Rudy Giuliani ordered to turn over NYC apartment, 26 watches to Georgia election workers

Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside federal court in Washington, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP/File)
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Updated 23 October 2024
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Rudy Giuliani ordered to turn over NYC apartment, 26 watches to Georgia election workers

  • The property Giuliani must relinquish is expected to fetch several million dollars
  • Giuliani had asked the judge to bar Freeman and Moss from selling any of his assets

Rudy Giuliani must turn over sports memorabilia and other prized possessions to two Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him, including his New York City apartment, more than two dozen luxury watches and a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a judge ruled Tuesday.
But US District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan also said Giuliani does not have to give the election workers three New York Yankees World Series rings or his Florida condominium — for now — noting those assets are tied up in other litigation.
The property Giuliani must relinquish is expected to fetch several million dollars for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. They won the $148 million judgment over Giuliani’s false ballot fraud claims against them related to the 2020 presidential election. They said Giuliani pushed Donald Trump’s lies about the election being stolen, which led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
Under Tuesday’s order, Giuliani must turn over within seven days his Manhattan apartment, estimated at more than $5 million, as well his interest in about $2 million that he says Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign owes him for his services.
Also on the list of assets that must be given to Freeman and Moss are a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 previous owned by Bacall, a shirt and picture signed, respectively, by Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio and Reggie Jackson, a signed Yankee Stadium picture, a diamond ring, costume jewelry and 26 watches, including a Rolex, five Shinolas, two Bulovas and a Tiffany & Co.
In court documents filed earlier this year, Giuliani estimated the worth of the Mercedes at about $25,000, and the watches, World Series rings and costume jewelry at about $30,000. He said the value of his sports memorabilia was unknown.
One of those watches was given to Giuliani by his grandfather and he asked that he be allowed to keep it because of its sentimental value. But Liman rejected the request, saying Giuliani could have had it exempted if he proved it was worth less than $1,000 but he did not do so. The judge added, “However painful the circumstances, a party cannot claim that every family heirloom should be exempt.”
Liman wrote that Giuliani’s surrendering of the assets to Freeman and Moss would “ensure that the liquidation of the transferred assets is accomplished quickly and consistently by the Plaintiffs’ chosen counsel, maximizing the sale value of the unique and intangible items and therefore increasing the likelihood of satisfaction of the Plaintiffs’ judgment.”
Lawyers for Giuliani did not immediately return email messages on Tuesday.
To date, Giuliani has not paid Freeman and Moss anything.
“We are proud that our clients will finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions,” Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss, said in a statement. “This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation.”
Giuliani had asked the judge to bar Freeman and Moss from selling any of his assets until after his appeal of the $148 million judgment is completed. Liman also turned down that request, saying Giuliani could have asked the federal court in Washington, D.C., where Freeman and Moss won their defamation case, to stay any asset sales pending his appeal, but did not.
“The Court also does not doubt that certain of the items may have sentimental value to Defendant,” the judge wrote. “But that does not entitle Defendant to continued enjoyment of the assets to the detriment of the Plaintiffs to whom he owes approximately $150 million. It is, after all, the underlying policy of these New York statutes that ‘no man should be permitted to live at the same time in luxury and in debt.’”
As for the World Series rings, Giuliani’s son, Andrew, filed court documents earlier this month saying he actually is the rightful owner. He said his father gave him four rings — one for each of the Yankees’ championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 — as gifts in 2018. Rudy Giuliani received the rings during his tenure as mayor of New York City. The younger Giuliani’s claim is pending in federal court in Manhattan.
Freeman and Moss also asked Liman to order Rudy Giuliani to turn over his condo in Palm Beach, Florida, estimated to be worth more than $3 million. But that property is tied up in other litigation, with Giuliani claiming it should be exempt because it is his primary residence. Freeman and Moss have a lien on the Florida property.
Liman said he would take up the Florida condo at a hearing set for Oct. 28, and he barred Rudy Giuliani from selling the property or taking any action that would diminish its value in the meantime.
After the $148 million verdict, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy, which froze attempts by Freeman and Moss to collect the award. But a judge in July threw out the case citing repeated “uncooperative conduct,” including a failure to comply with court orders and disclose sources of income.


Family of Palestine Action hunger-strike detainee warn she could die 

Updated 35 min 58 sec ago
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Family of Palestine Action hunger-strike detainee warn she could die 

  • Teuta Hoxha, among 8 people held on remand for over a year, has not eaten in 43 days
  • Campaigners slam treatment of pro-Palestine prisoners on hunger strike 

LONDON: A Palestine Action prisoner in the UK could die if the government does not step in over her hunger strike, her family have warned, amid claims that authorities have been “deliberately negligent” in the treatment of other detained hunger strikers.

Teuta Hoxha, 29, is on day 43 of her strike, having been held on remand in prison for 13 months over charges relating to a break-in at an Israel-linked arms manufacturing facility in August 2024. 

She is one of eight people on hunger strike who were detained for their part in the incident at the Elbit Systems UK site.

Her sister Rahma said she can no longer stand to pray, and suffers from headaches and mobility issues. 

“I know that she’s already instructed the doctors on what to do if she collapses and she’s instructed them on what to do if she passes away,” Rahma, 17, told Sky News.

“She’s only 29 — she’s not even 30 yet and nobody should be thinking about that,” Rahma added. “She’s been on remand for over a year, her trial’s not until April next year and bail keeps getting denied.”

The eight hunger strikers charged over the Elbit Systems break-in, who deny all charges against them, are demanding an end to the operation of weapons factories in the UK that supply Israel.

They are also calling for Palestine Action, which is banned in the UK, to be de-proscribed, and for their immediate bail.

They are not the only members of Palestine Action in prison carrying out hunger strikes. Amu Gib, imprisoned over a break-in at a Royal Air Force base earlier this year, was taken to hospital last week, having not eaten in 50 days. 

Gib was initially denied access to a wheelchair after losing mobility, and campaigners said it was “completely unacceptable” that this had led to a missed doctor’s appointment, adding that Gib was also denied access to the vitamin thiamine.

Campaign group Prisoners for Palestine said: “At this trajectory, the hunger strikers will die unless there is urgent intervention by the government.

“It is completely unacceptable and deliberately negligent to pretend the hunger strike is not happening, or to dismiss the prisoners’ demands.

“They are in the custody of the state, and any harm that comes to them is a deliberate outcome of the government’s negligence and the politicisation of their detention.”

A relative of Gib told The Independent: “We wouldn’t know if Amu is in a coma or had a heart attack. I’m the next of kin and it’s on Amu’s medical record that I am to be contacted in the event of their hospitalisation.

“But it’s been complete agonising silence for 57 hours. I’m furious and outraged that the prison was withholding thiamine from the hunger strikers, without which they are at high risk of brain damage.”

The treatment of the hunger strikers has drawn high-profile criticism, with Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician and lecturer at University College London, telling The Independent that they “are dying” and would require specialist medical help.

Around 900 medical professionals in the UK have written to government ministers David Lammy and Wes Streeting urging them to facilitate medical treatment for the strikers.

Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the governing Labour Party, posted on Instagram that he had visited Gib in prison.

Seven hunger strikers have so far been hospitalized since Nov. 2, when the first prisoners began to refuse food.

Jon Cink and Umar Khalid both ended their strikes for medical reasons, having been hospitalized, while Kamran Ahmed told the Sunday Times last week that dying for his cause would be “worthwhile.”

He added: “Every day I’m scared that potentially I might die. I’ve been getting chest pains regularly … There have been times where I felt like I’m getting tasered — my body’s vibrating or shaking. I’ll basically lose control of my feelings.

“I’ve been scared since the seventh day when my blood sugars dropped. The nurse said: ‘I’m scared you’re not going to wake up (when you go to sleep). Please eat something.’

“But I’m looking at the bigger picture of perhaps we can relieve oppression abroad and relieve the situations for my co-defendants … Yes, I’m scared of passing away. Yes, this may have lifelong implications. But I look at the risk versus reward. I see it as worthwhile.”

Under UK law, time limits are set out for those in custody awaiting trial to prevent excessive periods in pre-trial detention.

But UK Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said in relation to the Palestine Action detainees: “These prisoners are charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage.

“Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.

“Ministers will not meet with them — we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.

“It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.”

Rahma says her sister calls her from prison every day, despite her predicament, to help with her studies.

“Our mother passed away when I was really young. Teuta took care of me and my siblings and made sure to read us bedtime stories.

“She’s always there for me and even from prison, she’s helping me do my homework and revise for exams.”

Rahma added: “My sister is a caring and loving person It feels like the state has taken a piece of me.”

She continued: “The only form of resistance she has is her body and that’s what she is using against the state.”