Hollywood rapist Harvey Weinstein jailed for 23 years

Yahoo – AFP, Thomas URBAIN, March 11, 2020

Harvey Weinstein was brought from the notorious Rikers Island jail into the
Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

New York (AFP) - Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault Wednesday, capping a sensational downfall for the once-powerful producer in a landmark case for the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, who turns 68 next week, faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after New York Justice James Burke rebuffed his pleas for the minimum five-year sentence.

The judge, issuing a heavy term close to the maximum 29 years allowed, was unmoved by a rambling statement Weinstein made to the court in which he failed to express any remorse for his actions or apologize to victims.

"I'm totally confused," Weinstein said, before blaming the #MeToo global reckoning against men abusing positions of power for his predicament.

"I was the first example and now there are of thousands of men being accused. I'm worried about this country," he added.

The sentencing completed a dramatic fall from grace for the titan-turned-pariah, who lost much of his $150 million fortune fighting allegations that surfaced in October 2017.

Nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, have come forward alleging 40 years of vile predatory behavior by the Oscar-winning producer of "Shakespeare in Love" and numerous other critical and box office hits.

Mimi Haleyi walks into the courtroom for sentencing of movie mogul Harvey 

Weinstein on March 11, 2020 in New York City (AFP Photo/Roy Rochlin)

The Silence Breakers -- a group of 24 Weinstein accusers that includes Ashley Judd, Rosanna Arquette and Rose McGowan -- said Weinstein's legacy would always be his rape conviction.

"He is going to jail -- but no amount of jail time will repair the lives he ruined, the careers he destroyed, or the damage he has caused," they said in a statement.

Weinstein was taken away from the Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair as the six accusers who testified at his trial, including actress Annabella Sciorra of "The Sopranos," hugged in the front row.

Members of the public clapped as the accusers and prosecutors walked out of the courtroom.

'No longer hiding'

Weinstein was found guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree on February 24. His lawyers have appealed.

Seven men and five women convicted him of raping ex-actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.

Mann, 34, and Haleyi, 42, delivered powerful victim impact statements Wednesday.

Haleyi said being attacked by Weinstein had "diminished my confidence and faith in people."

Former Actress Jessica Mann (R) delivered a powerful impact statement at 

Weinstein's sentencing (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

Mann said his conviction had given her the strength to rebuild her life.

"My monsters are no longer hiding in my closet," she told the court.

The producer -- famous for his hard-nosed approach to work and Oscars campaigns -- was cleared of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, as well as rape in the first degree.

But prosecutors called on Burke to issue a lengthy jail term, saying Weinstein engaged in a "lifetime of abuse" and had shown "a total lack of remorse" for his actions.

In a pre-sentencing letter, the prosecution asked the judge to consider 36 other sexual abuse and harassment allegations against Weinstein dating back to the 1970s that were not part of the trial.

"He held all cards and played them at his will," lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said in court.

Weinstein's team suggested Burke should take into account the achievements of a man whose films received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.

"His life story, his accomplishments, and struggles are simply remarkable and should not be disregarded in total because of the jury's verdict," the lawyers wrote in a pre-sentencing memo.

Attorney Gloria Allred speaks outside the courthouse following the sentencing 

of Harvey Weinstein at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. Weinstein was 

sentenced to 23 years in prison two weeks after he was convicted of rape 

and sexual assault. (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)

Weinstein also pleaded with Burke that he may never see his five children again, the youngest two of whom are under ten years old.

Weinstein's counsel regularly clashed with Burke during the trial, even claiming at one point that he was biased against their client.

'On notice'

Afterwards, lead attorney Donna Rotunno suggested the intense media coverage of the trial had meant the judge "probably felt a type of pressure" to send a message

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr thanked the court for putting "sexual predators on notice" and praised his accusers "indescribable courage" throughout the case.

"Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world," he said in a statement.

Outside court, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Sciorra and Haleyi, gleefully held up a sign that read "20 + 3 years," the sentences Weinstein received for each count.

Tarale Wulff, who testified that Weinstein raped her when she was a cocktail waitress, expressed joy that the sentence was more than she expected.

"For the first time I can say I feel a sense of happiness," Wulff told reporters.

Weinstein is expected to be incarcerated outside New York City. He will likely later be taken to Los Angeles where he faces other sex crimes charges.

Prince Andrew shuts door on cooperation in Epstein case

Yahoo – AFP, March 10, 2020

Despite publicly offering his assistance, Britain's Prince Andrew (pictured January 2020)
has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a New York
prosecutor said (AFP Photo/Lindsey Parnaby)

New York (AFP) - Britain's Prince Andrew has "completely shut the door" on cooperating with the FBI in its investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a US prosecutor said Monday.

Despite publicly offering his assistance, "Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation," said New York attorney Geoffrey Berman, who had already accused the prince in late January of failing to cooperate.

Berman added that his office, which is known for having some of the most aggressive investigators in the US federal judiciary system, "is considering its options" on how to proceed, without offering further details.

Queen Elizabeth II's second son stepped back from frontline royal duties after he faced outrage over an interview with the BBC late last year in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.

Andrew, 59, also denied having sexual relations with Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was trafficked to have sex with friends of Epstein when she was 17.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in a New York jail in August while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

He was a multi-millionaire hedge fund manager who befriended countless celebrities over the years, including US President Donald Trump.

Epstein was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and another of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

He denied the charges but was facing up to 45 years in jail if found guilty.

Britain's Prince Andrew has 'no recollection' of Epstein sex accuser

Yahoo – AFP, Joe JACKSON, November 16, 2019

Prince Andrew, the eighth in line to the throne, has come in for heavy criticism
over his links to Epstein who died in custody in the US in August (AFP Photo/
Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

London (AFP) - Britain's Prince Andrew has said he does not remember meeting Virginia Roberts, one of disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims, who claims she was forced to have sex with the royal.

But Andrew admitted in an interview with the BBC due to be broadcast on Saturday that his decision to remain friends with Epstein after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor was a serious error of judgement.

"I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever," Andrew told BBC interviewer Emily Maitlis, according to extracts from "Prince Andrew and the Epstein Scandal" released ahead of the programme airing.

Andrew, 59, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and eighth in line to the throne, has been heavily criticised over his links to multimillionaire Epstein, who died in custody in the US in August.

A photograph apparently showing Andrew with his arm around then 17-year-old Roberts, now Giuffre, and with Epstein's friend Ghislaine Maxwell standing in the background, has been widely published. Supporters of Andrew, however, have disputed its authenticity.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a girl under the age of 18 for prostitution and served 13 months in a US prison before being released on probation.

He was arrested in July on new federal charges that he trafficked girls as young as 14 for sex, but was found dead in New York's high-security Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10 as he awaited trial.

A coroner ruled that he committed suicide by hanging.

'The wrong thing to do'

The BBC interview is the first time Andrew has answered questions on his relationship with Epstein. In 2015, he used a public appearance at Davos in Switzerland to deny the claims.

Pressed over the fact that he remained friends with the disgraced financier after his conviction, even staying at his Manhattan townhouse, Andrew said he regretted the decision.

"It was a convenient place to stay," the prince added.

"I have gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with the benefit of all the hindsight one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do.

"But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do."

Andrew went on to concede it was "not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family".

"We try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that," he told Maitlis of the BBC's Newsnight programme.

A coroner ruled that Epstein committed suicide by hanging
(AFP Photo)

'Sex slave' claim

Over the years Epstein, 66, hobnobbed with politicians, socialites and celebrities, including Donald Trump before he was president, and Bill Clinton.

After his death Giuffre, who says she was abused by Epstein for years and farmed out to his wealthy friends including Andrew, said "the reckoning must not end, it must continue".

She has alleged she was forced to have sex with the prince three times, an allegation he has strongly denied.

"He knows exactly what he's done and I hope he comes clean about it," she told reporters after a US hearing on August 27 at which other alleged Epstein victims also described how they were abused.

Giuffre previously testified that she was forced to have sex with Andrew in London in 2001 when she was 17. She said she had sex with him again in New York and on Epstein's private island in the Caribbean.

But the allegations were struck from the record by a US judge in 2015, who said the "lurid details" were not needed to decide a civil case concerning Epstein.

She has filed a lawsuit in the US accusing Epstein of using her as a "sex slave".

'Real gentleman'

Buckingham Palace has strenuously denied the claims, calling them "false and without foundation".

In August, it issued a statement after a video emerged purporting to show Andrew at Epstein's New York home in 2010 waving goodbye to a woman leaving the property.

"His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behaviour is abhorrent," the statement said.

Sarah Ferguson, Andrew's ex-wife and the mother of his two daughters, also defended the embattled royal ahead of Saturday's interview broadcast.

"Andrew is a true (and) real gentleman and is stoically steadfast to not only his duty but also his kindness," she wrote on Twitter.

Britain's Prince Andrew provoked a backlash Sunday following an extraordinary TV interview branded "disastrous" by public relations experts in which he denied having sex with an alleged victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epsteinhttps://t.co/rLEUWi1S69 pic.twitter.com/RJKFO45lbH

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 17 november 2019

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Dolce & Gabbana say sorry, in Chinese, after race row

Yahoo – AFP, Elizabeth LAW, 23 November 2018

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana issued a written apology on Weibo after a
video was posted on their company's Instagram feed that some deemed
culturally insensitive to China

The founders of Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana apologised to Chinese customers on Friday as a row over racially offensive posts snowballed, with its products pulled from lucrative Chinese e-commerce platforms.

In an attempt to salvage their reputation in the world's most important luxury market, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana capped a 1 minute 30-second mea culpa by saying "sorry" in Mandarin in a video posted on a Chinese social media platform.

"Our families always taught us to respect different cultures across the world and because of this we want to ask for your forgiveness if we have made mistakes in interpreting yours," said Dolce in Italian.

"We want to say sorry to all Chinese across the world, of which there are many, and we are taking this apology and message very seriously," Gabbana added.

The Chinese-subtitled video -- the company's second apology this week over the row -- was posted on Weibo, the popular Chinese Twitter-like social media platform where they have close to one million followers.

The controversy marks the latest backpedalling by a foreign company for offending Chinese consumers or authorities.

Earlier this year, German automaker Mercedes-Benz apologised for "hurting the feelings" of people in China after its Instagram account quoted Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, seen as a separatist by Beijing. The foreign ministry welcomed the apology.

Under pressure from Beijing, a growing number of international airlines and companies have edited their websites to refer to the self-ruling democratic island of Taiwan as "Taiwan, China" or "Chinese Taipei".

Marriott's website in China was shut down by the authorities for a week earlier this year after a customer questionnaire listed Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries, prompting the hotel chain to apologise and change the wording.

D&G boycott

Dolce & Gabbana had already issued a written apology on Weibo earlier this week after the scandal prompted Chinese celebrities to boycott a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Shanghai, which the company then cancelled.

Protestor Edward Gu targeted the Dolce & Gabbana store in Shanghai 

following the race row

The controversy arose after the brand posted short clips on Instagram showing a Chinese woman eating pizza, spaghetti and a cannoli with chopsticks that some deemed culturally insensitive.

But it escalated after screenshots circulated of an Instagram user's alleged chat with the famously volatile Gabbana, who used five smiling poo emojis to describe China and launched insults at the country and its people.

The company said its account and that of Stefano Gabbana had been hacked and that its legal office was investigating the matter.

Despite the earlier apology, the Italian fashion house's products disappeared from multiple Chinese e-commerce platforms.

A spokeswoman of retail giant Suning.com said they have removed all Dolce & Gabbana products after the incident.

The brands also could not be searched on retail giants Taobao and JD.com. The two companies did not respond to requests for comment.

'Insult' China

A protestor on Thursday targeted the Dolce & Gabbana store in Shanghai, plastering the storefront with the alleged screenshots of Gabbana's conversation.

"Improper comments that insult China from the so-called famous designer of an internationally famous brand have really ruined our mood," said protestor Edward Gu, who claims to work for a modelling and talent agency.

Referring to the cancelled show, he said many models, manufacturers and publicists from around the world worked hard on it but it was now a "wasted effort".

Chinese social media users were unconvinced by the latest apology, with the video garnering over 100,000 comments some three hours after it was posted.

"They're bowing their precious heads to the renminbi (yuan) then," one Weibo user commented on the apology post.

Smirking Shkreli clashes with US congressional panel

Yahoo – AFP, 4 February 2016

Entrepreneur and pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli listens during a 

congressional hearing on February 4, 2016 in Washington (AFP Photo/

Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) - Pharmaceutical "bad boy" Martin Shkreli invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination Thursday in a brief, contentious appearance before a US congressional panel.

Shkreli, called to testify in a House oversight hearing on prescription drug prices, repeatedly declined to explain steep drug price increases he imposed as former chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Shkreli was asked what he would tell sick patients who can no longer afford the drug and whether he thinks he has done anything wrong.

"On the advice of counsel, I invoke the Fifth Amendment and respectfully decline to answer your question," Shkreli told the lawmakers in each case.

Shkreli wore a smirk and looked away from lawmakers much of the time, sparking bipartisan outrage.

"It's not funny," said Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the committee. "People are dying and they are getting sicker."

Representative John Duncan, a Tennessee Republican and a veteran lawmaker first elected in 1988, said in all his years in Congress: "I've never seen an individual behave with such arrogance."

Shkreli, 32, vaulted to notoriety in September 2015 after he raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Daraprim is a decades-old drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, a potentially fatal infection, and it is also used by HIV patients.

In December, Shkreli was arrested and indicted for securities fraud for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme-like conspiracy at two hedge funds and another firm, prior to joining Turing.

He is accused of lying to investors, moved money between investments to cover losses in other vehicles and siphoned off cash for personal expenses. Shkreli resigned as CEO of Turing the day after the indictment.

Shkreli's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, a prominent criminal defense lawyer, told reporters after the appearance that it was a "frustrating morning for us."

"Mr. Shkreli would like nothing more than to answer the committee's questions," Brafman said. However, invoking the Fifth Amendment was "appropriate" given his indictment on the fraud charge.

"I would also tell you Mr. Shkreli did not intend to show any disrespect for any members of the committee, listened intently," he said.

"Some of what you saw was nervous energy by an individual who very much would like to explain what happened, but has agreed to listen to his lawyer," said Brafman, whose high-profile clients have included Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund chief who resigned amid a sexual assault scandal.

Shkreli stayed mum as television cameras followed him from the Capitol Hill hearing, but quickly took to Twitter after that to blast lawmakers.

"Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government," he tweeted.

Martin Shkreli (2nd R), CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, is brought out of 26

Federal Plaza by law enforcement officials after being arrested for securities

fraud on December 17, 2015 in New York City (AFP Photo/Andrew Burton)

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