alleged ceo killer luigi mangione was flown back to the city from Pennsylvania in the department’s federally-funded spy plane.
The $4 million plane, which was specifically designed to search for radiological weapons, or “dirty bombs”, took off from Long Island MacArthur Airport at 8:51 a.m. on December 19 and landed in Blair County at 10:24 p.m. , reached PA, FlightAware shows, records show.
Records show the souped-up Cessna took off again with the Ivy Leaguer at about 10:49 a.m. and landed at Central Islip Airport at 12:08 p.m.
Mangione was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan.
Mangione, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was led into the courthouse surrounded by city and federal agents – and even Mayor Adams – with long guns in a scene from a Hollywood movie.
The NYPD said it determined that the plane was the best way to transport Mangione to NYC.
An NYPD spokesperson said, “After considering the totality of distance, weather, and circumstances, it was determined that flight was the most efficient and safe method to transport the prisoner.”
The NYPD received a modified Cessna C208B Grand Caravan through a readiness grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2017.
The following year, five NYPD pilots were disciplined for flying a plane over a path shaped like a giant penis because they were angry at their boss, The Post reported.
Sources said other policemen discovered suspicious patterns on the department’s flight-tracking software.
Also in 2018, more controversy was sparked when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio used the plane to shuttle between the city and his Canadian vacations to rename a Bronx street. In honor of slain NYPD Detective Miosotis Familia.
The then Police Commissioner James O’Neill admitted that because of his busy schedule he had used the aircraft “three or four times” that year.
The top police officer also said that he was never on the Cessna for counter-terrorism purposes.
A former police officer questioned why officers needed to use expensive aircraft.
“It’s a show,” said Michael Osgood, former head of the NYPD Special Victims Division, adding that the trip in a car would take about four hours.
“Luigi is a felon,” said Osgood, who filed a lawsuit against the department and former commissioners in 2018 after he was allegedly fired for helping investigators investigating his unit. “You put him in the back of a car and drive him back.” ,
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