Bailed Strauss-Kahn Moves To Broadway Flat

Former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been taken to a New York City apartment after posting a massive bail fee.

Strauss-Kahn was settling into the temporary abode after agreeing to hand over a cash bail of $1m (£616,000) and a $5m (£3.8m) insurance bond.

The Frenchman was taken to a corporate flat on Broadway under armed guard and with a security bracelet strapped to his ankle.

The apartment is situated at the less glamorous end of the famous thoroughfare and close to the Ground Zero site of the 9/11 al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Centre.

Charged with trying to rape a hotel housekeeper, the ex- IMF chief was released on bail on Friday after spending four nights under suicide watch in a cell at the harsh Rikers Island jail.

Strauss-Kahn has denied the charges and said he will fight to clear his name.

His new home was arranged by a private security company which Strauss-Kahn is paying to keep him under 24-hour armed guard and electronically monitor him as part of his bail conditions.

Prosecutors have estimated the cost of his security would be $200,000 (£123,000) a month.

But some New Yorkers in the area are not happy about having such a controversial new neighbour.

One man held up a pink cardboard sign that read: "D.S.K. Not In my Backyard."

"With all the press and publicity it's going to be hard to come and go in the building," said Debbie Tawil, a resident of the building.

Strauss-Kahn, who oversaw the world economy while at the IMF, is only allowed to leave his apartment for travel within Manhattan for court appearances, meetings with his lawyers, medical appointments and a weekly religious observance.

His time there will likely be temporary as Strauss-Kahn's wife and defence lawyers are still trying to find another apartment to rent.

Strauss-Kahn is next due in court on June 6, when he will formally answer the charges, while a trial may be six months or more away.

If convicted, he could face 25 years in prison.

His wife, French television journalist Anne Sinclair , had reportedly rented a luxury apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side in the Bristol Plaza, where a two-bedroom suite costs over £8,000 a month.

"The reason that we had to move is because members of the press attempted to invade his private residence," Strauss-Kahn's lawyer William Taylor said.

Building manager, Milstein Properties, declined to comment on media reports that it refused to rent to Ms Sinclair after it became aware of the high-profile tenant.