Prosecutor pushes for bail hike for Harvey Weinstein

NEW YORK - Harvey Weinstein violated his bail conditions by mishandling his electronic ankle monitor, which left his whereabouts unrecorded for hours at a time, a New York prosecutor argued Friday.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi made the claim at a pretrial hearing for Weinstein after he hobbled into court with what his lawyer later described as a back ailment. Illuzi told a judge he had repeatedly violated his bail conditions by leaving home a piece of the monitoring technology that keeps the ankle bracelet activated.

“None of these violations were accidental,” Illuzzi said while arguing that Weinstein’s bail should be raised from $1 million to ?$5 million while he awaits trial next month on rape and assault charges.

Defense attorney Donna Rotunno denied it was anything deliberate, blaming “technical glitches” like dead batteries.

“It has nothing to do with any manipulation of the bracelet,“ Rotunno told reporters after leaving court. She acknowledged that on at least one occasion, he’d forgotten part of the device when he left the house. “The minute he realized he forgot it, he made a phone call.”

Asked about the health of her 67-year-old client, who was walking with a limp, his tie loosened and one shoe untied, the lawyer responded: “He has some back issues that we’re hoping to address this week.”

The disgraced movie mogul has been spotted hobnobbing at New York City nightclubs and getting jeered at a recent actors showcase.

A judge put off any decision about whether Weinstein should face stricter bail conditions over the alleged violations until next week.