Harvey Weinstein, Michael Cohen and Tekashi69 Become Latest High-Profile Inmates Coping With Coronavirus Pandemic
In this file photo, Harvey Weinstein, left, Tekashi69 and Michael Cohen. (Alec Tabak for New York Daily News)
IBexNews - Harvey Weinstein’s got it. Tekashi69 is scared of the impact it will have on his asthma. And Michael Cohen is looking for any excuse to get out of prison.
The trio of high-profile inmates held in state and federal lockups are either fighting the virus or citing the pandemic as a reason they should be released.
Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, confirmed Monday that Weinstein was one of two inmates in quarantine at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo. The convicted rapist serving a 23-year sentence was diagnosed with coronavirus just a few days after being transferred to Wende from Rikers Island.
Seven members of the prison’s staff — five officers and two supervisors — have also been placed in isolation due to their proximity to Weinstein and the other infected inmate.
Meanwhile, Tekashi69, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, revealed in a letter filed in Manhattan Federal Court that he’s suffering from shortness of breath while completing his two-year sentence at an undisclosed private lockup. The notorious rapper-turned-cooperator is expected to complete his sentence July 31.
“While I recognize that his release date is only about four months away, given the health crisis that is currently tearing through this region and Mr. Hernandez’s compromised medical condition, please strongly consider modifying Mr. Hernandez’s sentence so as to immediately make him eligible for home confinement,” attorney Lance Lazzaro wrote in the letter filed late Sunday.
“It seems like just a matter of time before all prisons in the area are hit with this virus, both inmates and guards. Mr. Hernandez has been complaining to prison officials this week of shortness of breath, but apparently the warden of his facility will not allow Mr. Hernandez to go to the hospital despite the recommendation of the facility’s medial director that Mr. Hernandez be treated by a doctor at a hospital.”
Tekashi, 23, suffers from asthma. He was hospitalized for treatment of bronchitis and sinusitis Oct. 31, the letter revealed.
“Given that Mr. Hernandez is at very high risk of death or serious complications if he contracts the coronavirus, please issue an order modifying his sentence to allow him to begin home confinement immediately," Lazzaro wrote.
Cohen, by contrast, did not cite any unique health risks in his request to serve the remainder of his three-year fraud sentence under home confinement because of the pandemic.
“Cohen has not even attempted to argue that he is uniquely at risk as compared to other inmates. Nor could he: He is 53 years old and in good health,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom McKay wrote in a letter to the Manhattan federal judge on the case.
“As such, Cohen’s claim applies equally to every inmate in the [Bureau of Prison’s] care (or at least every nonviolent inmate).”
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus at upstate Otisville Federal Correctional Institution, where Cohen is serving his sentence.
Cohen and Tekashi are not the first prominent prisoners to seek early release due to the pandemic.
Octogenarian Vincent Asaro, the reputed Bonanno capo serving eight years for arson, has also asked for compassionate release because he is vulnerable to the virus. Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff is considering citing the virus as another reason for his release as his health deteriorates, the Daily News previously reported.
