Harvey Weinstein hospitalized days after rape conviction overturned
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a series of tests after returning to New York City. The appeals court ruled to quash his rape conviction in 2020,
Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after arriving at the city’s jail on Friday.
“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help physically. He has a lot of problems. All kinds of tests are being done. From a health perspective he’s been a bit of a train wreck,” Aidala said.
A message left at the hospital Saturday was not immediately returned.
New York City Department of Corrections spokesman Frank Dwyer said only that Weinstein is in custody at Bellevue. Thomas Melfi, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said Weinstein was turned over to the city Department of Corrections in accordance with the appeal decision. Weinstein was held at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany.
On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals vacated his conviction after finding that a trial judge allowed jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges against him. It also threw out his 23-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial.
Prosecutors said they intended to retry him on charges of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actor in 2013.
Weinstein remained in custody following the appeal decision as he was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
For some time now, Weinstein has been battling a number of health issues, including heart problems, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems.
Adalah said he spoke to Weinstein on Friday afternoon as he was traveling from New York to New York City, less than 24 hours after the appeals decision, which resulted in his release Thursday morning.
He said that while his client’s ailments are physical, he said that mentally he is “sharp as a nail”. “Feet are firmly planted on the ground.”
The lawyer said it usually takes a week or two for state corrections and prison officials to arrange for an inmate to be transported.
“He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, food, or bathroom breaks,” Aidala said. “He is a sick 72-year-old man.”
State Department of Corrections spokesman Mellie had no comment when read Aidala’s comments about Weinstein’s treatment over the phone.
Aidala said he was told Bellevue doctors planned to run several tests on Weinstein before he could be returned to the Rikers Island prison complex.
The lawyer said he planned to meet with Weinstein on Monday. He said he plans to tell a judge when Weinstein goes to court in Manhattan on Wednesday that a retrial should be held after Labor Day.