Reports: Manafort Headed to 'Worst Place on Earth'

He'll be in solitary confinement at Rikers Island for 'protection,' per Fox
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 4, 2019 10:25 AM CDT
Manafort Headed to Rikers: Reports
Paul Manafort leaves the federal courthouse in Washington on April 4, 2018.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

President Trump's former campaign chairman is reportedly headed for what was once described as "the worst place on Earth." As soon as Thursday, Paul Manafort is to be transferred to New York City's notorious Rikers Island prison and "will be held in solitary confinement for his own protection," reports Fox News, adding the transfer came at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. His office indicted Manafort on 16 state felonies related to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme in March, just as Manafort was sentenced to 7.5 years for tax and bank fraud.

The New York Times has the same story, citing a law enforcement official as saying Manafort is likely to be held in a former prison hospital at the complex, where other high-profile detainees are housed. The outlet adds Manafort's lawyers could instead seek to have him held at a federal jail in New York. Manafort is currently held at the minimum-security FCI Loretto in Pennsylvania. (More Paul Manafort stories.)

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