Bail Reduction Denied by Judge in Brothel Case

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

Lawyers for a woman who has been accused of operating a brothel for wealthy clients on the Upper East Side of New York claim that her bail is abusive and excessive. The judges presiding over the case seem to disagree with the lawyers though as one refused to overturn the bail set by the other in the case.

“He gave his reasons in great detail,” Judge Charles Solomon said at a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court. His statement was in reference to Judge Juan Merchan’s ruling earlier in the case. “In my judgment, that decision is not an abuse of discretion.”

  

What

Where

Search Jobs

The woman in question is 44-year-old Anna Gristina, who is being held at Rikers Island since she was not able to fulfill her bail commitments, which were issued on the 15 of March at $1 million cash or $2 million bond. It took close to five hours for Gristina to be transported from the jail to the court, which is located in downtown Manhattan, during which no one involved at the court knew where she was. One of the lawyers for Gristina, Gary Greenwald, said that the decision will be appealed at the appellate division of the state’s courts and thinks he will hear a ruling in roughly one month.

“I thought the decision was absolutely wrong,” Greenwald said. “The argument about her being a flight risk is just absurd.”

One of the arguments from Greenwald is that a co-defendant in the case with Gristina was released on $100,000 bail. The co-defendant is that of Jaynie Baker. Charles Linehan, the Assistant District Attorney, said that the bail was necessary because Gristina is considered a ‘major flight risk.’

Gristina is Scottish and is a British subject living with her family, which includes a 9-year-old son, in Monroe, New York. Gristina was charged with one count of promoting prostitution. Greenwald is planning on submitting a motion to the office of the district attorney in order to have documents released, including records of wiretapping.