Harvey Weinstein’s bail was increased from $1 million to $5 million on Wednesday over allegations he violated bail conditions by mishandling his electronic ankle monitor. Judge James Burke rejected prosecution calls to put the disgraced movie mogul in jail over the alleged violation but did warn he would revoke Weinstein's bail and issue a warrant for his arrest if other issues crop up. Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi said at a hearing Friday that Weinstein has repeatedly, purposely left at home a piece of the monitoring technology that keeps the ankle bracelet activated. That has left his whereabouts unrecorded for hours at a time, she said. Weinstein's lawyer, Donna Rotunno, has denied it was anything deliberate, mainly blaming "technical glitches" like dead batteries, reports the AP.
But on Wednesday, Illuzzi told the court that the person monitoring Weinstein does not believe the problems were due to such glitches. While the monitoring now appears to be working, Illuzzi said she thought that was because of the threat of new bail: "I don't think it was the adding of the extra batteries. It was Mr. Weinstein’s panic that the court might change the bail." Weinstein was calm and respectful during the hearing and indicated that the back surgery he will undergo Thursday will help ensure his appearance at his trial on rape and sexual assault charges; it's due to start Jan. 6. For the new bail, Weinstein's defense team chose an option that lets him put up $2 million through a bail bondsman—an option that was available because of recent changes to bail rules in New York. That amount includes the $1 million he had already put up for bail.
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