TV producer Eric Weinberg has $5-million bail revoked after judge labels him danger to society.
Weinberg, along with two other members of the cult-like group known as the Family, is accused of a scheme to kidnap people and convert them to Judaism, the LA Times reported.
The group allegedly sought to use drugs, sex and money to attract members and fund the “ritual” of the kidnapping, according to the report.
Members of the organisation are said to have kidnapped and threatened Jewish people in the past, according to media reports.
On Tuesday, Weinberg appeared before Judge Charles Scoville in Manhattan Criminal Court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges he attempted to hire a contract killer to kill Robert Dziekanski, who is accused of killing 6-year-old Daniel Pearl.
The judge revoked the $5m bail on Wednesday for Weinberg following his Thursday morning sentencing.
Weinberg, 48, and the other former Family members, 54-year-old Michael Cernovich, 54-year-old Paul Cimosci and 20-year-old Frank Sheperd, were charged with a total of 30 counts, including conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, robbery and murder.
Cimosci was also sentenced to seven years in prison, while Sheperd was sentenced to seven years.
Each of the defendants will remain in jail until their release dates.
Weinberg was also charged, along with Cernovich, with the attempted murder of Dziekanski. Police found the then 26-year-old Israeli man’s body behind his Hollywood home, shot in the head.
After being convicted, Weinberg has not said anything of substance on his behalf.
In 2008, Weinberg was convicted of attempting to bribe a key witness in a murder case and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is currently free with an out-of-state visitor’s pass.
But he was charged with attempting to hire a contract killer for the Dziekanski murder.
Michael Cernovich, 54, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison in the Pearl case.
