NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� One-time movie mogul was returned to a New York City jail in what his publicist said Tuesday was the result from a published report claiming he was getting VIP treatment during his 10-day stay at a hospital.
The publicist, Juda Engelmeyer, said Weinstein was moved late Monday from Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to an infirmary at the city鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex.
The move came hours after The City, a nonprofit news outlet, reported that Weinstein was housed in a private room in the hospital鈥檚 intensive care unit with a television, phone and a bathroom rather than a separate floor where inmates normally reside.
Engelmeyer disputed the account, saying Weinstein 鈥渨asn鈥檛 getting preferential or VIP treatment鈥� and wasn’t housed in what could be characterized as a hospital suite. Engelmeyer said he’d been housed on the floor for inmates where everyone has access to a room with phones and a television room.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been moved back to Rikers largely due to pressure, I believe, due to pressure because of the news about what somebody thought was VIP treatment,鈥� he said.
Weinstein was brought to Bellevue Hospital only hours after he was transferred on April 26 from the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany, to Rikers less than a day after the New York Court of Appeals .
The appeals court ruled that a Manhattan trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges he faced, and it ordered a new trial, negating his 23-year prison sentence. However, he remained jailed because he was in 2022 of another rape and was sentenced to .
While prosecutors have asked for a September retrial on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raped an aspiring actor in 2013, it was unclear if key trial witnesses would return for a new trial. Weinstein has disputed the allegations.
Frank Dwyer, a New York City Department of Correction spokesperson, said Weinstein was originally taken to Bellevue for medical care and was returned to the West Facility, a Rikers Island jail in Queens, when the treatment was completed.
The West Facility houses 140 specially air-controlled housing units for inmates with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, according to a city website, though the jail has reportedly also been used for inmates that need to be isolated from the general jail population for other reasons.
Craig Rothfeld, a jail consultant working with Weinstein attorneys, responded to an email sent to a Weinstein lawyer by saying the decision to return Weinstein to Rikers was made by medical staff “who are more than qualified to make these medical decisions.鈥�
He said there are no more updates to provide regarding Weinstein’s health, and all of his health conditions continue to be closely monitored by city jail and health officials.
鈥淲e have every confidence in their decision-making ability regarding Mr. Weinstein’s safety and well-being and are grateful for their continued communication,鈥� Rothfeld said.
Engelmeyer said Weinstein had been treated at the hospital for pneumonia, a recurring issue related to his heart troubles, along with his other medical issues, including diabetes.
鈥淗e appreciates the care he was getting in Bellevue,鈥� he said.
Engelmeyer said Weinstein was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� at his return to Rikers and was 鈥渦ncomfortable鈥� there, where the spokesperson described Weinstein’s housing as 鈥渕ore like an infirmary.鈥�
He said Weinstein was regularly speaking by phone with his lawyers when he was at the hospital as other inmates awaiting trial are allowed to do.
“He didn’t get any treatment different from others. He wasn鈥檛 talking to his friends and buddies and having a good time,鈥� Engelmeyer said.
Engelmeyer said Weinstein gained some 鈥渞elief and hope鈥� from the appeals ruling, but he knows he faces a long prison term from the California case and an appeal of that conviction won’t be heard for another year.
鈥淗is spirits are up, but he also knows he has a long, long trip ahead of him,鈥� Engelmeyer said. 鈥淗e knows that he won’t be getting out soon.
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