Fraudster Michael Avenatti’s attorney is scared to visit him at the dirty and dangerous Metropolitan Correctional Center — because he fears the lockup could be a coronavirus hotbed.
In a letter, Avenatti lawyer Scott Srebnick asked a Manhattan judge to delay by 30 days a pre-sentencing interview he was scheduled to attend between Avenatti and probation officials at the MCC.
Srebnick highlighted unsanitary conditions at the MCC — which ended a 10-day lock down last week — as a potential breeding ground for coronavirus.
“Mr. Avenatti’s cell was infested with rats. The jail reeks or urine. As of yesterday, Mr. Avenatti had not shaved in weeks. Meanwhile, across the country, public officials are declaring states of emergency as a result of the spread of the coronavirus,” Srebnick wrote.
“Health officials are uncertain of the actual risks. And, by all accounts, a prison facility poses among the highest risks of spread of infection,” he added.
“Given the uncertainty regarding the coronavirus, the ease with which it spreads, and the documented unsanitary conditions at the MCC-New York, I am requesting that the … background interview be adjourned,” he wrote.
Avenatti was convicted of defrauding Nike in the case in February and a pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for June.
He faces another criminal case in Manhattan federal court for allegedly embezzling funds porn star Stormy Daniels earned for writing her memoirs.