Epstein Denied Bail; Financier Will Remain In Tiny Cell Until Hearing
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 07/18/2019
Jeffrey Epstein was denied bail on Thursday despite his legal team’s best efforts to convince SDNY Judge Richard M. Berman that he wasn’t a flight risk.
Judge Berman cites evidence of intimidation and evidence of Epstein missing sex-offender check-ins.
Also cites "sexually explicit photos" and "expired Austrian passport" with Epstein's photo, not his name, and a Saudi residence.
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) July 18, 2019
Berman:
"I find that the government has established danger to others and to the community by clear and convincing evidence," he says, also finding risk of flight by "preponderance of the evidence."
"I doubt that any bail package can overcome danger to the community."
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 18, 2019
Epstein’s attorneys offered a series of concessions and guarantees, such as ‘deregistering’ his vehicles and aircraft, wearing a GPS monitoring device, and installing surveillance cameras. Prosecutors, meanwhile, successfully argued that Epstein’s vast wealth and international connections made him a prime candidate to flee the country.
In arguing to keep Mr. Epstein detained, the government cited the fact that during a search of Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan mansion after his arrest, law enforcement agents found a locked safe containing an Austrian passport, more than $70,000 in cash and 48 loose diamonds. The passport, which is now expired, showed a photograph of Mr. Epstein but contains a different name and lists his residence as Saudi Arabia, prosecutors said.
Stamps in the passport showed it was used to enter France, Spain, the U.K. and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, according to the government. Prosecutors said the passport shows Mr. Epstein knows how to obtain false travel documents and assume foreign identities. -Bloomberg
The 66-year-old registered sex offender will remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan until his trial on charges of sex-trafficking minors, where he has been held since his July 6 arrest.
