Harvey Weinstein is back at Bellevue Hospital after contracting COVID-19 and double pneumonia, two months after he was released from the same medical center after reportedly receiving special care while incarcerated at Rikers Island prison.
The 72-year-old convicted rape suspect was transferred from prison to a Manhattan hospital’s prison ward late Wednesday night for treatment for “various health issues,” according to a spokesman for the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
Weinstein tested positive for the coronavirus and suffered from “double lung pneumonia,” his spokesman Judah Engelmayer said.
Engelmeyer added that he will also receive treatment for the illnesses he suffers from on a daily basis, including “diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid in his heart and lungs, and a variety of other conditions.”
Engelmayer’s transfer was confirmed by prison counsel Craig Rothfield, a former Wall Street executive serving time for defrauding investors out of more than $11 million to fund a lavish lifestyle.
“We remain grateful to the officers, doctors and nurses from DOCS, CHS and NYC H+H who worked tirelessly to ensure Mr. Weinstein was immediately transferred to Bellevue Hospital’s prison ward, and we will continue to work with them to ensure Mr. Weinstein receives appropriate medical treatment,” Engelmeyer said in a statement.
Weinstein’s visit to Bellevue is the latest in a long line of trips for the former producer, who has island-hopped between Rikers Island and Manhattan, staying in Bellevue.
In May, he was transferred back to Rikers after being given special accommodations and comforts, including a telephone, television and private bathroom, at Bellevue, where he was kept on a separate floor from other detainees. The city reported.
He complained of chest pains and was transferred to the hospital in April after his sex-crime conviction was overturned. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and spent nine days in Bellevue prison before corrections officials removed him from the hospital shortly after the report was made public.
Last week, a Manhattan judge tentatively set a November 12 start date for Weinstein’s retrial on charges of rape and sexual assault.
After the hearing, the defendant’s lawyers told reporters they wanted him returned to Bellevue because the high-carbohydrate food served at Rikers was affecting his eating habits.
The fallen Hollywood boss’ conviction and 23-year sentence was overturned in April after a New York state appeals court ruled that a Manhattan judge had “erroneously” admitted testimony from three alleged victims of Weinstein who were not connected to the incident.
Weinstein remains in prison despite the Supreme Court’s decision because he was separately serving a 16-year sentence in California for raping an Italian model in 2013.
