CASE CLOSE
Vance preps charge vs. Harvey
THE WALLS may be closing in on Harvey Weinstein.
Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. is preparing a criminal case against the embattled movie mogul to present to a grand jury, according to a source.
Days after the NYPD announced that detectives were gathering evidence against Weinstein for a possible rape charge, Vance is making plans to present a case “as early as next week” and seek an indictment against the fallen Hollywood honcho, a law enforcement source said.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Friday that investigators had interviewed “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta, who called police on Oct. 26.
Boyce said detectives found the story to be credible, and corroborated several details of her account.
“If this person was still in New York, and it was recent, we’d go right away and make the arrest,” Boyce said Friday. “No doubt. But we’re talking about a seven-yearold case. And we have to move forward gathering evidence first.”
Last week, de la Huerta told CBS News she was first raped in October 2010 after Weinstein gave her a ride home from a party.
She said Weinstein insisted on having a drink in her apartment, where she said he forced himself on her.
De la Huerta said Weinstein raped her again two months later at her apartment. She said she had been drinking and was not in the condition to give consent.
Boyce said de la Huerta was able to “articulate each and every minute of the crime, where she was, where they met, where this happened and what he did.”
“We’re not commenting on the investigation or any timeline,” said Manhattan DA spokeswoman Joan Vollero.
De la Huerta’s lawyer, Aaron Filler, said he has not been informed by prosecutors about a grand jury presentation next week but said he “would not be surprised” because Vance’s office had just received new evidence that they were waiting for.
Filler would not elaborate on what it was.
“They are very close to having all the major things they wanted to have,” Filler said.
“At the time we filed it, we thought there was enough, and since then we have been happily surprised to find quite a few things turn up that support many elements of this.”
Vance has come under fire for not pursuing a case against Weinstein in 2015 when an Italian model came forward with charges against the filmmaker.
Ambra Battilana, then 22, claimed in March 2015 that she met Weinstein at the red-carpet premiere of his Radio City “New York Spring Spectacular.”
He then invited her back to his Manhattan office to talk business, she said.
At that point, Battilana said, the married father of five groped her breasts and reached up her skirt. Vance said he did not have enough evidence to prosecute, but critics questioned the timing of a $10,000 campaign donation from Weinstein’s lawyer.
Weinstein was forced out of his company amid allegations from scores of women who said he sexually harassed or assaulted them.