Mossimo Giannulli’s request to finish his prison sentence at home has led to an interesting reveal — Giannulli had COVID-19 before he went to prison.
What’s going on?
Giannulli asked to complete his five-month sentence for the college admissions scandal at home because he is concerned about getting COVID-19, CNN reports.
His team said in court documents in mid-January that his time in solitary confinement has taken a toll on him, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
- “The toll on Mr. Giannulli’s mental, physical and emotional well-being has been significant,” the attorneys wrote, according to CNN.
- “Mr. Giannulli spent almost 40% of his total sentence confined in solitary quarantine, despite testing negative for COVID-19 at least 10 times and despite his counsel’s multiple requests that (the Bureau of Prisons) release him from quarantine,” his lawyers said, according to People magazine.
Did Giannulli already have COVID-19?
The Boson Herald reports that U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling in Boston issued a response to Giannulli’s request, saying the fashion designer’s time in prison has been “more onerous” and not any different than others behind bars.
And, Lelling reportedly wrote, “because Giannulli already had COVID-19 before reporting to prison, his risk of re-infection or serious disease is low.”
More evidence
Giannulli was recently released from solitary confinement and sent to a minimum-security area, according to Us Weekly magazine. Giannulli spent some time in quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A federal filing explained the decision, saying that Giannulli showed COVID-19 symptoms that got him moved to isolation.
- “He was exposed to other inmates with COVID-19 and … he complained of symptoms consistent with the virus,” federal prosecutors explained, according to Us Weekly. “During this additional quarantine, Giannulli reported suffering a headache and the loss of his sense of smell, both symptoms of COVID-19. He was immediately moved to the isolation unit, where he stayed for 14 days and received additional COVID tests. There, he had access to books, mail, and a television and could communicate with other inmates in isolation through their cells.”
The federal prosecutors are appealing Giannulli’s “compassionate release” request, per The Boson Herald.