http://bedford.patch.com/articles/pound-ridge-man-remains-in-federal-custody-pending-500000-bail

Pound Ridge Man Remains in Federal Custody Pending $500,000 Bail

Joseph Yannai, a Pound Ridge man accused of luring young foreign women to his home and sexually abusing them, remains at a federal detention center Friday. A federal judge had agreed to release Yannai on house arrest Wednesday if he posted a $500,000 bail

By Rasheed Oluwa 08/13/2010 4:00pm

A Pound Ridge man accused of luring young foreign women to his home and sexually abusing them remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Federal Magistrate James Orenstein agreed to release Joseph Yannai, 66, of Pound Ridge, on a $500,000 bail Wednesday during a hearing at the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said Yannai is still awaiting a suretor, or bail bondsman, to come in and vouch for him.

Yannai, a noted cooking author who wrote the "The International Who's Who of Chefs: 2004-2005," was arrested by federal officials on Aug. 3 after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges related to forced labor, violations of immigration laws, and violations of the Mann Act, a federal law which prohibits human trafficking and white slavery.

[highlight]Yannai allegedly contacted women across the globe by using websites designed to match au pairs with families in the United States.[/highlight] Yannai allegedly pretended to be a woman under his employ and convinced other women to travel here and work as his personal assistant. He allegedly told the women to lie to immigration officials by saying that they were only visiting for a short period of time.

The women allegedly came under the pretense that they were only required to prepare meals for Yannai and his wife and assist Yannai in his business affairs. Officials said Yannai generally kept one to two women at his home at a time.

[highlight]After a small period of time went by, Yannai would allegedly grope the women, coerce them into sexual activity, make them work without bras, force them to stay in the bathroom with him as he washed and force them to lay in bed with him as he napped. Authorities believe the activities took place place from 2003 to 2009.[/highlight]

Yannai has pleaded not guilty to the federal counts.

Yannai admitted in court Wednesday that he had attempted suicide by swallowing sleeping pills earlier this month when federal officials came to arrest him. This led to him being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital prior to his arraignment last week.

In addition to the federal charges, Yannai faces charges locally after he was arrested in May 2009 on felony counts of sexual abuse and labor trafficking by Pound Ridge police. Local police were alerted about Yannai by a 21 year-old Hungarian woman who escaped his home in March 2009.

Yannai had been released on a $100,000 bail posted by his wife in that arrest and that case is currently being handled in Westchester County Court.

Federal prosecutors had argued against releasing Yannai on bail because his home, which is being used to cover the bail, is under the risk of being forfeited if Yannai is convicted. [highlight]Yannai, who has also resided in Israel in the past,[/highlight] also has the incentive and the means to flee, according to prosecutors.

Federal authorities also accused Yannai of trying to victimize another woman who worked at a business near his home just several months after his first arrest in 2009.

"The defendant's conduct after his release 0n bail in the state case is disturbing and reflects the defendant's lack of respect and concern for law enforcement and judicial authority," prosecutors wrote in a letter that was submitted to court earlier this month.

Yannai faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if he his convicted of the federal counts. The state criminal charges filed against Yannai only carry a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

It is unclear when Yannai's next appearance is scheduled for in federal court. His next appearance in Westchester County Court is scheduled for Tuesday.