'Creepy Porn Lawyer' was stuck in 'rat-infested' Manhattan jail cell and went nearly a week without a shower, letter to court says

NEW YORK - Michael Avenatti was stuck in a "rat-infested" jail cell for a 10-day stretch during a recent lockdown at a federal detention center and was able to shower only twice in about two weeks, his attorney said in a letter to a judge Wednesday.

The details of Avenatti's recent experience at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan were discussed in a letter sent by his attorney Scott Srebnick to U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe seeking a postponement to a probation background interview Avenatti is supposed to complete.

The lockdown in recent weeks was due to a report of a firearm in the federal lockup that was being investigated. As a result, inmates were put under stricter conditions than usual at the troubled facility where notorious accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in August.

"The MCC lockdown led to even more cramped and unsanitary conditions at the jail," Srebnick wrote.

Avenatti's mandatory presentencing probation interview was scheduled for Thursday and had a deadline for completion by March 17 following his conviction last month in a Nike company blackmail case. He's set to be sentenced in June.

Avenatti was convicted on Feb. 14 of transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort, attempted extortion, and honest services wire fraud for demanding as much as $25 million from the sports apparel giant while threatening to expose an alleged corporate scandal.

His bail was revoked and Avenatti was at MCC before the start of the trial because he was found to have committed a bail violation in his California case. Avenatti still stands charged in a separate case with defrauding clients in New York, including adult-film star Stormy Daniels when she faced off publicly against President Donald Trump over an alleged hush-money payment during his 2016 campaign.

Daniels said she was paid off to keep a sexual encounter with Trump secret, while the president denied any encounter. Avenatti rose to national prominence in his representation of Daniels but had a quick downfall involving multiple criminal cases.

Srebnick said he could not bring paperwork into MCC when he last went to speak to Avenatti and described deplorable conditions, worsened by the high alert routines.

"Inmates (including Mr. Avenatti) were permitted to shower only twice in 12 days," Srebnick said. "Many inmates lacked soap or hot water to wash their hands."

Avenatti's cell was "infested with rats" and the facility "reeks of urine."

Srebnick sought the delay apparently because he was not able to consult with Avenatti due to the issues at the jail facility. He said coronavirus concerns could also postpone access, but did not cite any specific restrictions at MCC attributed to attempts to prevent covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Avenatti's trial for the client rip-off case is set to begin in the Southern District of New York on April 13.

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