Scot accused of running New York brothel loses $1m bail appeal

FEARS that a mother-of-four from Scotland accused of masterminding a Manhattan prostitution ring would use a network of wealthy friends to help her flee the United States were “ludicrous”, her lawyer said yesterday after having an application for reduced bail denied.

Anna Gristina, 44, originally from Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, was told in court that she must put up a sum of $1 million (£630,000) in cash or a $2m (£1.2m) insurance bond to be released from New York’s Rikers Island jail ahead of trial.

But judge Juan Merchan indicated that he was minded to accept the New York apartment of Gristina’s former lawyer against the bail sum, now that he had excused himself from the case.

Her new lawyer, Gary Greenwald, said that the flat – worth around $2.5m (£1.6m) – would be put up as a property bond “as soon as possible” and that he hoped to have his client released as early as next week.

Gristina pleaded not guilty to one charge of promoting prostitution at a previous hearing,

It is claimed she set up a high-end call girl service operating out of an apartment in New York’s Upper East Side. Over a period of 15 years, she allegedly arranged for clients to meet prostitutes, who charged up to $1,500 (£960) for their services.

She amassed a fortune of $15m (£9.6m), prosecutors have argued. That money, combined with an address book which lists the names of powerful and wealthy individuals, makes her a “substantial” flight risk.

Her lawyer argued neither Gristina nor her family could afford the sum demanded for her release