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Weinstein Undergoes Heart Procedure Before Transfer to Jail Weinstein Undergoes Heart Procedure Before Transfer to Jail
(about 3 hours later)
Harvey Weinstein underwent a heart procedure and was expected to be moved on Thursday from a hospital to New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, his spokesman said. Harvey Weinstein underwent a heart procedure at a New York City hospital on Wednesday evening and the next day was transferred to a jail on Rikers Island for inmates needing special protection, his spokesman said.
Mr. Weinstein, the once powerful film producer, was convicted last week of rape and criminal sexual assault after a trial in Manhattan that many saw as a milestone in the #MeToo movement. A judge ordered him held in jail until his sentencing on March 11. Mr. Weinstein, the once powerful film producer, was convicted last week of rape and criminal sexual assault after a trial in Manhattan that many saw as a milestone in the #MeToo movement. A judge ordered him held in jail until his sentencing next week.
But hours after the verdict, Mr. Weinstein, 67, experienced extremely high blood pressure and heart palpitations, his lawyers said. He was taken directly from State Supreme Court in Manhattan to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was treated for several days in a ward for prisoners. But hours after the verdict, Mr. Weinstein, 67, experienced extremely high blood pressure and heart palpitations, his lawyers said. He was taken directly from State Supreme Court in Manhattan to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was treated for 10 days in a ward for inmates.
On Wednesday, Mr. Weinstein had a stent implanted to alleviate a blockage, his spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, said. Mr. Weinstein had a stent implanted to alleviate a blockage, his spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, said. The procedure lasted at least two hours.
The city’s Department of Correction did not immediately respond to questions about Mr. Weinstein’s condition. The city’s Department of Correction did not respond to questions about Mr. Weinstein on Thursday.
Mr. Weinstein is expected to be housed in the jail’s North Infirmary Command under protective custody, his spokesman said. The facility consists of two buildings, one of which was built in 1932 as a hospital for inmates. Photographs were posted online last week of the producer sitting in a common room at Bellevue, watching television in an armchair with a wheelchair nearby. The images prompted questions about whether he was getting special treatment.
Martin Horn, a former Department of Correction commissioner, said the facility was not “luxurious,” but not “draconian” either. It contains about 10 cells on each block, as opposed to the nearly 30 on a typical Rikers cell block, he said, and once housed people with acute conditions like tuberculosis. But correction officials denied Mr. Weinstein was being treated differently than other inmates.
Mr. Weinstein — who, friends have said, is terrified of being behind bars — faces up to 29 years in prison. He has hired a prison consultant to help him navigate the journey from life on the outside to life in a cell. On Thursday, Mr. Weinstein’s representatives said correction officials had transferred Mr. Weinstein to Rikers Island a day after heart surgery to avoid the appearance of favoritism.
Mr. Weinstein was sent to the jail’s North Infirmary Command under protective custody, according to the Department of Correction website and his spokesman.
The facility consists of two buildings, one of which was built in 1932 as a hospital for inmates. It once housed people with acute diseases including tuberculosis.
In recent years, the North Infirmary Command typically has been used to house inmates whose safety may be at risk if they are placed in the general population, including celebrities, rape victims or, in some cases, transgender people. There is also an area reserved specifically for police officers.
Martin Horn, a former Department of Correction commissioner, said the facility was not “luxurious,” but not “draconian” either. It contains about 10 cells on each block, as opposed to the nearly 30 on a typical Rikers cell block, he said. Mr. Weinstein — who, friends have said, is terrified of being behind bars — faces up to 29 years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday. He has hired a prison consultant to help him navigate the journey from life on the outside to life in a cell.
Last week, a jury of seven men and five women found Mr. Weinstein guilty of raping an actress at a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and forcing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006. But the jury acquitted him of the two most serious charges against him, predatory sexual assault.
Six women had testified during the trial that Mr. Weinstein had sexually assaulted them, but he was not criminally charged in all of those cases. Some of the women were allowed to give their accounts to show a pattern of behavior.
As the jury read the verdict, Mr. Weinstein said several times to his lawyers, “But I’m innocent.” A few hours later, he was hospitalized with chest pains.
One of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, Arthur Aidala, said he visited the producer at Bellevue for two hours on Thursday. Shortly after he left, Mr. Aidala said, he learned that Mr. Weinstein was going to be transferred.
“I’m sure he was disturbed,” the lawyer said. “I would have liked to have calmed him down and let him know that he would be safe.”
He said Mr. Weinstein had asked him about the appeals process and what to expect at his sentencing.
They also discussed his case in Los Angeles, where prosecutors have charged Mr. Weinstein with rape and related charges. Announced in January, the charges stem from the allegations of two women who allege that the producer attacked them at hotels in February 2013, when he was in the city for a film festival.
An arraignment has yet to be scheduled for the Los Angeles case, and it remains unclear when the authorities there would take him into custody and bring him to California to face charges. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.