A former pizza maker, Mark Anderson, has been accused of attempting to frame Luigi Mangione by impersonating an FBI agent. He was returned to the same Brooklyn prison where Mangione is being held, following a not guilty plea to the charges of conspiracy.
Anderson, 36, was taken back to the Metropolitan Detention Center, where Mangione awaits trial for allegedly murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. This decision came after federal authorities pointed out Anderson’s extensive criminal background during a Brooklyn federal court hearing.
Prosecutor Brandon Davis mentioned that Anderson approached the facility’s water intake area armed with unconventional weapons—like a pizza cutter and a barbecue fork—and claimed to have judicial orders to confront Mangione.
Judge Seth Eichenholtz decided against bail for Anderson after his public defender, Michael Weil, argued for his release.
In court, U.S. marshals escorted Anderson, who wore a tan prison outfit and thin black glasses, for a brief hearing.
Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York highlighted Anderson’s history, which includes convictions for burglary and drug offenses. They also noted multiple recent arrests for assault in the Bronx.
In a strange incident last December, Anderson pretended to shoot a BB gun outside Louis and Ernie’s Pizza in Throgs Neck. The pizza shop’s owner mentioned that Anderson had worked in the kitchen until he was fired the prior April.
Additionally, Anderson once filed a handwritten lawsuit in Manhattan against the Pentagon and the ambassadors of China and Russia, though all such cases were dismissed.
Lawyers representing Anderson describe him as mentally ill. They argue that he did not attempt to forge an FBI badge or claim to have received any weapons from law enforcement, suggesting there was no genuine effort to harm a federal prisoner.
Anderson is set to appear in court again on Friday, facing a potential three-year prison sentence if convicted. Meanwhile, Mangione has consistently claimed his innocence. His trials are scheduled for June and October, respectively, in both state and federal courts.
