EUROZONE / IMF: 16 May UPDATE: Dominque's Lawyer Says It Ain't So; France Defends Strauss-Kahn's Innocence Until Proven Guilty; Arrest Dismays Distressed Greeks; Bail DENIED.

 LINK CHANGE: NYTIMES

    A NYC judge has denied bail for Dominique Strauss-Kahn...on grounds that he is a flight risk.
    The shocking arrest of IMF head Strauss-Kahn in NYC for sexual abuse has also unnerved Greek officials.
    Strauss-Kahn was to attend a eurozone finance ministers meeting Monday in Brussels to discuss worsening debt problems there.
     Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, (pictured above) managing director of the IMF for the past 3.5 years, was arrested in NYC and accused of attempted rape and 6 other charges...5 of them felonies...against a 32-year-old chambermaid in the Sofitel hotel. The maid reportedly worked at the hotel for 3 years.
    He was arrested while boarding a plane bound for Paris.
    The French government has declared that he “is innocent until proven otherwise”.
    His lawyer and his wife have told the media that “his client will plead not guilty of the crimes alleged against him”.
     One observer described the 7 charges as..."the worst case scenario" for the defendant.
     Since he was in NYC on private business...there can be no immunity claim...say some experts.
    A police spokesman says the woman claimed she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at about 1pm when "...he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer where she was, pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her, according to her account. She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act, according to her account to detectives. He tried to lock her into the hotel room."
      The maid picked-out his photo and was treated for rape...with forensic DNA samples taken.

      Noted criminal lawyer Benjamin Brafman (above) said :"This battle has just begun." 
     Strauss-Khan has favored giving Greece another financial lifeline to prevent collapse...despite recently angering Greeks when he described them as being "in deep shit".
     In 2008, the IMF cleared the thrice married Strauss-Kahn of harassment and favoritism over an affair with a Hungarian economist colleague...calling it a "serious error of judgement".

     Now, another woman is claiming he sexually harassed her in 2003.

    French journalist/novelist Tristane Banon (below) told LE FIGARO that the episode occurred during an interview when she was just 22.
    She described Strauss-Kahn as a "rutting chimpanzee."

        What is it about these powerful silverbacks?
        All these new revelations are all too reminiscent of Italy's  pathetically lecherous old PM...Silvio Berlusconi...but allegedly...without consent!