On Tuesday, International Business Times reported that Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, is preparing for a stay at New York's infamous Rikers Island jail as his sentencing approaches.
"Weisselberg is expected to be sentenced to five months behind bars, after paying nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest and testifying at the criminal trial of the Trump Organization, which was convicted on all counts it faced," reported Karen Freifeld. "The sentence will be imposed by Justice Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial in a New York state court in Manhattan. Weisselberg would likely serve 100 days with time off for good behavior."
"Those days will probably not be easy for Weisselberg, 75, at a jail known for violence, drugs and corruption. Nineteen inmates there died last year," said the report. "'You're going into a byzantine black hole,' said Craig Rothfeld, a prison consultant helping Weisselberg prepare for lockup."
"Many convicts in New York City facing one year or less behind bars head to Rikers Island, which lies between the New York City boroughs of Queens and the Bronx and houses more than 5,900 inmates," said the report. "After being sentenced, Weisselberg will likely be driven to Rikers and trade his street clothes for a uniform and sneakers with velcro straps. Rothfeld said he hopes Weisselberg will be segregated from the general population, and not placed in a dorm with inmates who may not know him but will know his boss, who is seeking the presidency in 2024."
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to tax fraud and testified against the Trump Organization as part of a larger case.
Prosecutors argued former President Donald Trump was aware of Weisselberg's fraud from the start. Weisselberg testified to many previously unknown things, including that Trump's children gave him a raise when they found out he was cooking the books and that he was never really fired from his role despite the Trump Organization claiming he was; however, he also testified Trump himself wasn't aware of his tax scheme.
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