney will evaluate which tip or tips helped solve the case when determining how to distribute the detective bureau’s reward, police officials said Wednesday.

When can the money be credited?

Most awards require a criminal record. Given the nature of the murder charges and the multiple jurisdictions involved, it could be a year or more before a trial takes place.

For $3,500 from Crime Stoppers, the board can decide on a cash reward after the prosecution is complete. Both the FBI and Crime Stoppers have boards that review tips, talk with detectives or other law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, and determine which tips played a significant role in the case. The board has some discretion in determining the amount of each tip.

The Crime Stoppers Board has discretion to split the reward between the tips or consider each tip to the maximum amount on a case-by-case basis.

The NYPD did not say how any of the 30 tips helped the case, but it is unlikely that every informant will receive the maximum amount offered.

How was money awarded in the past?

The Police Foundation and the FBI do not discuss individual cases or disclose how much money individual informants received.

For some programs, such as the Rewards for Justice program, the FBI says they have paid out millions of dollars over the past two decades. For this program, the FBI sometimes announces the amount of the reward, but does not identify the informants. Often, the agency provides a confidential report to Congress detailing the tips and rewards.

The same principles apply to Crime Stoppers. The program is not releasing details in an effort to protect the anonymity promised to whistleblowers. On his website, he touts high-profile cases where tips helped solve cases, including an April 2022 mass shooting where tips led to the arrest of officers and the final admission of guilt by Frank James.

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Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this story.