London - Harvey Weinstein promised an Israeli intelligence agency hundreds of thousands of dollars if they kept sordid allegations against him out of the Press, his rape trial heard.
Dubbed the ‘private Mossad’, corporate espionage agency Black Cube was employed by the disgraced movie mogul to find out who was making allegations against him, the New York jury was told.
The aim was to silence the likes of The New York Times and The New Yorker, who were working on Weinstein exposés, assistant district attorney Joan Illuzi said.
The two sides signed a contract with a ‘success fee’ of £230,000 ($300,000) to ‘prevent articles being published’.
Weinstein, 67, is on trial accused of the rape and sexual abuse of an actress and former TV assistant.
Having heard from a string of women who say they were attacked by Weinstein, the case yesterday turned towards the alleged efforts to cover his tracks. Mrs Illuzi said Black Cube, operated by ex-Israeli spies, was hired by Weinstein’s lawyer David Boies, who signed two contracts in 2017 as rumours of his conduct began to swirl.
The jury were shown an email sent by Weinstein in August 2017 to the director of Black Cube in which he said the ‘red flags are the ones of interest’.
Among a list of dozens of people was accuser Annabella Sciorra, whose name was in red. Miss Sciorra, an actress who starred in mob drama The Sopranos, alleges Weinstein, who won a Best Picture Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, pinned her to a bed and raped her in the mid-1990s.
During tearful testimony last week she said she felt powerless against the once-revered movie heavyweight as he attacked her at her home.
The court also heard in her evidence that Weinstein had tried to hire a different private investigation company and sent it the same list, including her name.
Dev Sen, a corporate law partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, a powerhouse New York law company that used to represent Weinstein, confirmed the firm signed the contract with Black Cube on July 11, 2017.
Mr Sen said the contract was signed at the ‘instruction of Mr Weinstein’.
Prosecutors have called several accusers as witnesses under a state law that allows testimony about so-called prior bad acts, enabling the jury to explore themes such as motive, opportunity, intent and a common scheme or plan. Weinstein is charged with forcibly performing a sex act on production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, and raping another aspiring actress, Jessica Mann, multiple times in 2013. Miss Mann is expected to give evidence to the jury today.
Weinstein has insisted that any sexual encounters were consensual and denies all the charges. He could be jailed for life if convicted.
The trial continues.