Rikers Island

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Rikers Women Recall Officer 'Champagne' With Horror

Two dozen lawsuits allege he raped and abused them for years, reports Gothamist

(Newser) - A Gothamist investigation has turned up disturbing allegations against one prison guard in particular at Rikers Island who is accused in two dozen lawsuits of raping and sexually abusing female inmates over a span of decades. The inmates knew by him the nickname of "Champagne," but he has...

Former Trump Org CFO Leaves Rikers
Former Trump Org
CFO Leaves Rikers
Jul 19, 2024 10:47 AM CDT

Former Trump Org CFO Leaves Rikers

Allen Weisselberg was convicted of perjury amid Trump's civil fraud case

(Newser) - Retired Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg was released from New York City's Rikers Island jail on Friday after serving a sentence for lying under oath , online records show, per the AP . The former chief financial officer at Donald Trump's real estate company pleaded guilty in March to committing...

Amid Trump Jail Risk, a Look at How That May Play Out

Secret Service is preparing for the logistics as judge reiterates threat

(Newser) - Donald Trump keeps testing the limits of his gag order, and Judge Juan Merchan keeps threatening serious consequences if he doesn't stop. But might a former president really end up behind bars on contempt charges? A look at the consequences if it comes to that:
  • One option: Merchan could
...

New York City's Mayor Is Baptized at Rikers
Sharpton Baptizes
NYC Mayor at Jail
Mar 29, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Sharpton Baptizes NYC Mayor at Jail

Eric Adams says he sat with Riker detainees to 'recommit ourselves to getting on the right path'

(Newser) - New York City Mayor Eric Adams marked Good Friday by receiving a jailhouse baptism from the Rev. Al Sharpton, joining in on the religious rite with a group of men incarcerated at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex. The ceremony came as part of a visit to the jail complex...

America's Last Prison Ship Is Closing

800-bed floating lockup arrived in NYC in 1992

(Newser) - Kenneth Williams spent his whole life in Brooklyn, but it wasn't until a night in 2018 when he crossed a narrow footbridge in shackles, that he learned about New York City's last floating jail. He remembers the murky East River water below him, the stench of mold, and...

It'll Be the World's Tallest Jail. Will It Ruin Chinatown?

It's a key part of the plan to close Rikers Island, and it's contentious

(Newser) - "This is going to be the beacon of Chinatown." That's one local landlord's take on a new jail that's planned for the neighborhood, and it's not meant as a compliment. At an expected 300 feet in height—about as tall as the Statue of...

Trump's Former Money Guy Pleads Guilty, Heads to Prison

Allen Weisselberg, 75, also may have to testify about Trump Organization

(Newser) - A top executive at former President Trump's family business pleaded guilty Thursday to evading taxes in a deal that could potentially make him a star witness against the company at a fall trial, per the AP . Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 of the...

Doctor Convicted of Abusing Patients Found Dead at Rikers

Ricardo Cruciani faced life sentence and another trial next year

(Newser) - A New York neurologist awaiting sentencing for sexually assaulting his patients was found dead Monday at the Rikers Island jail. A New York City jury had convicted Dr. Ricardo Cruciani of two counts of rape, seven of criminal sexual acts, one of predatory sexual assault, and one of attempted rape,...

NY Governor Makes Move on 'Out of Control' Rikers Island

Kathy Hochul signs new legislation, releases 191 prisoners to relieve overcrowding

(Newser) - Update: State lawmakers who'd lobbied New York's governor to address the overcrowding crisis at Rikers Island have seen results. Per CBS , Kathy Hochul on Friday signed the Less Is More Act and ordered 191 inmates, most with technical parole violations, to be released from the beleaguered prison complex....

Harvey Weinstein Tests Positive for Coronavirus

New York prison puts former producer in isolation

(Newser) - Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, New York prison officials said. He's in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, the Niagara Gazette reports. Another inmate at Wende also has tested positive. Weinstein was transferred there Thursday from Rikers Island; new state prisoners are sent to...

Weinstein Hospitalized Hours After Sentencing

Rep says 67-year-old had chest pains

(Newser) - Harvey Weinstein was back in the hospital before the end of the first day of his 23-year sentence for sex crimes. The 67-year-old, who was sentenced in New York Wednesday, was transferred from the Rikers Island jail complex to Bellevue Hospital hours later after experiencing chest pains, a rep tells...

Insider: Weinstein's Cell Will Be Like 'Little Hotel'

Inmate No. 06581138Z won't be mixing with the general population

(Newser) - To the state of New York, Harvey Weinstein is now Inmate No. 06581138Z. Weinstein, who was convicted of sex crimes on Monday, was taken to a prison ward at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center after the verdict. His next stop is expected to be the notorious Rikers Island jail. Lawyers...

After Guilty Verdict, Weinstein Didn't Make It to Jail

He was rerouted to Bellevue Hospital with chest pains

(Newser) - Harvey Weinstein's first night in jail after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault has apparently been delayed. A few hours after the verdict was read out in a New York City courtroom, the 67-year-old rapist was being transferred to the infirmary at Rikers Island in an ambulance...

Report: Highly Touted Rikers Project 'Rigged' From Start

ProPublica says NYC spent millions on program that didn't work

(Newser) - New York City is shutting down the Rikers Island jail complex, long plagued with guard and inmate violence. Now, an investigative piece by the journalism organization ProPublica adds one more black eye to the mix. The story recounts how New York City, desperate to fend off bad publicity or federal...

Report: Rikers Guards Watched Suicide Attempt, Failed to Act

3 officers and a captain have been suspended

(Newser) - Guards at one of America's most notorious jails watched for several minutes without intervening as a young inmate tried to hang himself, sources say. Insiders tell the New York Times that at least four corrections officers at the Rikers Island complex failed to act as 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano, who...

'Torture Island' Gets a Death Date
'Torture Island'
Gets a Death Date
Oct 18, 2019 8:53 AM CDT

'Torture Island' Gets a Death Date

Rikers Island complex to be replaced with 4 smaller jails by 2026

(Newser) - Rikers Island's death sentence will come in 2026, according to an $8 billion plan approved by New York City lawmakers on Thursday. There are roughly 7,000 inmates currently held at the island complex in the East River, sometimes referred to as "Torture Island" or "the Guantá...

Manafort Stays Out of Rikers, With Unusual Help

Barr's deputy intervenes to stop temporary transfer

(Newser) - Paul Manafort, President Trump's onetime campaign manager, has been spared from a planned transfer to the notorious Rikers Island jail after the Department of Justice stepped in. Manafort, who has been imprisoned in Pennsylvania, was scheduled to be moved to Rikers while awaiting a state trial in New York,...

Reports: Manafort Headed to 'Worst Place on Earth'

He'll be in solitary confinement at Rikers Island for 'protection,' per Fox

(Newser) - President Trump's former campaign chairman is reportedly headed for what was once described as " the worst place on Earth ." As soon as Thursday, Paul Manafort is to be transferred to New York City's notorious Rikers Island prison and "will be held in solitary confinement for...

Inside the Truly Weird Heist of a Salvador Dali Painting

It was stolen from Rikers Island

(Newser) - Perhaps the only thing weirder than the fact that a Salvador Dali painting hung for decades in Rikers Island jail complex is the heist that took the piece from its walls. James Fanelli has the story for Esquire , and goes back to the start: In 1965 Dali had agreed to...

Man Who Escaped Rikers Never Got Off the Island

Inmate was found the following morning

(Newser) - Escaping from Rikers Island prison is a two-step process: Flee your jail, then somehow make it off the island. Authorities say a 24-year-old inmate managed step one but not the all-important step two, reports the New York Times . This appears to be what happened: Guards took six inmates from one...

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