More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers tip line during a five-day search for the masked gunman who fatally shot him. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Last week.
NYPD officials said about 30 of those tips were useful as information about the gunman's movements before and after December 4 shootingBut police didn't take notice of their suspect until a 911 call came from a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. The FBI and Crime Stoppers program have offered up to $60,000 to anyone with a tip that leads to solving the case.
Police and prosecutors moved quickly Arrest and charges Luigi Mangione, 26, but it may be time before the McDonald's tipster receives a financial reward for assistance in the case. Additionally, the employee cannot take home the entire $60,000 after paying taxes on the award. And if other tipsters played a role in leading police to Mangione, they would also be eligible for a monetary reward, which could be drawn from the same money.
Who will actually receive the reward or who will receive a share of it is still being determined, officials said. In fact, federal and local awards programs operate under different rules. However, both have the flexibility to offer multiple rewards of varying amounts depending on the outcome of the tip.
How does a person become eligible for the award?
The FBI 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 rewards program process were not returned, but websites for various rewards offered by the agency outline similar processes. The person providing the tip must usually be named by a federal investigative agency. A board then considers the tip and its role in the investigation, and decides whether to award a reward up to the full amount.
NYPD Crime Stoppers typically offers up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment. In this case, the NYPD's Detective Bureau increased the amount to $10,000, and its share requires a conviction.
“The public's help is essential to solving crimes and keeping our communities safe,” the Police Foundation Board said in a statement Wednesday. “The person in Pennsylvania who called in the tip is eligible for a reward.”
The McDonald's employee called 911, recording a phone number and usually a name. Tipsters who call the Crime Stoppers line remain anonymous. The program promises to never trace cellphone numbers or record information about callers, instead giving them a unique identifier number that they can use to inquire about the status of the case and the possibility of a reward. Can do.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney will assess which tip or tips were significant in solving the case when determining how Detective Bureau reward money should be allocated, police officials said Wednesday.
30 different tips were helpful
Most awards require conviction. Given the nature of the murder charges and the multiple jurisdictions involved, it could take a year or more for a trial to take place.
For the $3,500 from Crime Stoppers, the board may decide to release the reward money after the prosecution is complete. Both the FBI and Crime Stoppers have boards that review tips and determine which tips significantly helped a case. The Board may exercise discretion in determining how much money a tip may be.
The Crime Stoppers Board has the flexibility to split the reward among tips or consider each for the maximum amount on a case-by-case basis. NYPD officials did not specify how each of the 30 tips he reported was considered useful in helping the case, but it is unlikely that each tipster would receive the highest amount offered.
The Police Foundation and the FBI do not discuss individual cases or disclose how much money they pay individual tipsters. Similarly, the Crime Stoppers program does not release such details in an effort to protect the anonymity of tipsters.