The warden of the New York jail where Michael Avenatti is locked up said the attorney was placed in solitary confinement “for his own safety.”
Avenatti, 48, has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since Friday on accusations that he violated the terms of his bail.
“Due to Mr. Avenatti’s high profile case, his notoriety, Mr. Avenatti’s placement is for his own safety,” M. Licon-Vitale wrote to New York District Judge Paul Gardephe.
Avenatti’s attorney, Scott Srebnick, expressed concerns Monday that his client was being kept in his cell for 24 hours a day except for attorney visits and that the “current conditions of his confinement” were preventing Avenatti and his legal team from properly preparing for the case.
Srebnick said the legal team had only been allowed contact with Avenatti through a partition that was part glass and had to pass legal documents back and forth with him through officers.
Srebnick requested that Avenatti be moved to general population, where he would be allowed more freedom to confer with his legal counsel.
“There is an officer outside his cell 24 hours a day and two cameras focused on him,” Srebnick wrote in a letter to Gardephe. “The temperature in his cell feels like it is in the mid-40s. He is forced to sleep with three blankets. Not surprisingly, he had been having great difficulty functioning. He has not been permitted to shave.”
The warden said Avenatti would now be allowed to keep his legal materials in his cell, and he has access to a computer in his unit to review materials “at his request.” He would also be allowed to have legal visits with his lawyers without having to communicate through a barrier and have daily social telephone calls.
Avenatti rose to prominence representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her case against President Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen, who is now serving a three-year prison sentence for campaign finance violations and bank and tax fraud.
Avenatti is accused of stealing millions of dollars from clients, including the porn star, and lying about his income to the IRS, creditors, and a bankruptcy court.
