HARVEY Weinstein has been left to rot in prison as he whines about boredom and health problems ahead of his sex crimes retrial.
The disgraced Hollywood producer, 73, is returning to court five years after he was convicted of rape and thrown in New York City’s largest jail, where he has reportedly faced grim conditions behind bars.
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Weinstein’s rape retrial begins on Wednesday after his previous conviction was overturned on appeal in a bombshell move last year, slashing his sentence of 23 years in prison.
The former movie mogul is fighting the same allegations he was already found guilty of in 2020, plus new accusations are set to be heard by a majority-female jury.
His lawyers weren’t convinced he would even make it to the retrial following years of his health deteriorating while in Rikers Island jail.
Weinstein, who has diabetes and was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last year, begged the judge in January to push his trial forward as he complained of “medieval” jail conditions interfering with his recovery while issues with his medication and treatment arose.
READ MORE ON HARVEY WEINSTEIN
“I won’t be there for April,” Weinstein, shackled to his walker whenever he leaves his prison cell, pleaded in court.
On top of his complaints of inattentive medical care, the shamed producer has been isolated from other inmates for 23 hours a day throughout the last five years due to prison policy.
But Weinstein isn’t lacking conversation – he spends a lot of his time on the phone with prison consultant Craig Rothfeld, according to a recent glimpse into his life behind bars by the Hollywood Reporter.
Rothfeld, who also looks out for suspected CEO assassin Luigi Mangione, was hired as Weinstein’s business liaison and health care representative immediately after he was convicted in 2020.
He estimated he’s spoken with the former studio head about 6,000 times over the phone as the two talk about three or four times daily.
Rikers inmates are allowed 21 minutes of phone time every three hours per day.
“We talk about politics, what’s going on in Israel. What’s going on in the world,” Rothfeld told THR.
“Books he’s reading. I think getting his mind off his situation helps him.”
Weinstein has been pictured carrying around large books during his time in prison, including Elia Kazan: A Biography by Richard Schickel and bestseller Conclave by Robert Harris.
People send Weinstein things to read from Amazon while in prison and he reportedly gets two or three new books a week, according to THR.
Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline
October 5, 2017 – An explosive story by New York Times reports Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over three decades. The piece sparks an avalanche of sexual assault allegations against him. Weinstein is fired from his own company, his wife leaves him, and the #MeToo movement is born.
October 10, 2017 – The New Yorker magazine releases a story detailing other accusations against Weinstein.
May 25, 2018: Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim, and first-degree criminal sex act for another, later revealed to be marketing executive Lucia Evans. The woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 has not been publicly identified. Weinstein is released after appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court and handing over his passport and a $1 million cashier’s check to cover his bail.
May 25, 2018 – Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim and a first-degree criminal sex act for another. He is released after paying $1 million bail.
May 30, 2018 – Weinstein is indicted on the sex crimes charges.
June 5, 2018 – He pleads not guilty to all charges against him.
July 2, 2018 – A Manhattan grand jury charges Weinstein with additional sex crimes, including two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual assault.
October 11, 2018 – Prosecutors drop one of the six charges against Weinstein.
January 6, 2020 – The Los Angeles district attorney charges Weinstein with raping an Italian model in 2013.
February 24, 2020 – Weinstein is found guilty in his Manahttan trial of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree. He is sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York.
December 19, 2022 – A jury in Los Angeles convicts him of three of seven counts of sexual assault.
February 23, 2023 – Weinstein is sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape in his Los Angeles trial.
April 25, 2024 – In a bombshell decision, his New York conviction is overturned and a new trial is ordered.
April 15, 2025 – Weinstein’s retrial begins in New York with a new accuser set to take the stand.
He also has a tablet at Rikers to scroll the internet, but loses access when he goes to the facility at Bellevue Hospital’s prison wing.
The disgraced movie mogul keeps up with the news as much as possible – and even sends in tips about himself to the Daily Mail and TMZ when he can, THR reported.
He also watches the news or Entertainment Tonight in the day room at Rikers, Rothfeld said.
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As a prison consultant, Rothfeld works to give advice and sentencing expertise to inmates.
He served his own sentence at Rikers after he was convicted in 2015 for fraud.
LUIGI’S CASE
The adviser has been hired on by Mangione, who is currently held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Mangione, 26, is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to murder, terrorism, and weapons charges in the case.
The alleged killer has not entered a plea for the four federal charges over the murder.
His federal arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
LUIGI Mangione, 26, was regarded as a beloved, clever and wealthy man by his family, friends and all who knew him.
He was born and raised in Maryland and graduated as the valedictorian from the private all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore.
He had no prior criminal history and was said to have been a model student, soccer player, and all-around athlete at high school.
One former student from the Gilman School told The U.S. Sun that Mangione was “popular” and had a “big circle of friends.”
“We went to the same school but didn’t really have the same friends. I’m really shocked by this whole thing,” the former student, who asked not to be identified, said.
“I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure.”
Mangione graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied computer and information science, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also got his masters from the Ivy League school.
Mangione was reportedly a data engineer at a car company in California before moving to Hawaii.
His cousin is also Republican Maryland State Delegate Nino Mangione.
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