Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, must find another place to stay when he leaves his Rikers Island jail cell because the Upper East Side building where his wife had rented an apartment will not accept him, a court official said on Friday.
Instead, Mr. Strauss-Kahn will be staying at a corporate-housing building used by the security company, Stroz Friedberg, which has been hired to guard him while he remains under 24-hour home confinement, according to the official at State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He had been expected to leave on Friday from Rikers, where he has been held after being arrested last Saturday on sexual assault charges.
But by midday, it was clear that the arrangements for the apartment -- arrangements that figured in a judge's decision to grant bail and approve his release -- had fallen apart. Mr. Strauss-Kahn's wife, Anne Sinclair, had rented two apartments in the building, the Bristol, at 210 East 65th Street, according to real estate executives, where some apartments rent for about $14,000 per month.
In the meantime, officials with the city's Department of Correction were working to come up with a plan to take Mr. Strauss-Kahn off of Rikers Island to his ultimate destination and avoid the phalanx of media waiting outside in a caravan of vehicles.
The judge set bail at $1 million on Thursday, saying that Mr. Strauss-Kahn could leave Rikers if he stayed under 24-hour home confinement in the apartment with an armed guard posted outside -- presumably to see that he stayed inside. The judge, Michael J. Obus, also ordered that Mr. Strauss-Kahn would have to wear a monitoring ankle bracelet.
Some residents of the building said they were unhappy at the prospect of having Mr. Strauss-Kahn as a neighbor.
"I think it's an inconvenience for all of us," said one resident, Michele Smith, who spoke outside the Bristol. "I don't want that kind of publicity in my building."
Another resident, Barry Schwartz, echoed the idea that the residents did not want the publicity Mr. Strauss-Kahn would bring. "He's not a convicted felon yet," Mr. Schwartz said, "but he's very high profile, and it's upsetting to tenants to have all of that." He gestured in the direction of the throng of reporters waiting outside the building.
"They just don't want all that," he said of his neighbors. "They just don't want 40,000 reporters. It could be for a movie star for all they know."
Judge Obus had said on Thursday that if there was the "slightest problem with your compliance," he could change the conditions of the bail or even withdraw it. It was not immediately clear what the problem with the apartment would mean for the deal he had approved.
Before the judge gave his decision, prosecutors announced that a grand jury had indicted Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who has been in protective custody on Rikers Island since Monday, on charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel housekeeper at the Sofitel New York.
The charges included several first-degree felony counts, including committing a criminal sex act, attempted rape and sexual abuse; the most serious charges carry 25-year prison terms.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn is due back in court on June 6.
The courtroom fell silent on Thursday as Mr. Strauss-Kahn was brought in at about 2:30 p.m., looking far better than he had in his previous court appearance. He wore a gray suit with a baby blue shirt and was clean-shaven. He gave a tight-lipped grin and nod to his wife and daughter, Camille Strauss-Kahn, who were sitting in the front row.
Ms. Sinclair walked into the courtroom clutching her daughter's hand. She wore a gray dress with a dark blazer.
In a sign, perhaps, of the seriousness with which prosecutors are treating the case, Artie McConnell, the assistant district attorney assigned to it, was accompanied by Daniel R. Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, and Lisa Friel, the chief of the office's sex crimes unit.
Mr. McConnell affirmed the prosecution's objection to bail being set. As he had argued during the Criminal Court arraignment on Monday, he said that the evidence against Mr. Strauss-Kahn was compelling and that he had the means to flee.
"He has the stature and the resources not to be a fugitive on the run," Mr. McConnell said, but to "live a life of ease and comfort in parts of the world that are beyond" the jurisdiction of the court and the United States.
Even though Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he had lunch with a family member, Mr. McConnell said his exit from the hotel was "unusually hasty."
"His exit from the crime scene certainly suggests something had gone on," he said.
The prosecutor added that Mr. Strauss-Kahn had "shown a propensity for impulsive criminal conduct." Mr. Strauss-Kahn gently shook his head in response.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers argued that the proposed bail package was comprehensive enough to allow his release from Rikers. One of his lawyers, William W. Taylor III, noted that the defense had hired a security team that would provide video monitoring, an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements and an armed guard at the entrance and exit of the building.
"There is really nothing more restrictive that can be accomplished along these lines," Mr. Taylor said in court, adding that his client was "an honorable man."
Mr. Taylor also gave a few more details on what happened shortly after prosecutors say the attack occurred. He said his client checked out of the hotel at 12:25 p.m. Saturday, met a relative for lunch at a Midtown restaurant at 12:45 and then caught a taxi to Kennedy International Airport at 2:15.
He called the hotel to ask if he had left his cellphone there, Mr. Taylor said. The hotel staff told him he had left it and he told them he was at the airport, where they could bring it to him. Mr. Strauss-Kahn actually called the hotel a second time, Mr. Taylor said, to advise them that his plane was boarding and urge them to bring his phone quickly.
"In our view, no bail is required to ensure Mr. Strauss-Kahn's appearance," Mr. Taylor said. "He is an honorable man.
"He has only one interest at this time and that is to clear his name."
Mr. Taylor also criticized the district attorney's office, saying it had been unreasonable in bail negotiations. They have been resistant, he said, even though the security team was one that Mr. Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, had recommended.
The prosecution's position "simply has been, 'No, no, no,' " Mr. Taylor said.
"Not that any one of these is inadequate or insufficient," he continued. "It's simply no."
Mr. Strauss-Kahn was represented by Mr. Taylor and Marc Agnifilo, a partner of Benjamin Brafman, who was in Israel for a family matter.
Justice Obus's move came after Melissa Jackson, the chief judge of Manhattan Criminal Court, denied him bail on Monday, agreeing with prosecutors that Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a citizen of France who was thought to be the leading contender to become that country's next president, presented too great a flight risk.
Mr. Brafman wrote via e-mail on Thursday that he was "delighted with the court's decision."
"It was the only fair thing to do," he wrote.
As part of the arrangement for release, the defense hired Stroz Friedberg, a respected investigative consulting firm that focuses primarily on computer forensics and cybercrime investigations, to handle the security measures for Mr. Strauss-Kahn. The firm provided similar monitoring for Bernard L. Madoff.
Justice Obus said he would leave it up to Stroz Friedberg to determine how many people had to stand guard at Mr. Strauss-Kahn's apartment, how many visitors he could have and the limited circumstances under which he could leave the apartment.
The decision on Thursday was a victory for the defense, which made the unusual and risky move of filing a new application on Wednesday, before Mr. Strauss-Kahn knew whether he would be indicted. Typically, if a defendant is held without bail after appearing in Criminal Court, that person's lawyer waits until after an indictment, when all the charges are clear, to ask for new bail.
But it spoke to the urgency with which Mr. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers wanted him released after images circulated of him in handcuffs, looking unshaven, glum and tormented. The French have expressed dismay over those images.
Getting Mr. Strauss-Kahn released will help the defense portray an image of him on their own terms -- as a clean-cut businessman. That image is at odds with the portrait that prosecutors have tried to depict.
Law enforcement officials have said that Mr. Strauss-Kahn attacked the housekeeper when she came in to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel. They have said he came out of the bathroom naked while the woman was inside the room cleaning and restrained her.
"He sexually assaulted her and attempted to forcibly rape her," and when that failed, he forced her to perform oral sex, Mr. McConnell said in court on Monday.
Mr. McConnell said preliminary indications were that forensic evidence was consistent with a detailed account of the attack that the woman gave.
But a person briefed on the case has said that the defense may argue that any sexual encounter was consensual.
Instead, Mr. Strauss-Kahn will be staying at a corporate-housing building used by the security company, Stroz Friedberg, which has been hired to guard him while he remains under 24-hour home confinement, according to the official at State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He had been expected to leave on Friday from Rikers, where he has been held after being arrested last Saturday on sexual assault charges.
In the meantime, officials with the city's Department of Correction were working to come up with a plan to take Mr. Strauss-Kahn off of Rikers Island to his ultimate destination and avoid the phalanx of media waiting outside in a caravan of vehicles.
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Some residents of the building said they were unhappy at the prospect of having Mr. Strauss-Kahn as a neighbor.
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Another resident, Barry Schwartz, echoed the idea that the residents did not want the publicity Mr. Strauss-Kahn would bring. "He's not a convicted felon yet," Mr. Schwartz said, "but he's very high profile, and it's upsetting to tenants to have all of that." He gestured in the direction of the throng of reporters waiting outside the building.
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Judge Obus had said on Thursday that if there was the "slightest problem with your compliance," he could change the conditions of the bail or even withdraw it. It was not immediately clear what the problem with the apartment would mean for the deal he had approved.
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The charges included several first-degree felony counts, including committing a criminal sex act, attempted rape and sexual abuse; the most serious charges carry 25-year prison terms.
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The courtroom fell silent on Thursday as Mr. Strauss-Kahn was brought in at about 2:30 p.m., looking far better than he had in his previous court appearance. He wore a gray suit with a baby blue shirt and was clean-shaven. He gave a tight-lipped grin and nod to his wife and daughter, Camille Strauss-Kahn, who were sitting in the front row.
Ms. Sinclair walked into the courtroom clutching her daughter's hand. She wore a gray dress with a dark blazer.
In a sign, perhaps, of the seriousness with which prosecutors are treating the case, Artie McConnell, the assistant district attorney assigned to it, was accompanied by Daniel R. Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, and Lisa Friel, the chief of the office's sex crimes unit.
Mr. McConnell affirmed the prosecution's objection to bail being set. As he had argued during the Criminal Court arraignment on Monday, he said that the evidence against Mr. Strauss-Kahn was compelling and that he had the means to flee.
"He has the stature and the resources not to be a fugitive on the run," Mr. McConnell said, but to "live a life of ease and comfort in parts of the world that are beyond" the jurisdiction of the court and the United States.
Even though Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he had lunch with a family member, Mr. McConnell said his exit from the hotel was "unusually hasty."
"His exit from the crime scene certainly suggests something had gone on," he said.
The prosecutor added that Mr. Strauss-Kahn had "shown a propensity for impulsive criminal conduct." Mr. Strauss-Kahn gently shook his head in response.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers argued that the proposed bail package was comprehensive enough to allow his release from Rikers. One of his lawyers, William W. Taylor III, noted that the defense had hired a security team that would provide video monitoring, an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements and an armed guard at the entrance and exit of the building.
"There is really nothing more restrictive that can be accomplished along these lines," Mr. Taylor said in court, adding that his client was "an honorable man."
Mr. Taylor also gave a few more details on what happened shortly after prosecutors say the attack occurred. He said his client checked out of the hotel at 12:25 p.m. Saturday, met a relative for lunch at a Midtown restaurant at 12:45 and then caught a taxi to Kennedy International Airport at 2:15.
He called the hotel to ask if he had left his cellphone there, Mr. Taylor said. The hotel staff told him he had left it and he told them he was at the airport, where they could bring it to him. Mr. Strauss-Kahn actually called the hotel a second time, Mr. Taylor said, to advise them that his plane was boarding and urge them to bring his phone quickly.
"In our view, no bail is required to ensure Mr. Strauss-Kahn's appearance," Mr. Taylor said. "He is an honorable man.
"He has only one interest at this time and that is to clear his name."
Mr. Taylor also criticized the district attorney's office, saying it had been unreasonable in bail negotiations. They have been resistant, he said, even though the security team was one that Mr. Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, had recommended.
The prosecution's position "simply has been, 'No, no, no,' " Mr. Taylor said.
"Not that any one of these is inadequate or insufficient," he continued. "It's simply no."
Mr. Strauss-Kahn was represented by Mr. Taylor and Marc Agnifilo, a partner of Benjamin Brafman, who was in Israel for a family matter.
Justice Obus's move came after Melissa Jackson, the chief judge of Manhattan Criminal Court, denied him bail on Monday, agreeing with prosecutors that Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a citizen of France who was thought to be the leading contender to become that country's next president, presented too great a flight risk.
Mr. Brafman wrote via e-mail on Thursday that he was "delighted with the court's decision."
"It was the only fair thing to do," he wrote.
As part of the arrangement for release, the defense hired Stroz Friedberg, a respected investigative consulting firm that focuses primarily on computer forensics and cybercrime investigations, to handle the security measures for Mr. Strauss-Kahn. The firm provided similar monitoring for Bernard L. Madoff.
Justice Obus said he would leave it up to Stroz Friedberg to determine how many people had to stand guard at Mr. Strauss-Kahn's apartment, how many visitors he could have and the limited circumstances under which he could leave the apartment.
The decision on Thursday was a victory for the defense, which made the unusual and risky move of filing a new application on Wednesday, before Mr. Strauss-Kahn knew whether he would be indicted. Typically, if a defendant is held without bail after appearing in Criminal Court, that person's lawyer waits until after an indictment, when all the charges are clear, to ask for new bail.
But it spoke to the urgency with which Mr. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers wanted him released after images circulated of him in handcuffs, looking unshaven, glum and tormented. The French have expressed dismay over those images.
Getting Mr. Strauss-Kahn released will help the defense portray an image of him on their own terms -- as a clean-cut businessman. That image is at odds with the portrait that prosecutors have tried to depict.
Law enforcement officials have said that Mr. Strauss-Kahn attacked the housekeeper when she came in to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel. They have said he came out of the bathroom naked while the woman was inside the room cleaning and restrained her.
"He sexually assaulted her and attempted to forcibly rape her," and when that failed, he forced her to perform oral sex, Mr. McConnell said in court on Monday.
Mr. McConnell said preliminary indications were that forensic evidence was consistent with a detailed account of the attack that the woman gave.
But a person briefed on the case has said that the defense may argue that any sexual encounter was consensual.
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