Weinstein starts serving sentence
METOO CASE Convict moved to New York maximum-security prison
NEWYORK: Just ahead of his birthday, Harvey Weinstein has been transferred to a state prison in New York on Wednesday as the former Hollywood producer began to serve a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in his landmark #Metoo case.
Weinstein, who will turn 68 on Thursday, is locked up at the maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, according to state prison officials. He is known behind bars as inmate No. 20B0584.
The prison, six hours by car from Manhattan, is likely just a temporary stop for Weinstein. While he’s there, he’ll be evaluated to determine which state prison facility meets his security, medical, mental health and other needs.
Weinstein’s spokesman called the move “harsh.” Weinstein, convicted on February 24 and sentenced last week, had been splitting time between New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex and a Manhattan hospital.
Weinstein left court in an ambulance after the guilty verdict and detoured to Bellevue Hospital, complaining of chest pains and high blood pressure. He later had a stent inserted to unblock an artery. After his sentencing, he returned with more chest pains.
Weinstein, the Oscar-winning producer of Shakespeare in Love, was convicted of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. His lawyers have said they’ll appeal.
Within hours of Weinstein’s sentencing, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced they were beginning the extradition process to send him there for an arraignment on charges he raped a woman and sexually assaulted another in 2013.
That’s now on hold because of the coronavirus crisis that has shuttered courthouses and limited travel.
More than 100 women, including famous actresses, accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He has denied the allegations, saying any sex was consensual.
Mark David Chapman, who murdered Beatle John Lennon in 1980, served some of his time at Wende Correctional Facility, as did Robert Chambers, dubbed the “Preppie killer,” who strangled 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City’s Central Park in 1986. The prison has sex offender treatment programs, according to the Department of Corrections website