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Harvey Weinstein Accused Of Tampering With Ankle Monitor
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 6, 2019
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 6, 2019
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Manhattan prosecutors are requesting that disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein's bail be increased to $5 million, from $1 million, over apparent violations with his ankle monitoring bracelet.
Weinstein was in court on Friday for the bail hearing because of New York's upcoming bail reform, which go into effect at the start of 2020. Prosecutor Joan Illuzi said, "He is flagrantly disregarding the bracelet monitoring system."
According to Vulture, "Illuzzi said that Weinstein 'has not been doing very well' in complying with ankle monitoring and recently racked up some 56 'violations.' Sometimes, the device couldn’t be found because it was 'out of cell service.' Weinstein, who has a two-part monitoring device, has left the signaling device one place and the other device elsewhere."
Further, she said, "Here’s a man who has (run) multi-million dollar businesses, and has juggled many, many issues at the same time. It defies logic to believe that he cannot navigate taking his device with him when he travels outside his home.
“Mr. Weinstein has left his second device in one place and is not within signaling area of that device on his ankle," Illuzi said. "None of those violations — none of the ‘bracelet gone’ violations — were accidental or in any way forgetful on the part of the defendant."
Weinstein's defense lawyer Donna Rotunno said that the monitoring bracelet should be removed, insisting that he is not a flight risk and pointing out that he had been compliant with the authorities so far. She also remarked on Weinstein's physical health.
“This is tough on anybody going through this and dealing with the scrutiny not only in the courtroom but in the court of public opinion," she said.
The 67-year-old faces multiple counts of sexual assault, including rape, after the the NY Times' and New Yorker's 2017 articles featuring many women—from assistants to actresses like Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra (who will testify against him), Mira Sorvino, Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lupita Nyong'o—describing his alleged predatory behavior that was hidden for years behind legal settlements with accusers.
It turned out that the NYPD had investigated Weinstein in 2015 when an Italian model, Ambra Battilana Guttierez, accused him of groping her. She even wore an NYPD wire and recorded Weinstein apologizing, but charges were dropped, raising questions about Manhattan District Cy Vance and a $10,000 donation that his campaign received from Weinstein's lawyer David Boies. Vance's office argued that Boies did not represent Weinstein in the groping allegations. But Boies had reportedly done work for Weinstein since at least 2005. A spokesperson for Boies's law firm told the International Business Times that Boies had never spoken about Weinstein with Vance.
Weinstein's bail remains at $1 million, but he has another hearing on Wednesday.
Tagged
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sexual assault
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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