NYPD EYE ON HARV
LOOK TO QUIZ 2 NEW SEX ACCUSERS
THE NYPD IS looking to interview at least two women who have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, the Daily News learned Wednesday.
Detectives with the Manhattan Special Victims Division are seeking any new evidence they can find.
“We go to great lengths in these cases because there is such a physical and emotional impact on the victims,” a police source said.
The department’s interest in Weinstein comes as the 65-year-old has emerged as the subject of a spiraling sex abuse scandal involving allegations from more than two dozen women including A-list actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
It started with a blistering report in The New York Times last week and continued Tuesday with a piece in The New Yorker in which Weinstein was accused of raping three women.
Investigators are looking into a 2004 incident with a then-aspiring actress named Lucia Evans, who accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex in his Tribeca office.
They are also delving into the 2015 allegations made by model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.’s office decided not to prosecute.
Vance has said his office couldn’t make the charges stick, even though cops secretly recorded Weinstein apologizing to Gutierrez.
“Many people in this department feel that it was highly irresponsible for the district attorney’s office to question the judgment, quality or ability of the Special Victims unit to investigate this case,” the police source said.
Weinstein, meanwhile, sparked concerns Wednesday he might be suicidal.
Los Angeles police responded to his daughter Remy’s house at 10:37 a.m. after a 911 caller said a man at the address might be a danger to himself, a police source told the Daily News.
“The person said the subject was feeling suicidal and depressed, but when officers got there and conducted their investigation, it was revealed no suicidal remarks were made,” the source said.
In a statement from his spokeswoman, Weinstein denied ever sexually assaulting the women.
Still, he apologized last week for causing unidentified people pain and promised to seek counseling.
In a statement Wednesday, Weinstein said he knew his wife, Georgina Chapman, was leaving him amid the snowballing scandal because he green-lighted the decision himself.
“Over the last week, there has been a lot of pain for my family that I take responsibility for. I sat down with my wife Georgina, who I love more than anything, and we discussed what was best for our family. We discussed the possibility of a separation and I encouraged her to do what was in her heart,” Weinstein said.
“In the end, she made the decision to separate. I understand, I love her and I love our children and hopefully, when I am better, I will be in their lives again,” he added.
“I support her decision, I am in counseling and perhaps, when I am better, we can rebuild.”
TMZ reported Wednesday that Weinstein was headed to Arizona for sex-addiction rehab.
“Everybody knows he’s going away. But it’s not rehab. It’s not that type of place. It’s more counseling,” a well-placed source said.
Once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, Weinstein is facing serious allegations he sexually harassed or assaulted a long list of staffers and actresses, including Jolie, Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan, Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette.
“It has been a real struggle to come forward with my story,” Sorvino wrote in Time magazine. “I have lived in vague fear of Harvey Weinstein for over 20 years.”
Weinstein was kicked off his company’s board Sunday. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has showered his work with Oscars over the years, is holding a special meeting Saturday to possibly kick him out too.
Weinstein vowed to sue The New York Times over its Thursday bombshell and also personally threatened New Yorker scribe Ronan Farrow over his reporting, Farrow said on MSNBC.
On Tuesday, attorney Gloria Allred challenged Weinstein to waive the statute of limitations for some of his accusers and give them a day in court with arbitration.
With possible legal action looming, one industry insider said Weinstein’s lawyer bills could squeeze him financially.
Weinstein’s wealth remains a murky picture, but he and Chapman slashed the price of one of their houses in Connecticut and sold it for $1.65 million earlier this month. They originally listed the four-bedroom house in Westport for $2.25 million in April.
Weinstein bought the property more than 20 years ago for $825,000.