Nir Meir Could Leave Rikers

10 minutes read

Nir Meir could soon be freed once again from Rikers as the mystery of his most recent incarceration begins to unravel.

Following an order to return to jail, Manhattan Judge Ann Thompson brought back Meir’s bond to $1 million on June 9.

The former HFZ executive was detained on Rikers for over a year after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office accused Meir of being the mastermind of a $86 million fraud scheme in which he allegedly moved money from accounts designated for HFZ’s real estate projects, including the twisting Manhattan condo development The XI.

Meir has pleaded not guilty, but was not able to post bail.

The disgraced developer was finally released from Rikers earlier this year after his previous attorney, Oliver Storch, argued to reduce Meir’s bond to $1 million. Meir was released to an apartment in New York City with two ankle monitors.

Three weeks later, however, the judge ordered him right back to Rikers.

The exact reasons for his Rikers return are unclear. Judge Thompson has not publicly explained how Meir violated the terms of his release. She closed the courtroom during one court session, sealed a transcript at another and, during one court appearance, Meir’s counsel and prosecutors argued at the judge’s bench, making the conversation inaudible to the public.

But at a hearing this week, the judge’s comments suggest Meir’s return to jail related to an alert on one of Meir’s ankle monitors.

The bondsman testified at the court appearance that Meir walked 1,500 square feet from his house arrest location, well outside his ordered confinement of 700 square feet. Meir also readjusted the strap on the ankle monitor while outside. The alert, however, was not a major one, according to Meir’s bail bondsman, Ira Judelson.

“Nothing out of control, nothing where he was an hour or two hours away where we couldn’t see where he was,” Judelson testified.

The judge returned Meir’s insurance bond to $1 million with 72-hour surety. His cash bail remains at $5 million, and his partially secured bond is held at $7.5 million.

“I point out that he has to step outside to take out his garbage, there is no garbage inside

his building. He also incurs laundry, there is a laundromat on the block, barber — are those things acceptable?” said Meir’s attorney Matthew Galluzzo.

Thompson told Galluzzo to “figure something out.”

“To be clear here, please, don’t email me about ‘Oh, he has to go here or he has a sick mother and he has to go.’ I am not interested,” said Thompson.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Beard said he had outstanding questions about who would pay for Meir’s bail.

“We haven’t seen who is actually putting it all up this time, whether we will oppose it or not. I mean, obviously, there is issues regarding, you know, who is posting the bail,” said Beard.

Even if Meir posts bail and is released from prison, it could be temporary. He faces multiple charges, including grand larceny and tax fraud for defrauding the city out of $15 million in taxes. Other defendants in the sprawling alleged fraud scheme have already pleaded guilty, including HFZ’s former head of construction, Anthony Marrone.

Judge Thompson wanted to make sure Meir and his attorney were aware of the consequences were he found guilty through a trial.

“I have expressed what the potential exposure is to Mr. Meir if he is found guilty after trial,

right. There is no question about that, that he understands that, right?” said Thompson.

Meir and Galluzo both said they understood.

“I am asking you to continue to have conversations concerning potential dispositions for this plea, for these cases. Given that there are a lot of cases, you are facing 7 to 21 [years] on each of these cases,” said Thompson.

The judge made clear there would be consequences if Meir violated any conditions of his bail.

“Also, given the fact that I have put you in custody on numerous occasions, let you out, put you back in… there is no question in your mind that I will happily put you back in if you violate any of my conditions, right?” Thompson said.

Meir responded, “Absolutely, your Honor.”