Harvey Weinstein transferred to Rikers - after spending time in cushy hospital wing
Harvey Weinstein was transferred to Rikers Island jail after corrections officials learned that he had been allowed to stay in a private room while he got medical treatment at a New York City hospital.
Weinstein, 72, was given “special treatment” and amenities that other inmates never receive during a medical stay at Bellevue Hospital, such as phone use, a private bathroom, and access to a television, The City reports.
The disgraced producer's 2020 rape conviction was overturned last month and he was returned to New York from an upstate prison to appear in court, where prosecutors told a judge they intended to retry him.
On Monday he was transferred from the Manhattan hospital, where he had been kept on a floor separate from other detainees, according to a source who spoke with the outlet.
During his time at the hospital, Weinstein reportedly watched CNN and had discussions with his attorney via the phone he was permitted to access.
After The City published its story, the city corrections officials reportedly scrambled to try and rectify the situation.
Sources close to Weinstein told The New York Post that “within an hour or two of that being printed it started [corrections officials] contemplating how to move him and when to move him quickly.”
Weinstein began complaining about chest pains shortly after he was moved to Rikers Island on 27 April.
“He’s a sick man,” Weinstein's attorney Donna Rotunno told The City. “Harvey has multiple health issues and he’s never gotten the level of care that he received prior to going into custody.”
The sources speaking to the New York Post corroborated the claim that Weinstein is ill, saying he's “actually not doing well. He has real medical issues. The care is much better at Bellevue than Rikers.”
Weinstein was diagnosed with pneumonia and is dealing with numerous other medical issues, according to his legal team, including chest and abdominal pains.
Even still, a technician who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The City said Weinstein was able to shave, shower, and move in and out of bed on his own. The tech questioned why he was allowed to remain in an ICU for that long, and called it preferential treatment.
“He’s not supposed to be there,” the tech reportedly told the outlet. “It’s special treatment.”
Weinstein has been returned to Rikers since the story was published.
The disgraced producer's 2020 rape conviction was overturned on 25 April after the New York Court of Appeals found that a judge had made a series of questionable decisions during the trial.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office indicated at the trial that it planned to retry Weinstein in the fall.
“We believe in this case and we will be retrying the case,” stated DA Alvin Bragg, while requesting a fall 2024 trial from Manhattan Supreme Justice Curtis Farber.
The District Attorney asked for proceedings to begin as early as September 2024. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said her office is confident that Weinstein will be convicted again.
Justice Curtis Farber asked the parties to return to court on 29 May, when a new trial date might be set for September.
