Dominique Strauss-Kahn moved to ‘unspecified location’ after NY flat failed

Former IMF chief released from jail but unable to move into $14,000-a-month flat as building’s residents objected Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released from jail and sent to an unspecified temporary home in Lower Manhattan where he will be detained under armed guard. An initial location for Strauss-Kahn to be detained had fallen through as although he may have been granted bail he was finding it difficult to find a new home in New York. The former head of the International Monetary Fund was hoping to move into a $14,000 (£8,600) a month apartment in the luxurious Bristol Plaza building in the upper east side of Manhattan after a judge bailed him on Thursday while he fights charges of attempted rape of a hotel chambermaid. Strauss-Kahn’s $1m bail stipulates that he must be kept under house arrest, wear an electronic tag to monitor his movements and hire a $200,000-a-month gun-toting security team authorised to use force if he should attempt to flee. “I expect you will be here when we need you,” Judge Michael Obus said on granting bail. “If there is the slightest problem, we can withdraw conditions.” Strauss-Kahn’s wife, Anne Sinclair, a former journalist, had hired the apartment. But news of this abode attracted a media scrum outside the building and objections from residents. Police had to put up barricades to hold back the TV crews and cameramen. Speaking anonymously, one resident said the media commotion outside was the first news he had heard of Strauss-Kahn’s arrival. “It’s outrageous. You think someone would have told us. I am going to object to this,” he said. Strauss-Kahn, 62, has been in jail since he was seized on an Air France plane at John F Kennedy airport last Sunday just moments before takeoff. Other locals and workers near the Bristol were more circumspect about the prospect of a new neighbour. Oxanna Fitzsimmons, a caretaker at the building, said she would have no problem cleaning Strauss-Kahn’s room. “I am not afraid. Is he crazy? He’s not crazy, he’s a normal person,” she said, adding that she did not believe he was guilty. “A man like that with a housekeeper? It’s unbelievable.” New York University student Alex Salamunouvich said: “I’m kind of indifferent to it. We have film crews here all the time, it’s not such a big deal. There are way more scary things to be concerned about in this city than that guy.” She said the work on the second avenue subway was far more disruptive. The Bristol is in the same street and just a few blocks east of the apartment where convicted financier Bernard Madoff was held under house arrest. “There must be something about this street,” said Ron Anta, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 23 years. “This is the same-sized crowd [of media] that Madoff got but I don’t think they’ll stay here for as long. I don’t think people around here really notice this kind of stuff. We are used to it. This is New York.” Strauss-Kahn will formally answer charges on 6 June. The 32-year-old hotel maid who has accused the former IMF chief of attempted rape is in hiding. She appeared before a grand jury this week and told police she entered his hotel room to clean it, thinking it was empty. He then allegedly jumped from a bathroom naked and attacked her. He denies all charges. Dominique Strauss-Kahn New York United States Renting property Property France Europe Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.