Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Fresh sleaze allegations
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF accused of attempted rape, was reported on Sunday to have made suggestive comments to an airline stewardesses just minutes before he was detained onboard an Air France jet.
People take photos of the building at 71 Broadway in New York Photo: AP
Fresh allegations about the behaviour of Mr Strauss-Kahn emerged as the apartment building where he is staying on bail became an unlikely tourist attraction.
Crowds of Asian and European holidaymakers gathered on Sunday outside the building on New York's Broadway while guides on passing tour buses told customers: "On your right is the building where the French guy accused of attempted rape is staying."
Two more employees at the Sofitel hotel, where Mr Strauss-Kahn allegedly attacked a maid on May 14, are thought to have told investigators he made advances to them after checking in.
A French newspaper claimed that Mr Strauss-Kahn made a complimentary remark about the bottom of a stewardess on the Air France jet from which he was removed by police at JFK airport minutes before take-off for Paris.
He faced further allegations of impropriety at the IMF, including claims that a married Asian administrative worker was pressured into having sex with him.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, who resigned as managing director of the IMF last week, has been indicted on seven charges relating to an alleged attack in his suite at the Sofitel, near Times Square. His wife, Anne Sinclair, an heiress, bailed him out of Rikers Island prison with $1 million from her bank account and a $5 million bond guaranteed against the couple's house in Washington, which she owns.
Mr Strauss-Kahn was also to be placed under armed guard at a pair of apartments equipped with 24-hour surveillance technology, also paid for by Miss Sinclair, at a cost of $200,000 a month. But after residents discovered his identity and protested, the plan was abandoned.
Until another home is found, Mr Strauss-Kahn is being held at premises of Stroz Friedberg, the security company recruited to monitor him. It also guarded high-profile detainees such as Bernard Madoff, the disgraced financier.
Managers of the new location, on Broadway, also appeared unhappy about having to house Mr Strauss-Kahn.
"We were not consulted before the leaseholder invited him in," Ray Ratermann, the general manager, said in a note to residents. "We apologise for the inconvenience".
Ian Horowitz, a 29-year-old resident who works in finance, told reporters: "I don't like all of this. I don't like all the attention and all the people outside."
Mr Strauss-Kahn has been electronically tagged and alarms will alert officials if he tries to flee. He may leave only for legal and medical appointments and worship. His guards take him supplies.
He is reported to have employed Guidepost Solutions, a private investigative firm whose executives include former American prosecutors and secret service agents.
The firm is likely to be studying the story of the hotel maid, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant widow.
Mr Strauss-Kahn "vigorously" denies all charges. He is next due to appear in court on June 6.
