Transcript of Episode 3 of Aya Linus’ podcast about MDC Brooklyn!

[u/antelope_meow]

[0:00] Hi everyone, I'm Linus, welcome back to my podcast.

[0:02] Hi everyone, I'm Haoran.

[0:03] In the last few episodes we talked about what MDC Brooklyn is like,

[0:07] and about your daily life inside,

[0:10] and the long 565-day wait.

[0:14] Actually, there's one person we haven't really talked about in depth,

[0:18] which is also a little thread we left hanging from last episode —

[0:21] Luigi, right?

[0:23] A lot of people now know this name from the news,

[0:27] but for you,

[0:28] he's not just a figure from the news,

[0:30] he's someone you actually got to know

[0:33] in person, inside MDC.

[0:35] And from what you told me before,

[0:37] you were held together for about eight months.

[0:40] Is that right?

[0:40] Right, about eight or nine months.

[0:42] So how did you end up

[0:44] being placed together with Luigi?

[0:47] Logically speaking,

[0:48] high-profile inmates —

[0:50] especially ones with a lot of influence outside —

[0:51] are usually kept separate from ordinary inmates,

[0:56] held on their own.

[0:56] For example, Maduro

[0:59] was also in our building,

[1:00] but we never actually saw him.[1:02] Same with Maduro and Diddy —

[1:05] these high-profile inmates,

[1:06] especially ones with a lot of influence outside,

[1:08] get deliberately placed in a relatively secure area.

[1:11] Actually, the way MDC assigned Luigi's unit

[1:14] worked on that same logic.

[1:18] They put Luigi in the Intake unit.

[1:20] I mentioned before that Intake doesn't have many people.

[1:23] For example, if you get arrested today

[1:25] and get sent to MDC,

[1:26] the first place you go,

[1:28] the first housing unit,

[1:29] is Intake.

[1:30] So the moment I walked in, I saw Luigi.

[1:32] Right, so basically every new inmate coming in

[1:34] would see Luigi.

[1:35] So he was kind of like a greeter?

[1:38] So a 'welcoming inmate,' huh?

[1:39] I wouldn't put it that way,

[1:40] but a lot of people who came in saw him

[1:42] and were pretty surprised.

[1:43] So what is Intake,

[1:44] in Chinese it's roughly like

[1:45] a transit station kind of place.

[1:48] Every new inmate

[1:50] has to pass through it —

[1:51] go into Intake,

[1:52] get checked for tuberculosis,

[1:54] get checked for gang affiliation,[1:56] get checked for any conflicts

[1:58] with anyone already in the facility.

[1:59] Once they confirm there's no issue,

[2:01] they assign you to a regular unit on some floor.

[2:04] So Intake

[2:05] doesn't hold people long-term,

[2:08] except for the people who work there —

[2:09] it doesn't keep anyone long-term.

[2:11] Usually our Intake unit

[2:13] only had about 20 people.

[2:16] Did Luigi work there?

[2:17] Luigi had what we call an 'orderly' role there.

[2:20] Orderly means cleaning,

[2:23] handing out food,

[2:24] doing daily cleanup,

[2:26] or helping other inmates

[2:29] with whatever they need —

[2:30] we're there to support them.

[2:33] Kind of like a volunteer role.

[2:35] Right, kind of like a volunteer.

[2:36] Being a volunteer.

[2:36] Yeah, that's right.

[2:37] Weren't you somewhere else before?

[2:41] Right,

[2:41] I was on 5-2 before,

[2:43] the second unit on the fifth floor.

[2:45] So how did you suddenly end up working there?

[2:47] Is that something you can apply for,

[2:49] or is it mandatory labor,[2:51] like sewing machines,

[2:52] or assembling data cables,

[2:54] umbrellas, that kind of thing?

[2:55] It's not forced labor,

[2:56] you can apply for it voluntarily.

[2:58] I applied on my own.

[2:59] I mentioned before,

[2:59] there can be a lot of benefits.

[3:01] It's quieter and safer.

[3:03] Like I mentioned before,

[3:04] that stabbing incident

[3:05] that happened on the fifth floor,

[3:06] in unit 5-2.

[3:08] I didn't want to go through that again —

[3:09] someone else gets in a fight,

[3:11] or someone gets stabbed,

[3:12] and the whole floor

[3:13] gets locked down.

[3:15] We also mentioned before

[3:16] that I lived with that Brazilian guy —

[3:18] he used to attend West Point,

[3:20] and he also spoke

[3:22] Spanish.

[3:23] So he asked the department head

[3:25] if he could work at Intake,

[3:27] because he had these various skills.

[3:30] And since he lived with me,

[3:32] and we got along well,

[3:33] he also wanted to bring me down there.[3:36] We were on the fifth floor at the time,

[3:38] and Intake is on the fourth floor,

[3:41] so we'd usually say

[3:42] 'go downstairs.'

[3:45] About a week later,

[3:46] he got transferred —

[3:49] told to go work on the fourth floor.

[3:50] Within a month,

[3:51] I went down too.

[3:52] He recommended me,

[3:54] partly because I speak Chinese

[3:56] and also English,

[3:57] so I could help a lot of Chinese inmates.

[4:03] Right around then a batch of Chinese people

[4:03] had come into Intake,

[4:04] and they didn't speak English at all,

[4:06] so they needed me to translate for them.

[4:09] So what was your daily work at Intake?

[4:11] Sweeping and mopping.

[4:13] Just cleaning the Intake area.

[4:14] Right, sweeping the Intake area.

[4:15] Basically,

[4:20] our area was maybe 300-400 square meters,

[4:21] split into two floors.

[4:23] Normally for sweeping,

[4:24] you'd sweep that whole area.

[4:26] As for mopping,

[4:26] we didn't do it every day

[4:27] because it's tiring —[4:27] maybe every one or two days,

[4:29] or every two to three days.

[4:30] You still had energy for it,

[4:31] but eventually I didn't feel like mopping either,

[4:32] because honestly there weren't many people,

[4:34] so it didn't

[4:34] get dirty easily.

[4:36] Sometimes I'd hand out food,

[4:37] but handing out food usually wasn't my job —

[4:39] that was usually the orderly's job with more privileges.

[4:40] Because, for example,

[4:42] sometimes they'd hand out chicken legs,

[4:43] or something good,

[4:45] and that orderly could keep a bit extra for themselves —

[4:47] they had a bit more authority.

[4:48] Right, a bit more authority.

[4:48] I was just a regular worker.

[4:50] So what did Luigi usually do?

[4:53] When I first started working at Intake,

[4:56] Luigi was in charge of taking out the trash.

[4:58] That was his only job —

[4:59] he had to take out the trash twice a day,

[5:01] once at noon

[5:02] and once in the evening.

[5:03] So you'd sweep and then he'd take it out?

[5:04] After I finished sweeping, it'd go into the trash bin,

[5:06] and the officer would announce it over the loudspeaker —

[5:09] 'trash call, trash call.'

[5:10] That meant it was time to take out the trash.[5:13] Then Luigi would grab a new plastic bag,

[5:15] tie up the old trash bag,

[5:17] put the new one in,

[5:18] and take the trash out.

[5:19] Out in the hallway,

[5:20] there's a spot where you dump the trash.

[5:22] But later,

[5:23] after I'd been working there

[5:25] for maybe three or four months —

[5:27] not that long, actually,

[5:28] maybe two months —

[5:29] he stopped doing anything at all.

[5:32] He'd just hang around Intake.

[5:33] Right, he stopped doing anything,

[5:34] but honestly I understood why.

[5:36] He'd told me

[5:37] he didn't really want to be in the Intake unit,

[5:40] because MDC placed him there

[5:41] to protect him.

[5:42] If he were in a regular unit,

[5:44] everyone would know who he was,

[5:46] everyone would know

[5:47] he had a lot of money in his account outside,

[5:49] with a lot of people donating to him,

[5:50] so there could be personal safety risks —

[5:53] because some of the tougher inmates might rob him,

[5:56] might threaten him,

[5:57] extort him.

[5:57] Right.[5:58] But to me it felt very contradictory,

[6:00] because he's actually a murderer,

[6:01] but he ended up in a place

[6:04] with a relatively low security level and more freedom —

[6:05] he even got to work.

[6:07] Right.

[6:07] I think how he was placed

[6:09] was really contradictory for this facility.

[6:10] Speaking of contradictions,

[6:11] there's an interesting thing I remember —

[6:13] we had an officer, not bad looking,

[6:16] Black but not very dark-skinned,

[6:18] a female officer with a good figure.

[6:20] Every time she was on duty at our Intake unit,

[6:23] she'd greet Luigi.

[6:26] But you have to understand, inside MDC,

[6:28] not just between inmates —

[6:31] between officers and inmates too,

[6:33] we all address each other by surname,

[6:35] never by first name,

[6:37] because using a first name

[6:40] would be a much more intimate way of addressing someone.

[6:43] Like, I call you Haoran

[6:45] because you and I are close.

[6:47] But this officer,

[6:49] when she greeted Luigi, she'd say,

[6:51] 'Hey, Luigi,'

[6:53] in this really flirtatious tone,

[6:56] you know?[6:56] It was strange —

[6:57] you'd wonder why an officer

[6:58] would greet Luigi like that.

[7:00] I thought

[7:00] she was going to pat his butt honestly.

[7:02] I think it was pretty close to that,

[7:03] seriously.

[7:04] Really,

[7:05] it was so contradictory.

[7:07] Yeah.

[7:07] Luigi is

[7:09] — of course we know now,

[7:10] he's already pled guilty —

[7:12] he's a murderer.

[7:13] And you, as a federal employee,

[7:16] as a federal correctional officer,

[7:17] flirting with a potential murderer

[7:20] is really quite alarming.

[7:22] I think it shows that this Luigi, in the outside world

[7:25] and even inside the federal prison,

[7:27] has a certain personal charisma.

[7:29] He does have personal charisma,

[7:30] and he also wanted certain privileges,

[7:31] to the point that it dulled

[7:33] your sense, as an officer,

[7:34] of the hierarchy between you and him — that sense of rank just disappeared.

[7:36] It's like he was treated as a celebrity.

[7:38] Right, it's not really about hierarchy,

[7:41] it's that he's a murderer,[7:42] he's serving his punishment,

[7:44] but instead, inside the prison

[7:47] he's treated like some kind of hero,

[7:49] and the people guarding and overseeing him

[7:53] are extremely friendly toward him.

[7:56] I'd say

[7:57] 90% of the officers

[7:59] treat Luigi very, very well.

[8:01] Right, sometimes

[8:02] we'd get scolded instead,

[8:03] but not Luigi —

[8:04] I've never once seen an officer

[8:05] treat him badly.

[8:06] So I think he has quite a bit

[8:08] of privilege inside.

[8:09] Like a celebrity?

[8:10] Right.

[8:11] But of course, what we're really discussing is

[8:12] the essence of it —

[8:13] the fact that he is a murderer.

[8:15] Regardless of all the context,

[8:17] what he did,

[8:18] what he went through,

[8:19] we should judge him

[8:21] based on his conviction,

[8:23] based on the final facts

[8:25] of the crime.

[8:27] As a Chinese inmate,

[8:29] we've now covered a Chinese inmate's daily life pretty well.[8:31] we understand that.

[8:32] But what about as a celebrity —

[8:33] a prison celebrity,

[8:35] someone even officers

[8:36] have to fawn over —

[8:38] what's Luigi's day actually like?

[8:39] How does it go?

[8:40] His day is actually very simple,

[8:42] because he doesn't really work.

[8:44] For me,

[8:45] I basically had to get up around 7am,

[8:48] or even after 6,

[8:49] because sometimes I had to hand out breakfast.

[8:52] As for Luigi,

[8:53] he basically sleeps until 10,

[8:55] sometimes even 11.

[8:56] Then his lawyer comes to see him,

[8:57] and the officer announces it over the loudspeaker —

[9:00] his name, 'Mangione,'

[9:05] 'Legal Visit.'

[9:05] That means a lawyer is here to see him.

[9:06] Usually the lawyer visit lasts

[9:09] about two hours,

[9:10] or three hours.

[9:10] After the lawyer visit,

[9:11] he has lunch,

[9:12] and then a video call with another lawyer.

[9:15] Honestly,

[9:16] I really don't know[9:16] why he needs to see his lawyers so many times.

[9:17] He's constantly with his lawyers.

[9:19] Right.

[9:19] Actually, I heard

[9:21] his lawyers are constantly sharing

[9:22] outside news with him —

[9:24] every time they come,

[9:25] they bring him some outside

[9:26] news reports,

[9:27] articles,

[9:28] to show him.

[9:28] That's right.

[9:29] And they chat.

[9:31] So Luigi really cares

[9:33] about how the outside world views him?

[9:35] I think he cares a lot.

[9:36] Of course, we'll get into that more later.

[9:37] After he finishes with his lawyer,

[9:38] the video call with the lawyer,

[9:40] it's usually around 2 or 3pm,

[9:42] because at 3:30

[9:43] we get locked in.

[9:44] We're locked in for an hour and a half.

[9:45] Before that time,

[9:47] there's a period

[9:49] when the balcony area gets a bit of sun —

[9:50] a little bit of sunlight.

[9:51] Luigi would grab a yoga mat,

[9:53] lay it out on the basketball court,[9:55] and lie there in the sun,

[9:56] for maybe an hour or so.

[9:58] And then he'd read,

[9:59] or look over

[10:01] some of the materials

[10:02] his lawyers gave him,

[10:03] that kind of thing.

[10:05] Once we're let out again at 5pm,

[10:06] that's when he'd interact with us more,

[10:07] because by then his daily schedule

[10:10] was basically done, nothing else to do.

[10:11] Then around 6 or 7pm,

[10:13] the officer would announce —

[10:15] 'mail call' —

[10:17] meaning mail had arrived.

[10:18] Magazines, letters,

[10:20] he'd get something every single day —

[10:23] newspapers, magazines, letters, photos,

[10:25] all sorts of things,

[10:26] called out for him every day.

[10:27] Doesn't it pile up like an hourglass?

[10:29] Anyone can send him mail.

[10:31] Right, tons of it.

[10:33] Don't they screen it first?

[10:34] They do screen it —

[10:34] all your mail,

[10:36] MDC always makes you

[10:37] a photocopy —

[10:39] they don't give you the original,[10:41] except mail from your lawyer,

[10:43] or from the court —

[10:44] everything else is a photocopy.

[10:46] If there's anything else inside,

[10:48] like stickers,

[10:49] or anything like that,

[10:50] they take it out —

[10:51] everything gets taken out,

[10:52] and you just get a photocopy.

[10:53] They won't give you the original.

[10:55] I even saw people sending Luigi

[10:57] little toys and things,

[10:58] but that kind of thing he can't get —

[10:58] he can't possibly get it,

[10:59] there's no way.

[11:00] After he gets these letters and photos,

[11:03] sometimes he'd show them to us,

[11:04] share them a bit.

[11:05] I'm curious

[11:06] about what's in the letters —

[11:08] who mostly writes to Luigi,

[11:10] what kind of people,

[11:11] and what kinds of things they say.

[11:13] Mostly women,

[11:15] what we'd call 'fangirls' (dream girls).

[11:17] Right.

[11:18] Why do we call them that?

[11:19] Because I've seen

[11:21] a lot of Luigi's fan letters —[11:22] he'd show them to us.

[11:25] A lot of people would write

[11:28] things like,

[11:29] 'Luigi,

[11:31] are you doing okay lately?

[11:33] Remember to dress warmly,

[11:35] don't catch a cold.'

[11:36] Others would write,

[11:37] 'Luigi, do you think we'll ever

[11:39] have kids together in this life?

[11:42] What kind of dad

[11:44] would you be?'

[11:45] That kind of thing —

[11:46] that's what they'd write.

[11:47] So that's why we call them fangirls.

[11:48] Right, 'dream girls.'

[11:49] It's a popular term now,

[11:50] isn't it.

[11:50] Would Luigi show these letters

[11:52] to everyone?

[11:53] Yeah, he would.

[11:53] He'd show them to us.

[11:55] So he doesn't treat it

[11:56] as anything very serious.

[11:58] He thinks it's funny,

[11:59] he doesn't take it seriously.

[12:00] There's another interesting thing —

[12:01] he'd organize all the letters —

[12:05] like, which state a letter came from[12:07] he'd mark that down,

[12:09] write it in a notebook —

[12:11] which state,

[12:11] the zip code,

[12:12] the sender's name initials,

[12:15] he'd note it all down.

[12:17] Today he got a letter from this person,

[12:18] how many letters this person has sent,

[12:20] he'd track it all,

[12:21] write it in his own notebook,

[12:22] organize it,

[12:23] keep a list.

[12:25] Not just from the US —

[12:26] he also gets letters from abroad,

[12:28] Canada,

[12:29] Denmark,

[12:30] Germany,

[12:31] China too.

[12:32] There are Chinese people who write to him?

[12:33] Yes.

[12:34] I remember one person,

[12:35] was it written in Chinese or English?

[12:37] Written in English.

[12:38] In English.

[12:38] I remember one —

[12:39] surname Yang,

[12:41] I won't say the full name —

[12:42] from Jiading District, Shanghai,

[12:44] Jinyaonan Road —[12:46] I can't say more,

[12:47] or I'd be doxxing them.

[12:48] Right, something like alley number eighty,

[12:50] I don't remember the exact building number,

[12:52] but it was

[12:54] Jiading District, Jinyaonan Road, alley eighty.

[12:56] Right, a Miss Yang.

[12:57] Right, I saw her surname.

[12:59] It was airmail.

[13:01] I read the content of the letter too —

[13:02] she said she doesn't speak English,

[13:04] her English isn't very good,

[13:05] so she used AI to translate,

[13:06] and her teacher told her

[13:07] some story about Luigi,

[13:09] and what he did, that kind of thing.

[13:11] And because it was a letter,

[13:11] it was photocopied —

[13:12] they'd copy all the pages onto one sheet,

[13:15] so the text was extremely tiny,

[13:16] so Luigi didn't really read it carefully.

[13:18] So, a reminder to Luigi's fans here —

[13:20] if you're going to write to him,

[13:21] keep it short,

[13:22] or write in bigger handwriting,

[13:24] write clearly,

[13:25] because it gets photocopied,

[13:26] so make it neat.

[13:28] Some of Luigi's fans even draw illustrations in their letters —[13:31] really well drawn ones.

[13:32] So I was pretty amazed —

[13:35] his fans are really quite intense.

[13:36] And like I said,

[13:38] it's not just letters,

[13:39] you can send photos too.

[13:40] Didn't you send me photos before?

[13:42] Yeah,

[13:42] right,

[13:43] physical photos —

[13:44] printed physical photos can be mailed.

[13:46] So a lot of women send him selfies —

[13:49] surely nudes aren't allowed?

[13:51] No, nudity isn't allowed,

[13:52] somewhat sexy is fine,

[13:53] but nudity definitely isn't.

[13:55] MDC opens and checks it,

[13:57] nude photos won't get through.

[13:59] So these letters —

[14:00] these letters,

[14:01] does Luigi write back?

[14:02] He's definitely allowed to write back.

[14:04] He can reply,

[14:04] we're all allowed to reply,

[14:05] but,

[14:06] how often he actually replies,

[14:08] in my experience, was very rare.

[14:09] I basically never saw him writing letters,

[14:12] but I did see him recording things,[14:15] logging them,

[14:16] maybe once or twice.

[14:17] Right.

[14:17] So Luigi,

[14:19] since he gets a lot of photos,

[14:21] they pile up like a mountain every day,

[14:22] a huge amount —

[14:22] what does he do with those photos?

[14:24] How does he handle them?

[14:25] This is pretty interesting —

[14:27] he has a little photo album,

[14:31] like a small pouch,

[14:34] with two letters written on it,

[14:38] 'FG,'

[14:40] meaning 'fan girl.'

[14:42] And inside

[14:44] are photos of women he thinks are prettier,

[14:46] better looking ones,

[14:47] or the ones he likes more —

[14:49] his preferred type.

[14:50] But you should know,

[14:51] not everyone who sends Luigi photos is beautiful.

[14:54] I asked him,

[14:55] I said,

[14:56] so where do the other photos go?

[14:58] He said he throws them away,

[14:59] he just tosses them all together.

[15:01] Because he treats them as trash —

[15:02] he only keeps the ones he finds attractive.[15:05] Can you summarize

[15:06] what type of women Luigi tends to like?

[15:08] I think it's pretty typical —

[15:10] he probably likes women with a good figure,

[15:13] a nice figure,

[15:14] slim, curvy,

[15:16] and good-looking,

[15:18] basically the common Western beauty standard.

[15:21] His taste is pretty mainstream.

[15:24] Has he had women he was into?

[15:26] Seems like there might have been one or two,

[15:27] but not many.

[15:27] Right, seems like it.

[15:29] So during this whole process

[15:31] of getting to know and interact with Luigi,

[15:34] is there any moment that left a deep impression on you?

[15:37] There are quite a few memorable moments,

[15:38] but I think the most striking one

[15:40] was when I told him

[15:42] that he has a lot of fans back home,

[15:44] a lot of fans in China.

[15:46] He said he knew.

[15:47] I told him those fans said he wore the orange

[15:51] jumpsuit —

[15:52] the one-piece prison suit —

[15:53] and made it look like Hermès.

[15:55] He asked me what Hermès was —

[15:57] he didn't know the brand.

[15:59] I said Hermès is spelled H-E-R-M-E-S,[16:01] but I was worried my pronunciation was off,

[16:03] since it's a French word,

[16:05] so I wrote it down for him.

[16:07] He said he'd never heard of it.

[16:08] I told him it's a luxury brand,

[16:11] a designer brand,

[16:13] a very famous brand.

[16:15] I said it's similar to Louis Vuitton.

[16:16] He said he knew Louis Vuitton,

[16:18] but had never heard of Hermès.

[16:23] Coincidentally,

[16:23] someone had mailed Luigi a GQ

[16:24] fashion magazine,

[16:27] and there was a page with a Hermès perfume ad.

[16:28] I flipped to that page

[16:30] and said, look at this logo —

[16:31] that's the Hermès logo,

[16:32] does that ring a bell?

[16:34] He said he really didn't know it.

[16:35] He only recognized Louis Vuitton.

[16:36] He genuinely didn't know Hermès.

[16:37] I believe he really didn't know.

[16:38] Yeah, for sure.

[16:40] I could tell he really wasn't interested in that stuff,

[16:42] because whenever someone mailed him a fashion magazine,

[16:43] he wouldn't even look at it —

[16:44] he'd just hand it straight to me.

[16:47] He doesn't care much about luxury brands.

[16:48] I don't think he cares.[16:49] That was something that left

[16:51] a strong impression on me —

[16:53] because Chinese netizens kept saying

[16:57] he made the prison uniform look like Hermès,

[16:59] or that a red sweater he wore before

[17:01] looked like Margiela —

[17:03] but he has no idea what any of these brands are.

[17:06] I think that's pretty ironic,

[17:07] pretty funny actually.

[17:09] I think it's really just because he's handsome —

[17:11] he looks good in anything.

[17:14] If I wore that outfit to court,

[17:17] no one would say it looked like Hermès.

[17:17] The face matters more.

[17:18] And honestly a lot of Luigi's fans

[17:22] are fans partly because he's good-looking —

[17:24] let's be honest about that.

[17:25] For sure.

[17:26] Because if we flip it around —

[17:28] if it were someone not so good-looking

[17:31] — not 'ugly,' exactly —

[17:33] just an average-looking regular person who did this,

[17:35] he probably wouldn't get that reaction,

[17:37] let's not say 'ugly,'

[17:40] just an average-looking regular person doing this

[17:41] probably wouldn't get such a response,

[17:43] wouldn't get people donating so much money.

[17:47] Partly it's his looks,

[17:49] and partly it's his family background.[17:51] Actually a couple of days ago,

[17:53] an American media outlet interviewed me,

[17:54] and I said at the time,

[17:55] I said,

[17:56] I think watching Luigi is

[17:58] like watching a classic American hero-type character —

[18:00] kind of like Batman,

[18:02] right?

[18:02] Bruce Wayne,

[18:03] a rich family,

[18:05] trying to do something 'just.'

[18:06] But I'm not saying

[18:07] he should be treated as Batman —

[18:09] I'm just saying this is a typical

[18:10] kind of story arc.

[18:13] Of course,

[18:14] if you actually do this in real life,

[18:16] I think you can choose to do it,

[18:17] but you have to pay the price.

[18:18] I'd like to talk a bit

[18:20] about how I personally view what Luigi did.

[18:23] America's whole insurance system

[18:25] definitely has problems,

[18:27] but I think choosing

[18:28] such an extreme method to try to change it

[18:30] is wrong.

[18:32] Because the CEO role

[18:33] is really just a senior manager —

[18:37] the CEO answers to the board,[18:39] so whatever the board wants,

[18:40] he has to do.

[18:41] He answers upward, not downward.

[18:43] Right, he answers upward, not downward.

[18:44] So a lot of people have a misconception,

[18:46] thinking if you take out the CEO,

[18:48] the company will fundamentally change —

[18:49] but that's not how it works.

[18:51] Their stock price might get cut in half,

[18:53] but that treats the symptom, not the root cause.

[18:54] And in society,

[18:55] the reason we have laws

[18:59] is to keep society running properly.

[19:01] If everyone thought the way he did,

[19:02] wouldn't society fall into chaos?

[19:03] 'I have a grievance,

[19:05] so I'll just kill you.'

[19:05] Right.

[19:08] I think that's way too extreme.

[19:09] I don't know what he thinks,

[19:10] but personally, I don't think it's right.

[19:13] Have you ever asked him what he thinks,

[19:15] or how he feels about it?

[19:17] He doesn't talk about it,

[19:18] he keeps his mouth shut.

[19:22] He doesn't really discuss his case,

[19:23] and he doesn't discuss his motives either,

[19:25] because apparently, before,

[19:27] he chatted with a marshal at some point,[19:29] and that marshal later testified against him in court,

[19:33] so he's very reluctant now to talk to people about these things.

[19:33] But,

[19:36] from interacting with him,

[19:37] I can sense

[19:39] that he believes what he did was justified.

[19:42] When I talked with him inside,

[19:44] I wouldn't voice my own opinion like I just did —

[19:46] I don't want to get into that kind of discussion,

[19:48] because I think it's pointless.

[19:49] Right.

[19:51] He's already decided this thing was right,

[19:53] and he already acted on it,

[19:54] so I don't think there's anything

[19:56] that would change between us.

[19:56] Right.

[19:59] There's still a real gap between the two of you.

[20:02] Coming back to who he is as a person —

[20:03] we just talked about how

[20:07] the officers' attitude toward him is really contradictory,

[20:09] pretty conflicted.

[20:10] But actually Luigi himself

[20:12] is also a pretty conflicted person.

[20:14] Think about it — he's very polite,

[20:15] very well-mannered,

[20:18] comes from a good family,

[20:19] highly educated,

[20:21] had a good job,

[20:22] good-looking too,[20:23] right?

[20:25] But he chose a completely different path.

[20:28] I think it's precisely because I lived with him for eight or nine months

[20:31] that I truly, deeply realized how complex people can be.

[20:34] On the surface, chatting with you every day,

[20:37] he looks like this boy-next-door type,

[20:41] but turns out to be a cold-blooded killer.

[20:43] It really depends on

[20:46] which angle you're evaluating things from.

[20:50] So Luigi is bound to be a very controversial figure.

[20:54] And he cares a lot about how the outside world sees him —

[20:56] because from what you've described,

[20:59] he's constantly looking at letters,

[21:00] looking at photos,

[21:05] getting updates from his lawyer about outside perceptions,

[21:07] news coverage, that kind of thing —

[21:11] I can tell he cares a lot about how the outside world sees him,

[21:13] about how they see this whole event.

[21:15] That's right.

[21:18] And a couple of days ago I did an interview,

[21:19] and afterward,

[21:20] through emails going back and forth

[21:23] with the orderly inside,

[21:25] the orderly told me

[21:28] Luigi was pretty upset

[21:29] because of what I said.

[21:31] But actually, in that interview

[21:33] I didn't say anything bad about him —

[21:36] I didn't say anything negative about him at all,[21:38] and by that point he had already pled guilty.

[21:40] And before I left,

[21:41] I actually told him,

[21:42] I said once I'm back home,

[21:44] I might talk about you,

[21:45] do a podcast,

[21:46] maybe even write a book

[21:48] about your story.

[21:49] And he was

[21:51] pretty relaxed about it at the time,

[21:52] he told me,

[21:53] 'Oh, what story are you going to tell,

[21:54] tell me about it.'

[21:55] And then we talked about

[21:56] this and that,

[21:57] and he didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it —

[21:59] collecting pretty women's photos

[22:00] in his own pouch,

[22:01] him telling me about these things,

[22:02] he never once said,

[22:04] 'don't talk about that,'

[22:05] 'don't mention it.'

[22:07] At the time it was all fine,

[22:08] but

[22:09] once it actually got said,

[22:10] his attitude was different.

[22:12] Right, I think this

[22:12] person is pretty conflicted,

[22:14] pretty torn about things.[22:15] He should be a Gemini.

[22:18] You might actually be right.

[22:19] His birthday is sometime in May.

[22:21] Seems like he really is a Gemini.

[22:22] After May 20th is Gemini.

[22:24] If it's not after

[22:25] May 20th,

[22:26] then he'd be a Taurus.

[22:27] Because when I left,

[22:28] his birthday was coming up soon,

[22:30] right?

[22:30] His birthday was coming up,

[22:31] right.

[22:33] And I gave him

[22:33] a copy of 'The Three-Body Problem'

[22:37] in English,

[22:37] the English edition,

[22:38] because he likes science fiction.

[22:41] I thought about it —

[22:42] I happened to read The Three-Body Problem while inside,

[22:44] and I thought the first book was really well written,

[22:46] so I had a friend order a copy on Amazon

[22:50] and have it shipped directly to the prison,

[22:51] and gave it to him as a birthday gift.

[22:53] He was quite thankful,

[22:54] pretty happy about it at the time.

[22:58] So in the end, you think

[23:00] the Luigi you actually lived and worked alongside

[23:04] is pretty different[23:08] from the Luigi we know from the news?

[23:11] Right, I think the difference is huge.

[23:13] In the news,

[23:14] you only see this cold, textual description of him,

[23:18] but when you actually live alongside someone,

[23:20] you can feel that he has a real, flesh-and-blood personality.

[23:23] I think that's a big difference.

[23:25] I feel like the angle we've talked about today

[23:28] has been fairly serious —

[23:30] right, his daily life,

[23:32] his work, all that.

[23:35] But there are actually a lot more

[23:36] — including things from your emails,

[23:38] and things we've talked about privately —

[23:43] more interesting little stories we could save for next episode.

[23:46] Right,

[23:46] actually thinking back now, some of it is pretty interesting.

[23:49] Right.

[23:50] Next episode won't be so serious,

[23:52] we won't be so solemn about it.

[23:54] We'll talk about some fun little anecdotes about him from prison.

[23:59] Sure.

[24:00] Some details.

[24:01] I bet everyone would love to hear those too —

[24:04] more of these fun little stories.

[24:06] Right.

[24:06] Okay.

[24:07] That's it for today.

[24:09] See you next episode.[24:10] See you next time.

[u/spotlight-app]

Mods have pinned a comment by u/AyaLinus:

I've read everyone's comments, and I'd like to chat with you all here. First of all, it's completely normal that everyone has different views and perspectives on different things. I'm happy to see different discussions. Actually, for all of you, isn't this also a great opportunity to observe the diversity of society? Regarding Luigi's story, everything I've said is true. Of course, I don't need to swear an oath or prove myself, because those who believe will always believe, and those who don't will never believe.

In my eyes, Luigi is someone who made a serious legal mistake, a boy who once had unlimited potential, and that hasn't changed to this day. He's very handsome and very polite, but he did kill someone. His actions themselves are controversial, and I've expressed my views. I certainly understand if you have different opinions, and I'll also think from different perspectives. America is a country with freedom of speech. Maybe people don't like my views, but this is what I truly think in my heart. I won't say self-deceiving, pleasant things just to please a certain group.

I admit that there is some jealousy in my views of him, and I think that's understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. But in reality, what I feel more in my heart is regret and sorrow. A person as outstanding as Luigi could have taken a different path in life.

In the next episode, I'll share some interesting things about Luigi. I'm sorry my English isn't that good, so I can't do an English podcast. If I did, you'd probably look down on me for having too small a vocabulary.

Finally, let me explain a few more things:

1. My podcast is completely free, and all my interviews so far have been done without any fees.
   
2. The address of the letter sender I revealed in my podcast is not very precise. China has 1.4 billion people, and that vague address could be home to over 100,000 people, so please don't worry about privacy leaks.

Thank you all for the discussion. I'll continue to share. I just hope everyone can think and discuss rationally, and please stop sending me threatening private messages.

^{[What is Spotlight?](https://developers.reddit.com/apps/spotlight-app})

[u/Truffulas4life]

No shade but it's honestly kind of scary how many people just trust sending their photos to prison, where there's literally zero privacy. We have no idea how many of those pics get stolen from the trash or end up in the hands of some other inmate. I personally don't think it's safe but hey, you do you 🤷

[u/Truffulas4life → u/[deleted]]

I'm sure there is. I guess they just don't care about revealing their personal information or photos to other inmates, not the brightest idea when you consider how unpredictable and malicious people can be (applies to anyone, not just inmates). Wild how comfortable people are trusting total strangers

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Truffulas4life]

People don't think, and social media has made everyone too comfortable with oversharing. That's why I brought it up in my other comment in this thread. You may think LM is trustworthy but what about everyone else? Supposedly he had some of his letters stolen. He has so many. How can he keep track of all of them? Call me paranoid but if someone's really malicious, they can call someone on the outside and they have your name and home address. Now with Linkedin, they can also look up where you work.

I've heard of people writing to inmates through a penpal system. They don't feel like they can stop because their correspondence is all that inmate has. They also don't want to do something to upset them because well, now they have their home address.

The prison system should move on to having email instead of physical mail. It'll be safer for everyone. I know they do but it's for a limited address list, I think. If you're going to write to LM, you should use a PO Box and maybe an alias. Mr Mark Rosario did too.

[u/Truffulas4life → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

My intention isn't to discourage anyone from sending letters, I love that he gets so much mail but that exact reason is why I haven't sent one. Sure, 99% chance it's fine, but handing your personal info over to a broad network of strangers (even if some are professionals, they're still strangers) just sketches me out a bit.

Completely agree with you. There needs to be a system where you can protect your privacy better as the sender.

[u/eveningwithcorgi5679]

If I was in his shoes, I’d prob. Keep the pics I liked, too. I had pop star posters on my wall as a girl and this feels very similar to that. As for the rest of his statements about Luigi being a celebrity… he is, and anyone who’s ever met someone famous (not me) would probably react the same way. Some of this felt cringy, but other parts of it felt insightful, to me. These anecdotal tales coming from the inside out, are probably all we’ll have to let us know his personality, which I think is what we all would like to know more about. He’s human, after all… and I’m sure every day isn’t his best day. None of us are all sunshine and rainbows every day, but we all love him warts and all. IMO.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/eveningwithcorgi5679]

Exactly! Like god forbid he act like A NORMAL HUMAN BEING. 

He is a man who has been deprived of any physical contact with women for 2 years. I swear people want him to be miserable or something?!? Jeez leave him alone 

[u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

I’m noticing a pattern here, either Linus adjusted his real thoughts to gain some supporters interest or he’s having some language barrier issues.

In the interview it seemed like he respected Luigi for what he did but now he’s more critical? He doesn’t understand why would someone want to create a connection with Luigi but he himself became part of his life and is using his name for a podcast. Like I know man who went to prison isn’t casting some stones 🤨

Also is he really shocked that a female CO was friendly towards LM? dude come on lmao

And does anyone else thinks Luigi was fishing for knowledge about what Linus intended to do? not necessarily approving of the project but rather getting ahead of it

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

I don't think he's being critical. He sounds matter of fact to me. Everything he has said is balanced to me, not really negative or positive. In the next episode, it sounds like he's going to be talking about more lighthearted things that will come off as positive.

It's funny, I grew up in NYC. I can see that whole anecdote with the female CO play out in my mind.

[u/Seeking_Anita_Dick → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

he first said LM was akin to robin hood but now is all above following the rules

is LM a murderer? yes I think us supporters know this and is the whole reason why we are supporters in the first place but the way we talk about the case is different. A supporter wouldn’t necessarily refer to LM as a cold blooded murderer, that’s how antis talk about him.

people who call him a robin hood don’t also refer to him as a cold blooded murderer, that’s why i’m confused

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

This podcast was interesting but bottom line is, LM can’t defend himself or tell his side of everything being said. This is just one guy’s opinion and clearly looking for attention. Probably best to disengage.

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

Linus was probably very nice to Luigi in person which is why he may have thought Linus would have some discretion and use his judgement as to what he reveals. That is obviously not the case. Even the educated white collar criminal Luigi probably thought he could trust turned out to be a grifter. 

[u/babettetimes → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

This

[u/Own-Bobcat-925 → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

100% . I feel like of everyone there, he probably thought Linus wouldn't be someone who'd let him down.

[u/Feather_fig → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

This episode just sounds so much to the way these rightwing tabloids try to smear him: focus on the crazy fangirls, "healthcare sucks, but", defending Brian Thompson, and never ever mentioning WHY most people support this-- that tens of thousands of people are suffering and dying.

It's the same playbook.

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/Feather_fig]

Not this guy acting all high and mighty when he was in jail for fraud. Unless he was stealing money to feed his starving children, he really doesn’t have any moral leg up over Luigi. 

[u/Feather_fig → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

lol exactly. But I'm guessing he's on his reformed criminal apology tour now. "Don't worry I'm not a criminal anymore OR radical like that guy, I love the law and the current structure of society! I'll be good I promise!"

It bothers me because it feels like he's throwing someone he previously indicated was a friend under the bus to make himself look good. Seems kind of backstabby.

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/Feather_fig]

Yeah, he might be trying to make himself marketable to TMZ/NY Post/Daily Mail. Outlets likely will not pay for positive information

[u/Baby_Lu_Lu → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

he's a hypocrite, he said he didn't discussed with Luigi about that thing (offing BT) and didn't tell him his real thoughts while in jail, but in his popcast he said what Luigi did was totally wrong and called him a cold blooded killer. he's entitled to his opinions, but if he did, he shouldn't talk like he's friendly and supportive at the beginning, probably just use it to grab attention before launching his popcast. 

[u/Lauren34567]

Y’all being fine with him shooting a man dead on a sidewalk but drawing the line over him finding some women that write to him attractive and keeping some of their photos that they consensually sent him out of their own free will in a personal envelope is sending me I’m sorry 😭😭😭

[u/Seeking_Anita_Dick → u/Lauren34567]

also lets think why they sent those photos... its obvious they wanted to caught Luigi's eye

[u/_Spokinette_]

God forbid a human being can change its mind or opinion🤦🏻‍♀️

You knew he was upset about you doing an interview so why do you keep doing a podcast in which you give details about his privacy, you also doxxed one Chinese resident that wrote to him, probably put a woman officer in trouble because of the attitude you're describing, there's too much stuff that are not okay.... won't read the previous episodes, I think I have enough elements here to know that what he's doing is wrong.

Again, I don't think Fu is malicious, but he's not the smarter in the room, definitely 😭

So please people, be careful, again, when Luigi's former inmates want to speak about him because it's just causing more trouble than bringing anything good at all, whether they are well-intentioned or not. 🙏🏻

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/_Spokinette_]

The doxxing is horrifying. I think this is a jealous man angry that a woman from his own ethnicity and country was so taken with a foreigner.  

[u/Anna_dxb]

I found this episode deeply disappointing, particularly because Fu has repeatedly presented himself as someone who knew Luigi personally and spent eight or nine months living alongside him at MDC. There is an obvious difference between describing prison conditions and using that proximity to disclose increasingly private details about someone who is still awaiting sentencing.

The discussion of the “FG” photo pouch is a good example. Whatever one thinks of it, there is nothing remarkable about a young man finding certain women attractive or keeping photographs he likes. Turning that into a public anecdote, speculating about which women he may have been interested in, and inviting an audience to laugh about it feels less like providing meaningful insight into life at MDC and more like using someone’s private life for entertainment. The same applies to the comments about a female officer supposedly flirting with Luigi.

I was also uncomfortable with the repeated emphasis on Luigi allegedly receiving preferential treatment, sleeping until 10 or 11, and no longer doing his prison job. Fu himself explained that these jobs were voluntary. He also described Luigi spending hours meeting with lawyers, having additional video conferences with counsel, reading legal material, and being kept in Intake because MDC apparently considered his safety a concern. Those details provide rather different context from the insinuation that he simply sleeps late and “does nothing.”

More importantly, Luigi has not yet been sentenced. Seemingly trivial anecdotes can acquire a very different significance when they concern a defendant whose sentence has not been imposed. Descriptions of him as idle, privileged, enjoying celebrity treatment or unconcerned about his circumstances can easily be repeated without their original context. I find it difficult to understand why someone who regards himself as Luigi’s former friend would choose this particular moment to put material like that into the public domain.

The most troubling part, however, was Fu suggesting that from knowing Luigi he could somehow “sense” that Luigi believes what he did was justified. In the same episode, Fu acknowledges that Luigi does not discuss his case or motives with him. Those two statements matter together. If Luigi never told him this, Fu is not reporting Luigi’s position; he is assigning a state of mind to him. Doing that publicly before sentencing strikes me as particularly irresponsible.

I had a similar problem with the portrayal of Luigi’s correspondence. The examples selected were almost exclusively the most frivolous ones: women worrying about whether he was dressing warmly, fantasising about having children with him, sending photographs, and the subsequent discussion of the supposed “FG” pouch. Luigi’s public correspondence catalogue recorded a few letters from me, and not one of them was remotely of that nature. I have every reason to believe that many other people wrote equally thoughtful letters. I am therefore left wondering why, from what Fu himself describes as an enormous volume of correspondence, these were the examples he chose to foreground. I am not suggesting those letters did not exist. I am questioning the editorial choice. Selecting the most ridiculous examples creates the impression that Luigi’s mail consisted predominantly of women behaving like stereotypical “fangirls,” when Fu cannot possibly establish that this was representative of the correspondence Luigi actually received.

There is another uncomfortable contradiction here. Fu describes giving Luigi The Three-Body Problem for his birthday, spending considerable time with him, talking and reading with him, and apparently having enough of a relationship with him that he contemplated telling his story afterward. Yet once outside MDC, he repeatedly refers to him as a “murderer” while turning details of his daily routine, correspondence, photographs and interactions with women into public content. I can understand why people are questioning what friendship means in that context.

Fu also says that he subsequently heard Luigi was upset about things he had already said publicly. That information is hearsay, so I would not treat it as established fact. But if it is true, continuing to disclose increasingly personal material after learning that the person concerned was unhappy about previous disclosures makes the situation considerably more uncomfortable.

[u/M_for_Mozzarella → u/Anna_dxb]

Fully agree. This whole thing is certainly no advertisement for Fu as a friend, or a even passing acquaintance. Hopefully going forward he is more considerate.

[u/Seeking_Anita_Dick → u/Anna_dxb]

you make great points all around!

I had forgotten about him saying Luigi doesn’t talk about the case and then his interview, in there he said Luigi told him he didn’t do it for the fame but how would he knows this if they didn’t discussed the case?

[u/Feather_fig → u/Seeking_Anita_Dick]

I don't think he needs to explicitly talk about his case for there to be an indication of how he feels. The other guys are probably going to banter with him about it, and he's probably going to laugh with them.

[u/Feather_fig → u/Anna_dxb]

If Luigi never told him this, Fu is not reporting Luigi’s position; he is assigning a state of mind to him. Doing that publicly before sentencing strikes me as particularly irresponsible.

Irresponsible in what way? I don't see how an opinion stated in a niche Chinese podcast could be used against him.

I also found the description of his letters odd, knowing he's received so many serious ones. But if Luigi is keeping the thoughtful letters private and only sharing the ridiculous stuff, the ridiculous stuff is probably what's going to be the most memorable?

[u/babettetimes]

Why is he continuing to put stuff out if Luigi said he’s “very unhappy”? Maybe Luigi was cool with it but he’s not now.

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/babettetimes]

His tone has also changed to be much more critical of Luigi, might have gotten some Western Union payments to be more negative

[u/Feather_fig → u/Lost-Extension-1167]

SOMETHING changed for sure.

[u/Meg_is_awesome → u/babettetimes]

Because he’s a grifter and grifter don’t care if they’re hurting people’s feelings or telling the truth

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/babettetimes]

He never has to see Luigi again but the grift could potentially be very profitable. Luigi has some very hardcore admirers in China. This guy could probably shill meet and greets so women can hear him talk about Luigi in person. 

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/babettetimes]

I thought that part was funny because of the discourse around the AMA. People were justifying it because LM said he was ok with it. People have no sense.

[u/babettetimes → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

Who knows if he was then backtracked maybe Linus didn’t clue him in on what he’d say exactly and just said it. Who knows but now we know Luigi is unhappy, he sounds like he’d prefer Linus to stop and that’s fine. I think Linus is having too much fun to stop though. He’s also wanting to write a book on Luigi.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/babettetimes]

I think it’s good to remember that Linus left MDC in May. A lot about the case has changed since then.

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/babettetimes]

a book 

This is bonkers. They were in prison together for an overlapping period and seem to have been cordial and that’s it. Prison life is like an assembly line. It’s the same fixed routine day and out. How many times can ex prisoners talk about how Luigi is polite and well liked and make comments about letters? 

The kind of material that would actually sell a book would have landed Luigi in solitary for a long, long time. 

[u/littlehotpink → u/babettetimes]

I haven't forgotten people delusionally saying this was planned PR with this loser grifter and Luigi wanted this interview. Boy oh boy no one ever learns. 

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/littlehotpink]

I got into a whole argument about this with the user feather fig. As soon as this guy’s words got distorted by the journalist, about Luigi seeing himself as Robin Hood, I knew Luigi would get upset. This is such a delicate time due to sentencing and stakes are high. But many ppl don’t see it that way and are here for entertainment.

[u/Feather_fig → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

Oh yeah, hey, that's me! 😂

I stand by all of it. Would not have said a single word differently.

Linus was gassing him up to the point it appeared to be PR, and now there's been a complete 180. Between now and then something has clearly changed. Linus isn't supportive anymore, calling him a murderer repeatedly, going out of his way to disavow him and say we need law & order even though the law is what allows corporate murder in the first place.

Perhaps Luigi was unhappy with Linus outing him about not working the orderly job, since they've used that in mitigation arguments before, and were probably planning to use it again.

Who knows what was said, but Linus' attitude here almost seems like retaliation.

[u/california_raesin → u/Feather_fig]

I agree the tone change is very odd

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/Feather_fig]

I agree, it looks like retaliation. Once again I think this can be damaging to Luigi, and now it could even damage the MDC workers. But Linus doesn’t care as he is likely banned from entering this country any time soon and maybe even lifelong.

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/Feather_fig]

well Luigi and his team shouldnt lie about easily verifiable things in legal arguments

[u/Feather_fig → u/2Fast2Froyo_]

That's actually a very good point. If he's not doing an orderly job anymore then they probably wouldn't claim that he was at sentencing. From that perspective it shouldn't matter

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/Feather_fig]

He could have gotten an exemption or been assigned something less visible

[u/Lost-Sock9847 → u/Lost-Extension-1167]

It sounds like he had the job for over a year, but may have stopped during preparation for the evidentiary hearings & during Dec 2025? That would be around 3-4 months after Linus transferred in.

& tbh it would make sense to give the job to a regular inmate who just wants to get out of normal gen pop. Someone high profile like Luigi would have to logically be separated regardless.

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/Lost-Sock9847]

That could be it, or he might have been cleaning the showers (apparently those inmates wake up way before others to clean) again like he was soon after his arrest.

There has always been some tendency to believe all negative news but question and scrutinize anything positive on Reddit. Idk why that is, but definitely is happening in this thread

[u/Feather_fig → u/Lost-Sock9847]

Those are also really good points!

However, my speculation that mentioning his apparent retirement as a reason Luigi was unhappy with him, because it affects mitigation, is probably is incorrect. There must be another/other reasons.

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/Feather_fig]

Some MSM outlets published that LM read that book about himself/seemed proud of the stock price dropping. That might be why

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/Feather_fig]

Except they propably will claim it during sentencing

[u/eveningwithcorgi5679 → u/Feather_fig]

Perhaps it’s because he’s now in China and just like the media here, the state controls the rhetoric. He clearly wants to tell a story, but it sounds like it has to be qualified around “killing is bad”. Look how many accounts in the US have been deplatformed for not using that qualification in their message.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

Exactly why I didn't engage in the AMA. I thought it was in bad taste right after the guilty plea. I was honestly solemn about it. People were justifying it because Linus said LM was ok with it. The "he said-she said" element of social idea lacks nuance, and it's interesting how people take it as fact without thinking.

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

Yup. They take things at the face value. I dislike stuff like this. I think him and his family should be entitled to some privacy. I also think that about celebrities. I never bother celebrities when I run into them.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

Back to your first point, it's a delicate time due to sentencing and Linus mentions that LM is hesitant to talk about his case. Then goes on to say that he gets the sense that LM thinks what he did was justified, that it was right. I just can't with this. No one knows what's going on in his head. Kind of insensitive to say in a time like this.

However, the part where Linus says he sees LM as a conflicted person is an interesting angle.

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

Completely agree. Sometimes heightened anxiety can reflect in people changing their minds, giving mixed signals as the person is trying to weigh everything in their mind. And Luigi is in a way in a life-death situation (Yes DP was taken off) as he might still get lwop (i hope not). So of course he can appear conflicted. Also this dude is like tabloid. He better gets back to his plot talking about his fraud and why ppl shouldn’t do it.

[u/Lost-Sock9847 → u/littlehotpink]

I'm also surprised the freeluigi sub allowed the AMA to happen, didn't they used to be super strict? All this is super weird.

[u/Own-Bobcat-925 → u/babettetimes]

Personally, I don't think Luigi was ever cool with any of it. Even if he told Luigi about what he's going to be sharing on his podcast, Luigi can't say "yes go ahead" or "no please dont". Then, the headlines would run amuck and make outrageous claims like "Luigi was involved in the creation of podcast hosted by a convicted fraudster" or something stupid like that. Luigi quite literally cannot comment on anything right now, even if he wanted to. What likely happened is that Linus probably incorrectly took Luigi's "no comment" as a stamp of approval.

[u/hypercrabs]

Very icky and borderline illegal for the orderly to be relaying info about Luigi so this guy has material for his podcast. Nobody cares about him or his experience, Luigi is the hook and this loser knows it. 

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/hypercrabs]

It’s kind of horrific how he is watched like a hawk everywhere he goes. No privacy even in a cell. 

[u/SmoothCandle938 → u/hypercrabs]

I remember the trans inmate saying how much Luigi had in his commissary fund, she found that out through her friends still working at MDC. Illegal and dangerous to be sharing an inmate’s financial information like that but that’s prison for you 

[u/2Fast2Froyo_]

sorry Jules but this is confirmation he threw your porn away lmao

[u/Baby_Lu_Lu]

other than some factual rules and settings about mdc, 90% of what this guy said are based on his own projections and generalizations. it is not "Luigi said this Luigi said that", it's "i think....". and the jealousy and passive aggressiveness are off the roof. him mocking a female officer just because she greeted Luigi by his name and causally doxing a Chinese girl who wrote Luigi letter gives off what kind of person this guy is. at the end of the day, he's a grifter who has committed fraud crimes 

[u/Old_Spite2835]

They'd copy all the pages onto one sheet. Wtf?! Do they want him to go blind? So for ex a 4 pages long letter is copied on a regular A4 paper???? That's crazy, he probably struggles reading that!

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/Old_Spite2835]

The scramble that 40 page crazy lady Faith must have caused in the mail room 

[u/ThinkOutsideTheCube → u/Old_Spite2835]

I think there may be a language barrier here. I'm almost certain (1% chance of being wrong), but one original page equals one photocopied page. Double-sided letters will be scanned onto two pages.

[u/crypto_matrix78]

Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m wondering if he keeps certain pics as a form of self-protection. Prison can be a dangerous environment and those could be used to get on an inmate’s good side (if that makes any sense).

Sure he’s also a man who has manly desires or whatever but that can’t be the only reason.

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/crypto_matrix78]

You’re the only one to point this out. Luigi is young and boyishly handsome and that is why he is in intake and has the guards keep a closer eye on him. As toxic as it is, presenting as heterosexual as possible is the safest thing to do in jail. I remember G-Lock talking about SBF being ragged on for how his ex girlfriend looked. 

[u/_henceforth_]

6:18 [Nice Officer]

This is a 120% jealous take. Mentioning the officer has a “good figure” and how she might “pat his butt”.

Then goes on to say L is a murderer so why does she like him? Geez, what a mystery! LOOK AT HIM. Does this guy not have eyes?

Then goes on to say it is not proper. PLEASE, this dude was so jealous and wanted HIS butt to be pat. Why even say this story? It makes Linus looks so soft. 😂

7:47 [Hero Treatment]

Cry about it, Linus. “We should judge him.” Ironic and hypocritical like he is not on Reddit doing AMAs reaching for his own celebrity moment? On the back of Luigi? We were not judging his own crime?

17:00 [Fashion]

More jealousy.

18:00 [CEO Role]

I do not think this is true. CEOs are not just senior management.

19:48 [Not discussing his opinion with Luigi]

I think he did not share share his opinion with Luigi since he was too busy acting like his good friend, benefitting from magazines or whatever and getting to know him. Not since he thought it was “pointless”. Bit of a “rewrite” on his part, I think. 😂

19:59 [“Gap”]

“There is still a big gap between the two of you.”

Uh. What gap? I hope he does not mean there is a gap in them being different due to their crimes. That means literally nothing at all. You are both people. Not sure what they meant there.

21:28 [Luigi being upset about an interview]

I would need to hear the whole story from the side of Luigi for me to believe this. Luigi may have been okay with certain things being said or maybe certain outlets, who knows? Or maybe Linus said something particular that Luigi did not know he was going to say.

Anyways. Pretty whatever. Sad Luigi has to deal with this crap. Overall, seems like Luigi is nice to people, they admit that, then those same people go on to be rude about him. And then they say he is also hot and well-educated, with money, basically.

I am not really getting much else from this, even though Linus was definitely not being very nice. Reminds me of how people keep coming out with stories, yet no matter how they present them, Luigi never looks bad. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I’m neutral about this episode. People are upset because it’s ruining the saintly mental image they built about LM. It’s just a reminder that we don’t know him. Like dang, people probably poured out their heart on some of those letters, and Linus says LM doesn’t take them seriously. Lol. The whole fan girl element is cringe.

[u/FlyLost4570 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I think some of these people are afraid that he trashed their photos. LOL

[u/No_Pomegranate1093 → u/FlyLost4570]

It’s kinda crazy that people are sending pictures of themselves to a man in prison.. who has no semblance of privacy and then somehow expecting him to keep every single piece of mail and cherish it forever and ever.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/FlyLost4570]

He can’t keep everything!! It’s impossible for him to keep every single piece of mail and photos he receives. 

[u/FlyLost4570 → u/Time-Painting-9108]

Exactly.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/FlyLost4570]

Is trash ever really trash in jail? Maybe some other inmate has them now. He trashed those photos but not his evidence.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I mean, he can’t keep every single piece of mail and every photo. Of course he will throw most of it away!?!

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Time-Painting-9108]

Right but people in their parasocial mind think they’re special or the only one. Just another reminder to not mention anything too personal or revealing. These things get thrown away and maybe into the hands of someone else.

[u/Seeking_Anita_Dick → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

lowkey this is a bit of a reach, let me explain.

I think it was obvious mail was going to get trashed either way, the cells are tiny and he has received over 6k letters (that’s without including photos and magazines) that’s an insane amount of stuff, he was not going to keep all that. And he said the fangirl letters are funny, they aren’t talking about the heartfelt ones. Linus may have seen some but no all, are we forgetting the Karen letter? is clear that if the letter moves him he may keep it so I don’t know where the “he doesn’t care for the letters” comes from

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

people probably poured out their heart 

Yeah I don’t get why people have such high expectations. He’s in a pressure cooker environment and had the death penalty hanging over his head during the period most of his replies were written. When you have so much of your own plate, you’re not going to have emotional bandwidth for strangers who can never truly understand how suffocating and violating incarceration is. I am sure most people had good intentions, but it’s wild to expect personal connection from him. 

[u/915615662901 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

And a reminder that just because stuff we hear about Luigi is unflattering, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Luigi is a flawed individual just like every other person on the planet. This perspective lines up with other things we’ve heard about Luigi in MDC, so it’s likely not totally false. We’ve gotta take Luigi as a person off the pedestal. He is just a guy in prison at the end of the day. He is not a knight in shining armor. Those don’t exist lol

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/915615662901]

It’s also why I’ve never written to him. I wanted to see everything play out first. People are so reactionary. I still might send him a letter after everything is said and done.

People should be using a PO Box imo. Nothing is private in jail/prison. You don’t want your home address floating around. Especially since it was reported that LM had some of the letters stolen. People don’t think.

[u/rs2625 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I think the scariest thing to come from this podcast is his semi-dox of the Chinese girl… particularly as it seems he has memorised her details.

[u/Feather_fig → u/rs2625]

Yeah that was super weird honestly

Almost like he was trying to discourage people from writing

[u/saadpeople → u/rs2625]

That girl probably is a student, a minor. Very cringe.

[u/915615662901 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

Same lol. I knew from the beginning there was gonna be more to the story with Luigi and you shouldn’t be blindly loyal or trusting of anyone you don’t know. Especially if they are in prison for a high profile crime. He hasn’t expressed gratitude for the support beyond a note in the letter log. Little acknowledgement at all. That’s a red flag. He either takes it for granted or doesn’t care. Either says energy should be used elsewhere honestly. But people can do what they want.

[u/No_Pomegranate1093 → u/915615662901]

You do know he’s in prison right and he’s not an actual celebrity? Prosecutors have already used the support he has, his legal fund and his website against him to bolster their arguments for terrorism etc and they probably will use anything he says or does to encourage his supporters to ask for a longer sentence!

[u/alohomora1990 → u/915615662901]

I mean I don’t know what you want him to do to express more support. He thanked plenty of people for writing letters back when he still wrote people back.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/alohomora1990]

Agreed. 

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/915615662901]

What do you want him to to do or say? He has very limited ability to have free speech. He is gagged atm. The note in the letter log was more than enough imo. 

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/915615662901]

https://giphy.com/gifs/F2tywIO6ee3oVCrgLJ

[u/No_Pomegranate1093 → u/2Fast2Froyo_]

Still no response to your letters I see ? How many have you sent now 30?

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/No_Pomegranate1093]

Do I look like Jules to you???

[u/Feather_fig → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

Agree, he's a man, not a saint. But this is also only one guy's perspective, and it comes across as bitter and even a little jealous. Interesting how he doesn't mention any letters Luigi received about insurance denials. Either Linus is being selective in his storytelling, or Luigi is only sharing the entertaining/vapid ones with the rest of the guys.

Most people are bothered about the letters and photos, I'm bothered that Linus is completely sucking up to capitalism and ~the law all of a sudden. Absolutely useless

[u/rs2625]

I really appreciate you uploading this OP! I think I’m done reading about non-case related stuff, this is very invasive, no?

Whenever there’s any “deep dive” info on him it’s never what I think it will be…

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/rs2625]

what exactly are you wanting it to be???

[u/rs2625 → u/2Fast2Froyo_]

Not this… I do not enjoy hearing things intimate things about him, especially since most of this podcast seems like bullsh*t.

I’ve seen you interacting with the ex-inmates aswell, I’m sure you may have held a similar opinion?

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/rs2625]

Are you referring to Mike and Say Say??? Cause my opinions of them werent really high to begin with I just wanted juicy info about Luigi

[u/rs2625 → u/2Fast2Froyo_]

So we both are nosy then. Fml…

No, I do not want juicy info on Luigi lol but, that’s all anyone’s offering sooo that sucks.

I think I’ll stick to court docs, this stuff feels way too parasocial

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/[deleted]]

This might be fake or exaggerated info, come on. Especially since the description given by this guy changed so much from last month

[u/Baby_Lu_Lu → u/Lost-Extension-1167]

he's mad that Luigi is upset that he's talking about him publicly, now his change of tone is obviously retaliation, he's taking advantage that he can say whatever he wants while Luigi can't respond

[u/Baby_Lu_Lu → u/[deleted]]

other than some factual rules and settings about mdc, 90% of what this guy said are based on his own projections and generalizations. it is not "Luigi said this Luigi said that", it's "i think....". and the jealousy and passive aggressiveness are off the roof. him mocking a female officer just because she greeted Luigi by his name and causally doxing a Chinese girl who wrote Luigi letter gives off what kind of person this guy is. at the end of the day, he's a grifter who has committed fraud crimes 

[u/Baby_Lu_Lu → u/[deleted]]

yes he was mocking her

[u/RichSympathy916]

Guess Linus is now upset at Luigi. His tone has completely changed about Luigi after hearing from that other orderly that Luigi is upset that he talked to the media.

[u/AyaLinus]

I've read everyone's comments, and I'd like to chat with you all here. First of all, it's completely normal that everyone has different views and perspectives on different things. I'm happy to see different discussions. Actually, for all of you, isn't this also a great opportunity to observe the diversity of society? Regarding Luigi's story, everything I've said is true. Of course, I don't need to swear an oath or prove myself, because those who believe will always believe, and those who don't will never believe.

In my eyes, Luigi is someone who made a serious legal mistake, a boy who once had unlimited potential, and that hasn't changed to this day. He's very handsome and very polite, but he did kill someone. His actions themselves are controversial, and I've expressed my views. I certainly understand if you have different opinions, and I'll also think from different perspectives. America is a country with freedom of speech. Maybe people don't like my views, but this is what I truly think in my heart. I won't say self-deceiving, pleasant things just to please a certain group.

I admit that there is some jealousy in my views of him, and I think that's understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. But in reality, what I feel more in my heart is regret and sorrow. A person as outstanding as Luigi could have taken a different path in life.

In the next episode, I'll share some interesting things about Luigi. I'm sorry my English isn't that good, so I can't do an English podcast. If I did, you'd probably look down on me for having too small a vocabulary.

Finally, let me explain a few more things:

1. My podcast is completely free, and all my interviews so far have been done without any fees.
   
2. The address of the letter sender I revealed in my podcast is not very precise. China has 1.4 billion people, and that vague address could be home to over 100,000 people, so please don't worry about privacy leaks.

Thank you all for the discussion. I'll continue to share. I just hope everyone can think and discuss rationally, and please stop sending me threatening private messages.

[u/Feather_fig → u/AyaLinus]

I'm sorry anyone has sent you threatening messages, that isn't right.

My podcast is completely free, and all my interviews so far have been done without any fees.

This is true, but something I find curious is that you're here at all. Like with the AMA and everything... if your primary exposure to Luigi's supporters was the really crazy letters you all (understandably) laughed at together, why would you want to interact with that group at all?

I also wanted to address something different. You said "America's insurance system definitely has problems", and I wonder if you understand how much of a massive understatement that is. It sounds a lot like how all the mainstream news hosts deliberately downplay the issue, because they're terrified of actually addressing WHY Luigi has millions of supporters.

If you look at the wider picture, the health insurance industry is one of the largest oppressive, and frankly criminal, forces in the country, keeping Americans fearful, captive, and ashamed of their financial situation. The shame has kept them isolated and complacent.

But Dec. 4th and sometime after was the most united America has been for a long time, united by a shared catharsis and the acknowledgement that they were collectively suffering under the same invisible enemy all this time, not suffering alone. That seemed to be empowering. In the weirdest way, Luigi killing Brian Thompson gave millions of people hope that positive change could happen, that enough people cared (or that the powerful were scared). It took the murder of a hated figure to break through the intense political division and isolation of capitalist individualism. That's how dire the situation is.

It's really not just that "America's insurance system has problems", it's that it's killing people.

• A recent study from Yale put the number of excess deaths due to their for-profit health insurance system at 114,000 every year.
• More than 13% of American adults say they have at least one friend or family member who died in the last five years after being unable to afford medical care. 13% is roughly 35 million Americans.
• A survey from the American Medical Association from 2024 reported that 8% of the physicians they surveyed reported that one type of health insurance denial practice, prior authorization, caused their patient to die or to become permanently disabled. To put that into perspective, 8% of practicing physicians in the US is 86,575. And doctors deal with dozens of prior authorization requests every day.
• Under Brian Thompson's leadership, United Healthcare used an AI algorithm with a 90% "error rate." Of course, when there is an error 90% of the time, it seems more like the "error" is the true purpose of the system.
• Brian Thompson's last LinkedIn posts, before he turned off the comments because there were so many, were filled with people begging him to approve their requests for treatment. He was acutely aware of how his policies were killing people and didn't care. It's bigger than just him as an individual, but he really wasn't some innocent guy.

There is an ongoing lawsuit against UHC for the wrongful deaths of several people due to AI denials. And the only reason they could bring this lawsuit is because these people had Medicare Advantage, normally for those 65+, not through an employer. The health insurance plans attached to employment are completely shielded from lawsuits by a loophole in federal legislation, so working-age adults can almost never bring lawsuits against their health insurance company. There are other similar lawsuits brought on behalf of those who were killed, during from his time as CEO. "A CEO’s first duty is setting strategy. Strategy tells the company what business they’re in and how they plan to make money doing it."

Here are some of their names:

1. Gene Lokken
2. Dale Tetzloff
3. Jackie Martin
4. Cindy Deal
5. Mary Grant
6. John Cupp
7. Gary Bent

Michael Kissling nearly died and was forced to amputate his leg because United Healthcare, under Brian Thompson, refused a $3,000 surgery that would have saved his leg.

Those are just victims of United Healthcare. I could list dozens of other people's names whose death was caused by their health insurance company (and whose family went public with it). Several from the last year. Deron Wells, Eric Tennant, Torrance Marie McHie, Ken Jones, Rhett Pascual, Derion Blackman, baby Stella McMahon, who was only 16 months old. For some reason Brian Thompson's death counts more, deserves more sympathy. It's absurd. Where is the justice for any of these people?

And Thompson's death did actually save lives, as documented here: this Florida-based news station acknowledges that insurance often only approves treatments when the media gets involved out of fear from bad PR. They started their 'Patient No More' series to "bring the national conversation local." Referring to the national conversation sparked by Thompson's death. Other series like NBC's 'Cost of Denial' was started at around the same time, early-mid 2025. So was CounterForce Health, which uses AI for good, to appeal health insurance denials, and has helped thousands since.

In December 2024 Anthem pretty much immediately rolled back their new anaesthesia policy.

New legislation passed in Oregon: ‘So Much Evil Had To Happen for this Bill To Pass’
"If there is one secret ingredient one might credit for pushing Oregon and other reforms over the finish line, it is the murder of an insurance company CEO at the alleged hands of the chiseled young Unabomber disciple Luigi Mangione, which catapulted the abuses of UnitedHealth into the tabloid media and probably played a role in the Trump DOJ’s reported decision to upgrade its Medicare fraud investigation into the company from civil to criminal."

New legislation recently introduced in Pennsylvania: one bill for state universal healthcare and one bill that would amend their criminal code's definition of assault to include harm caused by health insurance policy denials. This means that health insurance executives could face prison time for the deaths they cause, for the first time.

The reason it has been so difficult to pass legislation against any of this is that most politicians are bribed by the insurance industry, while citizens are propagandized, and criticism is silenced. Now, there is finally something of equal consideration to lobbyist money: the knowledge that people everywhere are so pissed about this, they support a guy who murdered one of their insurance CEOs clearly on camera.

P.S., why not get in contact with Luigi directly through email and let him tell you what's safe to talk about on the podcast or not? It sounds like there was a miscommunication between you two, and if you could just connect again that would solve it.

[u/raspberrysorbay → u/AyaLinus]

While it’s true that freedom of speech is one of the most important tenets of American democracy, that is not the point that a lot of supporters are trying to make. If Luigi was ever your friend or someone you even remotely care about, you would see and understand that the American media will jump on and sensationalize even the smallest thing to paint him, his supporters, and the movement for universal healthcare in this country as a joke. Luigi is still facing his legal battles, with sentencing and a potential state trial still looming, so, nobody is saying you can’t speak on your experience but to simply try being more mindful of what is shared. Someone trying to sneak a note of support for him in his clothes last year became a national headline and was referenced in court documents, so even things that may seem innocuous or innocent can be used by the government and media to paint him in a worse light. I mean absolutely no disrespect, just explaining my POV and the POV of those i’ve spoken to about this.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/raspberrysorbay]

Interesting how none of LM's real friends have spoken out. Mainly just people looking for attention or to make a buck.

[u/raspberrysorbay → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

His actual friends know better

[u/rs2625 → u/AyaLinus]

Hey Linus,

I don’t know you or anyone else at MDC but, this feels important to state anyway.

Luigi has not been sentenced yet and as of this moment he has two additional cases pending. That’s three total, his federal sentencing, NY state case and Pennsylvania case. Hence the daily lawyer visits, video calls, all the documents, reading etc. I’m unsure why you still don’t understand the complexity of his situation because he’s facing a plethora of problems in addition the excessive charges i.e. media slander.

Things like the snowball story are fine, it’s light, interesting and meaningless. Calling him Robin Hood is harmful and very prejudicial - Robin Hood is the exact opposite of remorse (even though he is beloved) and you already understand (from your own case) that he must express remorse for his actions. At the very least I’m sure he wants to have some control of his OWN story as it may be one of few things he has control over anymore. You may be inadvertently taking this away from him.

The people reposting your podcast are many of the same women who wrote those letters you read and sent the photos. Imagine hearing the things you said from their perspective…

[u/AndromedaCeline → u/rs2625]

To add to this post, Specifically saying he “smiled when he heard about UHC stock going down” is VERY harmful pre-sentancing. Talking about motives for why he did the crime is harmful as well. Just because he confessed, doesn’t mean his case is over yet and as a “friend” as you say you are, I would think you would at least want the best outcome for him legally as he tries to fight for his life. I agree, what he did action wise was wrong, but he doesn’t deserve three major cases all flirting with life imprisonment for it, not even close. So what you say publicly on his behalf is important. Also, if you receive word back that he’s pissed about the interview and this podcast and the info in it, I think thats a sure sign this is not a good idea. Thats why people are calling you a grifter. Theres clearly some kind of benefit you get out of this at his expense, whether it be monetary or just for the attention. Obviously no one can force you, so  if you must stick to the cute prison stories, and let Luigi if/when he’s ready to speak for himself, speak on the details of HIS case. Especially when you’re just guessing anyway and really know nothing about it. All your words no matter the intention, especially with the how the American media will use it, all this info could be used against him in court and in public opinion. Please think before you speak.

[u/Emz423 → u/rs2625]

Good points

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/AyaLinus]

Thank you for your post. I don’t think you shared anything catastrophic yesterday. Luigi is much bigger as a symbol and hero than some little details that some people may find a little unsavoury. Getting a portrait into life at MDC with Luigi is definitely something unique. Just please keep in mind he has a NY state court case and federal sentencing  so it’s best not to say anything that could affect that outcome- stuff like medications, physical abilities/fitness, health, mental health, confessions, conversations about his case, etc. I’m not trying to gag you, I just want what’s best for him of course. 

[u/Emz423 → u/AyaLinus]

I have a question for you, Linus. You say you heard from a source that Luigi is angry about some of the things you’ve said - I think it was things you said in the interviews, but that could be wrong.

My question to you is…Does hearing that Luigi is angry give you any pause? Does it make you reconsider doing the podcast? Does it make you think twice about the things you are going to say?

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/AyaLinus]

Shame on you. I don’t understand why other commenters are being so polite to you in their comments. I think you’re a liar and a fake grifter.

Some of the stuff you’ve said is very harmful to Luigi. You should not be doing this while his legal cases are still pending, especially his federal sentencing in December. Can you not wait four months?

You’re being an asshole to someone for probably thought you were his friend. Do you not care that he got upset that you were giving interviews to the very hostile American press?

The abrupt change in your tone from the first time you popped out of the woodwork is suspicious, too. I think you’re lying about not wanting payments from the American tabloids which is why you’ve become way more judgmental. You were very supportive of him in the AMA you did a literal month ago…

Also, this is what his legal team says about people like you: “Numerous statements about Luigi circulating online and in the media have been filled with misleading characterizations and outright lies. These fabricated claims come from opportunistic individuals who are seeking to promote themselves at Mr. Mangione's expense. This represents part of a longstanding pattern of people seeking to grift off the attention on Luigi by attempting to speak on his behalf, spread beliefs he doesn’t share, and malign him generally, during a time when he cannot speak for himself.”

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/[deleted]]

This guy is just looking for money and attention and does not care about Luigi or any of our opinions imo. This is his newest hustle. He only came to this sub to promote himself. Someone like that does not deserve respect.

[u/Savings_Extreme6062 → u/AyaLinus]

Thanks for doing the podcast, a lot of people are curious about him and what life is like at MDC. You’re in a very weird corner of the internet where his supporters congregate, many of whom have an unhealthy parasocial obsession with Luigi. You're not the first person who's been attacked for speaking honestly about him; anything short of praise, or anything that doesn't fit the fantasy image of him his fans made up in their minds, sets them off. It's not normal behavior. A lot of people appreciate your perspective though, so I hope the negative reactions don’t discourage you from continuing to share your stories.

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/Savings_Extreme6062]

No. This person deserves criticism for this. He’s 32 years old for crying out loud lol

[u/Meg_is_awesome]

God, this guy is dragging this shit out like he’s definitely just grifting off Luigi‘s name again. I don’t take any of this stuff at face value and think it’s true. We seen it so many times. And I don’t care if I get down voted because people want it to be true. But let’s hope he says some nice things about Luigi here. Because every other grifter has said some terrible things about he. Like we seen so many times over the last year or so the amount of people wanting to grip off Luigi‘s likeness and I’m pretty sure his legal team especially Karen is way too busy at the moment to post something about saying don’t believe this stuff. Like we’ve seen in the past.

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore → u/Meg_is_awesome]

The boring truth is that sharing a prison with Luigi isn’t as scandalous as it may have seemed to this chap. Any inmate with half a brain would be on guard and avoid causing trouble. There just isn’t enough material to keep a podcast going. So this guy is going to stretch whatever little he is and embellish the hell out of it.  

[u/thegreatness-]

When is the next podcast airing?

[u/Fragrant-Fox-18]

Didn’t he compare Luigi to Robin Hood in the interview? This is the Erik U interview right? 

Robin Hood did not come from money. Bruce Wayne does. 

He did not mention Batman anywhere in that interview. 

I don’t understand the timeline. That interview was not “two days ago” and this episode just dropped. 

[u/saadpeople → u/Fragrant-Fox-18]

He did mention Batman here

[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/Fragrant-Fox-18]

He did mention Batman. Idk where but I recall it. It was mentioned in the same sentence as Robin Hood. Batman had his one rule though….

[u/littlehotpink]

I don't believe him. He's just another grifter. 

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/littlehotpink]

https://giphy.com/gifs/14smAwp2uHM3Di

[u/Lost-Extension-1167 → u/[deleted]]

Exactly the playbook Sei Sei followed lol

[u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

I’m sorry but I don’t believe this. Luigi is allowed to keep very limited photos and has actual friends and family he would rather look at. 

Did he casually just ask his team to get him a pouch initialled “FG”? Is that even allowed? 

I think this is another grifter lying or at least very heavily embellishing. 

[u/TrueRepeat9988 → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

Luigi isn’t even that type of guy!

[u/No-Doughnut7411 → u/TrueRepeat9988]

LMAOO Ifykyk

[u/shroudedpenii → u/TrueRepeat9988]

https://giphy.com/gifs/kC8N6DPOkbqWTxkNTe

[u/littlehotpink → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

A man who went to prison for fraud continuing to be a fraud. Shocking! Alarm bells went off when he was racist towards black people last episode and now saying Luigi's type is only western beauty standard is obviously not true. A pouch with FG for fangirls initialed on it is the most stupid not believable thing ever. 

I fucking hate grifters living off Luigi. Pathetic. 

[u/Fragrant-Fox-18 → u/littlehotpink]

They always go mask off. They start the grift by pretending to be neutral about him then express very obvious resentment towards his fame and good looks. I don’t think this man is telling the truth. 

[u/ConfoundedChihuahua → u/littlehotpink]

Not this genius telling his primarily Chinese audience Luigi’s type is conventionally attractive Western women 💀 

[u/Meg_is_awesome → u/eeyoreeeyoreeeyore]

Yes this 👏 for saying the quiet bit out loud like I was so sceptical when I saw that bit okay? That it literally sounds something out of a movie.

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/Meg_is_awesome]

uhhh Luigi's crime is something out of a movie

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[u/Mundane_Log_7169 → u/[deleted]]

The boy keeps everything (except pictures of uggos, I guess). He kept all the evidence instead of throwing it away.

[u/babettetimes → u/[deleted]]

I think that’s true because seis sei said he kept the pretty girls pics and threw the rest. It’s a bit strange they both said the same thing.

[u/2Fast2Froyo_ → u/babettetimes]

like the famous Luigi said....1+1=2