Strauss-Kahn Released from Rikers
Former IMF director is out of jail after finding a temporary flat in New York
.Dominique Strauss-Kahn is out of Rikers Island jail and either on his way to or already ensconced in the temporary apartment that will house him until he can find a permanent rental in New York. Here's a link to the release order signed today. According to Reuters, the former International Monetary Fund managing director was released from city jail "shortly before 4 p.m." It's a rainy day and rush hour, so it's anyone's guess when he'll make it to the temporary flat in lower Manhattan.
Strauss Kahn must stay inside the apartment under surveillance and armed guard, except for "one weekly religious observance, medical appointments, meetings with lawyers and court appearances, according to the release order approved by a judge Friday," reported NBC New York. His next court appearance is an arraignment set for June 6.
But Strauss-Kahn will only be able to stay in the corporate apartment for a few days, until he can find a more permanent residence. He was to move into the Bristol Plaza, on 65th Street, but the co-op board there reportedly filed a last-minute injunction to block him moving in. "“It was a [Bernie] Madoff kind of [media] circus,” his attorney, bill Taylor, told Bloomberg after today's release hearing. “The building made it known they didn’t want them.”
Strauss-Kahn is charged with seven criminal counts in relation to the allegation that he tried to rape a maid at the Sofitel hotel in Midtown Manhattan on May 14. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all of them. In addition, salacious rumors have been flying regarding his behavior. Today, Christopher Dickey reported in the Daily Beast that Strauss-Kahn had tried to pick up the receptionist at the Sofitel before the alleged attack. Yesterday, Kristin Davis, the "Manhattan Madam," grabbed a few headlines when she claimed Strauss-Kahn had hired call girls from her service during his past trips to New York.
Those are all fine and scandalous in their own right, but with real estate as a full-contact sport in Manhattan, the rumors to track now will be where Strauss-Kahn moves next, and what will be his rent. To that end Vanity Fair has been combing Craigslist's sublet advertisements and may have found the perfect situation: "An Upper East Side gentleman is in search of a housemate and friend." Can't wait for Perfect Strangers Part Deux.