Disgraced and jailed former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein underwent emergency heart surgery Monday morning at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, according to a legal representative.
Weinstein was moved from Rikers Island Sunday night “due to severe medical conditions” after complaining of not feeling well, and having a cough and weight gain, his publicist Juda Engelmayer and representative Craig Rothfeld told NBC News.
The 72-year-old was in the ICU at the Manhattan hospital after undergoing heart surgery Monday morning to "alleviate the massive amount of fluid on his lung and heart."
“We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today,” his reps said. Rothfeld told NBC New York that Weinstein was conscious and talking as he recovered Monday evening, and that they aim to keep him in the hospital indefinitely through the trial to deal with his ailments.
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Weinstein remains in custody in New York while awaiting retrial on rape and sexual assault charges in Manhattan. He has been in an out of Bellevue Hospital since returning to Rikers Island from state prison in April.
In July, he was hospitalized for treatment for a variety of health problems including COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs, his representatives said.
Weinstein, who has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while already serving a 23-year sentence in New York. His 2020 conviction in Manhattan was was thrown out earlier in the spring by the state’s top court, which ruled that the judge in the original trial unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.
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The retrial in Manhattan is tentatively scheduled for November.
Weinstein’s legal team is appealing the Los Angeles conviction and its sentence of 16 years in prison.
Weinstein could be charged with more allegations of sexual misconduct by a New York grand jury, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing a source.
A New York grand jury has been convened to weigh whether to bring new charges against the disgraced former movie mogul, a source with knowledge of the proceedings told NBC News. A vote on a potential new indictment is expected soon.
Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said last week in a statement: “We will be prepared for whatever comes our way, they are going to do whatever they can to make sure Harvey doesn’t see the light of day.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment in an email to NBC News.
At the same time, British prosecutors said last week they were dropping two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein in 2022 because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.’’
Weinstein has maintained that any sexual encounters were consensual.
