Weinstein case: police likely to join forces

Photo: Steve Crisp for Reuters

In New York, Los Angeles and London, authorities are pursuing criminal cases against sleazeball producer Harvey Weinstein as he faces a boatload of sexual misconduct accusations.

Detectives in those cities are likely to team up in a collaborative effort to build evidence and determine whether he can be arrested and charged for criminal activity, experts believe.

In the last six weeks, criminal cases have been opened as the scum-muffin faces lawsuits on both sides of the Pond.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives interviewed witnesses in preparation for presenting a case to the DA's office, who will decide whether to press criminal charges based on the accusations that Weinstein raped an anonymous actress in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013, according to David Ring, the attorney for the alleged victim.

There are also "multiple complaints involving Harvey Weinstein," the LAPD reported and they are under investigation.

Ring said that "The LAPD is actively investigating [the alleged victim's] case. It's my understanding that they are also coordinating their efforts with other jurisdictions, like New York City."

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating rape complaints by two alleged victims who went public: Pas de la Huerta and Lucia Evans.

Detectives previously looked into Weinstein's conduct but the office of the New York DA, Cyrus Vance Jr., allowed him to 'walk' saying that there wasn't enough evidence to charge him at the time. 

Of course, Vance Sr. was a Democrat who had pushed for closer ties with the then Soviet Union and was a general screw-up. When the Russians invaded Afghanistan on Dec. 27, 1979, he opposed what he called "visceral anti-Sovietism." When he tried to secretly negotiate a solution to the Iran hostage crisis with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini using the PLO as intermediary, it failed badly.

Vance died in January 2002 from pneumonia and the complication of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 84. 

Now his son is carrying on in the same liberal tradition.

In 2015, Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez wore a police wire that recorded her pleading with Weinstein to stop trying to force and threaten her into going into his hotel room. He also apologized in an earlier incident, as per the New Yorker.

Following the decision not to charge Weinstein in connection with her case, Gutierrez signed an agreement in which Weinstein paid her $1 million.

A New York attorney, Jeanne Christensen, who isn't involved in the NYPD case said that "There is a lot of pressure on here because they [referring to the NYPD] are accused of giving Weinstein a pass [in 2015]. A lot of political pressure. But by all indications, they are taking the case very seriously.

Christensen is a partner at Wigdor Law, a New York firm that often represents sexual assault or harassment victims, especially cases involving employment. It was she who said that it's likely investigators in different cities are sharing information.

The NYPD and a team from the New York DA's office led by a senior sex crimes prosecutor are working in conjunction on the case, Vance spokeswoman Joan Vollero said. She declined further comment. 

The NYPD refused further comment after saying earlier this month that they had "an actual case here."

Weinstein, like Al Franken, John Conyers, Roy Moore, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Ben Affleck, Chris Savino, Roy Price, Mark Halperin, Michael Oreskes, Lockhart Steele and others, have denied the allegations.

Most of these people, like Franken, have told the public how they feel, rather than actually apologizing to their alleged victims. The public does not care a fig about how Franken and the rest of them feel.

In London, police are investigating cases involving three women.

Christensen said that in alleged assault cases involving alcohol, or that have happened years ago, it's more difficult to prove the case. "The brain's natural defense is to block things out about what happened and if you spent some time where you never talked about it, it gets muddier," she said.

"A lot of women have come forward and they are not recalling in sufficient detail what the prosecution would need--and that's what it comes down to when you are having to prove a case, that's just how the law works."

Christensen said that the sheer number of complaints against Weinstein will be much more easily introduced in civil cases where rules regarding evidence involving a defendant's character and standard of proof are less stringent than in a criminal case.

UK lawyer Jill Greenfield is expected to file civil lawsuits on behalf of a number of women demanding settlements.

Actress Dominique Huett filed the first civil suit against Weinstein in early October. She is claiming $5 million in Los Angeles superior court, alleging the Weinstein Company "aided and abetted" the scumwad in "repeated acts of sexual misconduct."

The fat pig is going down!

Perhaps . . . perhaps not.


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