NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Jailed ex-movie mogul Harvey Weinstein underwent an emergency medical procedure at a New York City hospital on Monday to remove fluid on his heart and lungs after he complained of chest pains over the weekend, his representatives said.
Weinstein, 72, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan from the Rikers Island jail complex late Sunday 鈥渄ue to severe medical conditions,鈥� his publicist Juda Engelmayer and prison consultant Craig Rothfeld said.
鈥淲e can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today,鈥� Engelmayer and Rothfeld said. Weinstein was out of surgery as of Monday afternoon and is in recovery, they said.
Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said they requested that jail officials immediately move Weinstein to Bellevue "based on his complaints to us regarding chest pains.鈥� In one email, Aidala said, he told them: 鈥淭his guy is going to die on your watch if you don't do something.鈥�
News of Weinstein鈥檚 hospitalization was first reported by ABC News.
Weinstein has been in an out of Bellevue Hospital since returning to Rikers Island from state prison in April after an appeals court overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault convictions and ordered a new trial.
In July, he was hospitalized with , his representatives said.
After his February 2020 conviction, Weinstein and detoured to Bellevue, complaining of chest pains and high blood pressure. He later had a stent inserted to unblock an artery.
After his sentencing a few weeks later, he returned to the hospital with more chest pains. He later just days after being transferred to a state prison near Buffalo.
In 2021, when Weinstein was being extradited to California for prosecution on rape charges there, his lawyers disclosed a litany of afflictions, including: diabetes, , anemia, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic lower back pain, sciatica , chronic leg pain, arthritis, and eye ailments that had severely degraded his vision. At recent court hearings, he has used a wheelchair.
鈥淎s we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers from a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment,鈥� Engelmayer and Rothfeld said Monday.
The state鈥檚 Court of Appeals found that the judge in the 2020 trial unfairly allowed testimony from women whose claims against Weinstein weren鈥檛 part of the case.
Last week, prosecutors disclosed that they鈥檝e begun taking steps to potentially charge him with up to three additional sex assaults.
They said they鈥檝e started presenting evidence to a grand jury of up to three previously uncharged allegations against Weinstein -鈥� two sexual assaults in the mid-2000s and another sexual assault in 2016.
A vote on a potential new indictment is expected soon.
At the same time, British prosecutors said last week they were dropping two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein in 2022 because there was 鈥渘o longer a realistic prospect of conviction.鈥欌��
Weinstein has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He remains in custody in New York while that鈥檚 tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing Sept. 12.
Weinstein became the most prominent villain of the , which took root in 2017 when women began to go public with accounts of his behavior.
At the original trial, Weinstein was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. Those allegations will be part of his retrial. Weinstein鈥檚 acquittals on charges of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape still stand.
After the retrial, Weinstein is due to start serving a for a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles, authorities said. Weinstein was .
Weinstein, the co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company film studios, was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, producing such Oscar winners as 鈥淧ulp Fiction鈥� and 鈥淪hakespeare in Love.鈥�
Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
