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Michael Avenatti Is Locked Up in El Chapo’s Former Cell, Says Lawyer

Avenatti’s lawyer has complained his client’s cell is very cold and he’s not been allowed to shave.

Michael Avenatti has been locked up in a federal jail cell once occupied by the Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, according to his lawyer. Avenatti, the high-profile attorney who once represented Stormy Daniels, is being detained on accusations that he violated his bail conditions. Avenatti lawyer Scott Srebnick sent a letter to a federal judge in New York requesting that his client be moved to the jail’s general population. Srebnick claimed Avenatti has been forced to sleep under three blankets because the temperature in his cell “feels like it is in the mid-40s.” The letter went on: “He has been having great difficulty functioning... He has not been permitted to shave.” The Daily Beast first reported that Avenatti was arrested by federal authorities last Tuesday evening during an appearance at State Bar Court in Los Angeles. The arrest came during a disciplinary hearing in which the State Bar of California claimed Avenatti had scammed a client out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.