Harvey Weinstein lawyer slams NY prosecutors for ‘delay’ on new charges as disgraced movie mogul ails in jail
Manhattan prosecutors are delaying bringing new charges against Harvey Weinstein while his health withers away in jail, his lawyer groused Tuesday, after the gaunt fallen movie mogul was wheeled into a courtroom.
Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala complained to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber that his client has been behind bars for nearly five years as he accused prosecutors of using “delay tactics” in retrying the sexual assault case against the ex-Miramax honcho after his conviction and 23-year sentence were overturned in April.
Ghostly pale and clean-shaven, Weinstein, 72, sat in a wheelchair and was pushed into the courtroom by an officer. He sported a buzz cut coif and was wearing a dark suit, white shirt and dark blue tie.
Aidala listed a slew of health problems that Weinstein has, which the lawyer claimed are only getting worse while the film producer is locked up at New York’s infamous jail, Rikers Island — where his diet consists of mostly “sugar.”
According to doctors, Weinstein has fluid in his heart, spinal stenosis and macular degeneration in his eyes, Aidala said.
“His diabetes is going through the roof because the diet they give at Rikers Island is 90% sugar,” Aidala told the judge. “He’s basically getting no treatment for that.”
Weinstein is also unfairly being held in solitary confinement and his only interactions are with a guard who visits him once a day, Aidala claimed.
“There is not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for Mr. Weinstein,” Aidala said.
“He’s not a young man, he’s a sick man. He has young kids and wants to get out,” the lawyer continued. “All I’m asking for is time. We need to get the ball rolling.”
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg countered that “there’s certainly no delay tactics” by prosecutors in the case.
She said that while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office doesn’t have new charges yet to bring against the disgraced film tycoon, prosecutors are still planning to retry him in the fall.“
As we said in 2020, there were women who were not ready to proceed with the legal process,” Blumberg explained. “Some of those women are now ready to proceed.”
She added that her office plans to go back to a grand jury to seek additional charges.
“It’s an ongoing process,” the prosecutor added.
Weinstein had been scheduled to go back on trial after Labor Day following a bombshell ruling from New York’s highest court overturning his 2020 rape conviction on the grounds that the judge overseeing that trial had “erroneously” allowed testimony from three women whose allegations weren’t tied to the case.
But Blumberg said Tuesday that her office could be ready for trial in November, prompting a scoff from the defense table and Weinstein to shake his head.
Harvey Weinstein's sex crime conviction overturned: Key facts
- Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape conviction was overturned in a 4-3 ruling by New York state’s highest court, due to “erroneously” allowed testimony from three women whose allegations weren’t connected to the case.
- The 72-year-old has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex and raping two women.
- Prosecutors anticipate a November retrial, and told Judge Curtis Farber they are still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein.
- Albany’s bill to admit testimony about a defendant’s alleged prior sexual offenses, even if they aren’t being charged related to them, a measure to close the legal loophole that got Weinstein’s conviction overturned, has not been passed yet.
Weinstein’s next court date is on July 19. And while the judge said he’s not required to come to court , Aidala said his client will be there.
Aidala told reporters after the hearing that Weinstein’s health took a sharp turn for the worse when he was transferred to Rikers following his conviction reversal.
“He hasn’t gotten treatment in a long time,” Aidala said outside court.
The lawyer also added that Weinstein is keeping himself busy in jail by reading “profusely,” including a book on film giant 20th Century Fox.
Weinstein had previously been locked up at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, serving a 23-year sentence, before being brought to Rikers – following a stint at Bellevue Hospital where he was said to have been receiving cushy treatment.
The disgraced starmaker had been convicted on charges of criminal sex act and rape for forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi in 2006 and raping hairstylist Jessica Mann — who was in court Tuesday — in 2013.
He was also sentenced in February 2023 to 16 years in prison in a separate Los Angeles criminal case for raping an Italian model at a film festival in 2013.
