Legal

Carole Baskin's got her work cut out for her cleaning up her new piece of land in Oklahoma ... it looks Joe Exotic's old zoo is in pretty bad shape, but Jeff Lowe says he has nothing to do with the mess.

Carole visited the zoo, formerly known as G.W. Exotic Animal Park, last week and it was a total pigsty ... the property was covered in graffiti and someone left a ton of rotting meat and garbage.

Sources connected to Carole claim Jeff left the place in shambles for Carole, but he tells TMZ ... "You think of all people, she would know about being accused of something without evidence."

As you can see, buildings were vandalized with phrases like "Carole Baskin takes up the butt from Donald Trump" and "Carole & Don Lewis sitting in a tree. Murdering first."

And, there's more graffiti ... "If Carole killed her husband clap your hands. Doom on you c***." Really creative stuff all around.

Carole's the zoo's newest owner, taking it over from Joe and most recently Jeff. Remember, she won control of the property on June 1, when a judge gave Jeff 120 days from being served to vacate the property. Jeff ended up getting extra time to pack his bags.

Our sources say there appeared to be animal carcasses or large quantities of meat left rotting away in a truck trailer ... leaving a stench and destroying any value the trailer may have had.

Carole found more rotting meat outside various places around the property, we're told, which left a stench so awful it had neighbors complaining until CB and her husband, Howard Baskin, had it removed.

That's not all ... we're told there were massive amounts of trash strewn about the property, both inside and outside the buildings.

Harvey Weinstein is getting the home movie treatment from behind bars -- having cameras record his every move so he doesn't go the way of Jeffrey Epstein ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a correctional officer is assigned to follow Weinstein anytime he's on the move from within the state prison he's currently serving his sentence at -- which is Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY.

Aside from the regular surveillance cameras that might be fixated on HW at any given time, we're told whichever guard is assigned to shadow him for the day has a camera on him at eye-level ... basically, he's being recorded damn-near round-the-clock.

It's unclear if it's a body cam or hand held camera -- prison officials tell us they can use both when monitoring an inmate's safety -- but in any case it's lights, camera, action all over again for Mr. Weinstein.

As for why ... the concerns followed Weinstein from Rikers to where is is currently -- prison officials are worried if they take their eyes off Weinstein things could quickly go awry.

More importantly, we're told state prison officials are doing this to tamp down any conspiracy theories that might arise if things go south -- not just that, they're looking to cover their butts  from criminal liability.

Our sources say the thinking is ... if there's a mountain of visual evidence at the ready, nobody can accuse them of screwing up like the Epstein guards allegedly did.

Weinstein is in frail health and there were concerns last week he may have had COVID, but he tested negative.

One of President Trump's supporters is facing criminal charges after being caught on tape coughing on someone without a mask on -- and it happened on 45's own turf, no less.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ ... 61-year-old Raymond Deskins has been charged with misdemeanor simple assault and was released on a summons -- this after somebody got a citizen's warrant from a country magistrate.

All of that follows what was captured on video Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, VA -- just outside of D.C. -- when a man, believed to be Deskins, was seen arguing with a protester ... and then forcefully coughing on her.

In the clip, the man isn't wearing a face mask or covering of any kind ... and he seems to do the exaggerated coughing/blowing in the woman's direction after she makes a fuss about him being too close to her and expressing COVID concerns.

At first, LCSO told us since cops weren't on the scene and didn't see this first-hand -- and because the video didn't quite capture everything unfold in its entirety -- their hands were tied as far as arresting anyone after both parties claimed assault.

So, as a temporary fix, we're told the man and woman in the video were instructed to run to court and get a warrant themselves ... apparently, only the woman followed through thus far. It's unclear what spurred Deskins' assault claim.

Two noteworthy things about this -- this appears to be one of the rare instances of somebody coughing on another person on purpose (outside of a law enforcement officer, which we've seen) and getting rung up on charges for it. It hardly happens.

A bunch of free-spirited sex revelers had their good time cut short by cops in the Big Apple -- an interesting contrast to another attempted New York bust gone bad.

The NYC Sheriff's Office busted in and broke up an underground swingers club early Sunday morning in Queens ... which is said to have been hosting upwards of 80 people -- a big no-no under Gov. Cuomo's new 10-person-or-less rule.

Sure enough, there was a rager going down -- music was blasting and people were mingling and sipping on booze, which the Sheriff's Office says was being illegally served. Oh, and there were some people making whoopee too ... all together.

The cops say they found three couples having sex in a small room -- apparently, this swinger joint -- which goes by Caligula, of all names -- has services for that if you're looking to get busy. The Sheriff's Office even snapped a shot of one of those rooms, plus a price sheet going over rates, and what looks like a box of condoms!

All in all, two organizers and one patron were charged with misdemeanors -- and the place was cleared out. The NYP reports that the manager was hit with lots of fines ... which amounted to about $16,000 for violating emergency measures issued by the state. The guy reportedly also got dinged for booze infractions.

This is almost a complete 180 from what went down in neighboring Buffalo just the night prior -- when Sheriff's deputies and county health workers tried barging in on a packed business meeting to shut it down, only to get chased off by the mob.

One of Kenny Rogers' longtime friends did NOT know when to fold 'em, because he allegedly produced an unauthorized DVD of Kenny's farewell tour ... and now his estate is suing.

The estate claims Kelly Junkermann, an employee and friend, went rogue after he recorded Kenny's last tour and tried to release a DVD called "Kenny Rogers -- The Gambler's Last Deal."

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate claims Junkermann convinced the singer to let him shoot the farewell tour -- but Kenny made it crystal clear the footage would be for Kenny's personal use only ... and NOT for commercial release.

The estate claims Junkermann ignored that condition and went ahead and made a DVD filled with "priceless and irreplaceable audio, video, photographic and audiovisual content that were compiled over the course of Kenny Rogers' decades-long career."

What's more ... the estate claims Junkermann made repeated requests for approval to use the content, but was repeatedly denied verbally and in writing. The estate is adamant Junkermann knew he had no right to go forward, but still struck a deal with a distributor.

Earlier this year, the estate says it blocked the release of the DVD but it cost nearly $290k in legal fees to get it done. So, they're suing for damages and for an injunction blocking Junkermann's DVD from ever coming out. They say it's not up to Kenny's standards and would damage his brand.

A large group of biz owners in Erie County, NY called the local authorities' bluff when they tried shutting down their get-together ... and sent Johnny Law packing.

This went down Friday night at a CrossFit gym called Athletes Unleashed in Orchard Park -- not too far away from Buffalo -- where upwards of 100 local businessmen and women congregated to discuss how to navigate the state's new COVID-19 guidelines ... which again are limiting hours, customers and access in NY.

While these folks were having their meeting -- with most people not wearing masks -- Erie County Sheriff's Deputies and Health Dept. officials made their way inside and attempted to disperse the crowd ... saying they were in violation of Gov. Cuomo's new 10-person-or-less rule for public gatherings.

What happened next is nothing short of shocking ... the crowd actually stood their ground and demanded the cops and county workers beat it -- which they did.

They were chased off in dramatic fashion, with the angry mob chanting "Get out!" and "We will not comply!" as they followed the Sheriff's deputies and others out into the parking lot and all the way back to their vehicles ... like dogs with their tail between their legs. It's cringe-worthy to see -- the cops pretty much folded.

Accused killer Kyle Rittenhouse got some help from a few famous people this week, and as a result, he's free on bail.

Ricky Schroder made a "significant contribution" which led to Rittenhouse posting $2 million cash bail ... this according to Rittenhouse's famed lawyer, Lin Wood. We're told Schroder contributed $150,000 to the bail fund.

Wood posted a photo of his client and Schroder, saying, "Thank you, All Donors. Thank you, All Patriots. Thank God Almighty."

In addition to Schroder, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell also donated and attorney Wood thanked both Schroder and Lindell for "putting us over the top." We're told Lindell donated $50,000.

The president of the Haiti Football Association has been BANNED FOR LIFE by FIFA -- after the soccer org. found him guilty of sexually abusing female players, including minors.

FIFA issued a statement saying 73-year-old Yves Jean-Bart is forbidden from participating in all soccer-related activities -- plus, they've hit him with over a $1 million fine.

In a statement Friday, FIFA said Jean-Bart "abused his position and sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics."

FIFA says it had launched an investigation into Jean-Bart and other officials in the Haiti Football Association over allegations of "systematic sexual abuse against female football players between 2014 and 2020."

The allegations have been reported this way ... female soccer players in Haiti felt pressured into having sex with Jean-Bart in order to remain in good standing with the Haiti Football Association.

Several players have spoken up about the alleged abuse to various media outlets -- detailing an allegedly horrific situation.

For his part, Jean-Bart has repeatedly DENIED the allegations -- saying back in April, "I would not encourage such practices in Haitian football, much less in the centre which is under my responsibility."

"If there were such cases, I would encourage the victims to file a complaint with the federation and the judicial authorities of the country. We are ready, at the level of the federation, to support them."

There's more ... Jean-Bart was also reportedly "cleared of any wrongdoing" earlier this week during legal proceedings in Haiti.

Jeff Lowe is back under Uncle Sam's microscope -- the feds have more concerns about animals at his zoo, and want to check things out for themselves -- but Jeff says they can kick rocks.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds claim the 'Tiger King' star is displaying animals at Joe Exotic's former zoo in Oklahoma without the necessary licenses or care. Prosecutors believe the animals are in "serious danger" because they don't have an attending veterinarian, and are getting substandard care.

The feds paint a grisly picture of the scene on the ground, claiming some animals are malnourished, dehydrated and licking wounds from fights in their enclosures.

However, Jeff says it's impossible for the feds to know what condition the animals are in because no one outside of his team has seen them in 2 months! Jeff says, "How arrogant and ignorant of them to deduce that my animals are in anything but perfect health. Their filing doesn’t have a single factual accusation in the entire document."

Jeff also gave us a pic shot Thursday at the park, showing 2 very healthy looking tigers. He tells us all of his animals has a perfect body scale rating.

As we reported ... the USDA inspected the zoo this summer and found a bunch of problems -- including a razor-thin 16-week-old lion cub that could barely stand -- and suspended Lowe's license for 21 days.

Making matters worse, the feds claim Jeff's zoo doesn't keep good records of everything that's going on with the various animals.

The government wants an order declaring Lowe is in violation of federal law, and giving federal investigators immediate access to inspect the park ... to determine the condition of the animals.

A Tyson Foods plant in Iowa had no regard for coronavirus safety, and managers even wagered on how many employees would get the virus ... according to a lawsuit filed by a deceased worker's son.

Oscar Fernandez is suing the food giant and several high-ranking officials, claiming his dad, Isidro -- who died April 26 -- was infected with COVID-19 along with 1,000 other employees because the Waterloo facility did not take proper precautions.

Fernandez claims Tyson required employees to work long hours in cramped conditions despite a coronavirus outbreak, failed to provide sufficient PPE and did not implement proper social distancing measures.

Most shockingly, according to the suit ... the Waterloo plant manager organized a cash buy-in, winner-take-all betting pool for supervisors and managers to bet on how many employees would test positive for the virus.

Fernandez repeatedly claims high-ranking Tyson officials pressured workers to keep working no matter what -- and even lobbied government officials to help keep the plant open -- despite 2 dozen employees being admitted to the emergency room in April and the plant temporarily shutting down.

Tyson is being sued for fraudulent misrepresentations, gross negligence and wanton disregard for worker safety.

The company has denied many of the allegations, although their comments have not specifically addressed the alleged betting pool.

Tyson says ... "We're saddened by the loss of any Tyson team member and sympathize with their families. Our top priority is the health and safety of our workers and we've implemented a host of protective measures at Waterloo and our other facilities that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidance for preventing Covid-19."

Ryan Dorsey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Naya Rivera's son ... claiming the boat Naya was in before she drowned was unsafe.

Naya's ex-husband filed the docs Tuesday on behalf of his 5-year-old son Josey Hollis Dorsey, claiming Ventura County is responsible for her death because the boat Naya and Josey were on in Lake Piru did NOT comply with safety standards.

In the docs, filed by Ryan's attorney Amjad Khan and obtained by TMZ, Ryan claims the boat was “not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats, nor any flotation or lifesaving devices" in violation of California law.

Ryan's claiming the boat drifted away from Naya and Josey when they jumped into the lake for a swim ... and proper safety equipment could have prevented that. The suit claims the boat was "rocking back and forth forcefully in the current and wind."

Ryan also claims in the suit there were no signs warning of the dangerous conditions of the lake -- and the person who rented the boat to Naya didn't warn her to wear the life vest that came with the boat.

As you know ... Naya and her son were reported missing on July 8. Her body was found in the lake on July 13. Josey was able to get back in the boat, and when authorities arrived for a check, he told them he and his mom were swimming and he didn't know what happened to her. She had disappeared below the surface.

According to the suit ... at least 26 other people, from children to fit adults to elders, some wearing life jackets and others not, have drowned in Lake Piru since its recreational facilities opened.

Dr. Dre hasn't been acting like he's concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, so he shouldn't get special treatment in his divorce proceedings ... that's what his estranged wife thinks, anyway.

Nicole Young wants her ex to sit for a deposition, in-person, despite COVID-19 restrictions -- and according to new docs, obtained by TMZ, she's not buying his claim it has to be done remotely due to the virus.

Dre's stated he wants his depo done via Zoom to keep himself and others safe ... but in the docs, Nicole claims Dre has "freely entertained" multiple people at home and elsewhere ... and participated in several social functions "without implementing even the slightest amount of social distancing protocol."

Nicole claims Dre's been seen with musicians and techs without social distancing and "entering and exiting the homes of multiple women around the Los Angeles area."

As for why she's pushing the matter ... Dre's estranged wife believes an in-person depo is necessary to deter him from possibly being coached, and her legal team says they need to be able to see how he reacts to questioning.

Tory Lanez's legal team is back in court after he was charged for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and just entered his plea ... not guilty.

Tory's attorney, Shawn Holley, appeared on his behalf Wednesday in L.A. County court to enter the plea in the case. Tory's yet to go to court himself -- his last appearance was over the phone.

As we've reported ... the L.A. County D.A.'s Office hit him with 1 count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and 1 count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The D.A. also alleges TL inflicted great bodily injury on MTS.

Tory's already posted $190,000 bond and been ordered to stay away from Megan ... and he's defended himself on social media by saying the charges are not a conviction.

The rapper/singer faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison, if convicted.

There's already been tons of drama surrounding the case ... with Megan claiming in a recent interview that Tory offered her money in exchange for her silence after he allegedly shot her in the foot. Tory's attorney has denied the accusation.

Megan also flat-out accused Tory of shooting her and then Tory dropped a new album seemingly professing his innocence, denying he shot her and suggesting she's a liar.

During Wednesday's hearing, the state said it's trying to decide whether they should go after Tory for possibly violating the protective order with his social media posts and song lyrics.

Lil Wayne's just been hit with a federal weapons charge and could face serious prison time if convicted.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida has charged the rapper with 1 count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Weezy -- who was convicted of a felony gun charge in NY back in 2009 -- faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The charge is for a December 2019 incident where federal agents searched Wayne's plane at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. He was a passenger on that plane, which made a stop in Florida on its way to California.

At the time ... Wayne's attorney, Howard Srebnick, had said his client was "cleared" to leave even though guns and drugs were reportedly found on the plane. It appears now the feds believe Wayne was wrongfully in possession of a weapon and ammunition.

Srebnick tells TMZ ... Carter was charged for possessing a gold-plated handgun in his luggage back in December. The lawyer says, "There is no allegation that he ever fired it, brandished it, used it or threatened to use it. There is no allegation that he is a dangerous person."

He added, "The charge is that because he was convicted of a felony in the past, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm."

Jeff Ross is going after the woman who's accused him of statutory rape when she was 15 ... and he claims she's trying to extort him.

The comedian's filed a defamation suit against Jessica Radtke, who made headlines earlier this year when an article came out in which she alleged Ross began having a sexual relationship with her in 1999.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Ross admits he was a work acquaintance with Radtke at a New York comedy club, and he did have a consensual relationship with her ... but not until 2002, when she was an adult.

Ross says all of her accusations of having sex with her when she was a minor are "completely false," echoing his public denial of the allegations in June.

The comedian claims Radtke has been on a campaign to publicly attack him since 2017, but when her efforts to smear him in tabloids failed ... he says she made up the story about his underage relationship with her.

According to the docs ... this culminated with her creating a Facebook page in late 2019 called "Iwas15hewas33," which he says was done to defame him and get attention. Ross says she also "made the preposterous claim that she was Ross’s 'date' at a number of  high-profile public events, including celebrity roasts, that were attended by thousands of people."

He adds ... "To make her false allegations as salacious as possible, Radtke also falsely accused Ross of frequently having unprotected sex with her while she was underage and claimed Ross proposed to marry her."

According to the defamation lawsuit ... Ross says he has multiple witnesses to corroborate him not dating Radtke until she was 18.

Antonio Brown was named in a police report in Oct. -- after allegedly going berserk at a guard gate stand at his swanky Miami community back in October, smashing a security camera in the process.

It all went down on Oct. 15 at the fancy Hollywood Oaks private community, according to a police report obtained by the Miami Herald.

Brown was reportedly furious that the guard at the security gate wouldn't let a guest inside the community unless AB was physically at the gate to grant access.

So Brown, according to the police report, hopped on his bicycle and sped to the gate where he allegedly went crazy on the guard -- and took out his aggression on a security camera.

According to the police report, Brown cussed out the female security guard -- saying, "Why are you wasting my f***ing time? You need to let my guest through the f***ing gate."

Brown also allegedly threw his bicycle at the arm of the guard gate and then yelled at the property manager -- calling her a "racist bitch."

The Hollywood Police Dept. responded to the scene where an officer says a blue bike was still at the guard shack when they arrived -- jammed between the arm and the motor.

It gets worse for Brown, cops say they reviewed security footage which showed AB smashing the security camera and throwing the bike.

So, why wasn't Brown arrested or charged with a crime?

Cops say in the police report the president of the homeowners association did NOT want to press charges against Brown out of fear the NFL star "may retaliate against her employees."

But, when contacted by the Miami Herald, HOA president Sylvia Berman downplayed the incident and said Antonio has since paid to replace the security camera.

Berman also told The Herald she thinks AB simply had an "emotional reaction" that day -- and then praised him as a "hero" for helping the Tampa Bay Bucs beat the Carolina Panthers this weekend.

As for cops, The Hollywood PD "exceptionally cleared" the case on Nov. 5, according to The Herald ... which means it's unlikely he'll face charges moving forward. Prosecutors say they have not been presented with a case.

Of course, Antonio Brown has been accused of having an explosive temper several times in the past -- it's well documented.

He's thrown furniture off the balcony of an apartment complex, he's berated police and the mother of his children on camera and he was arrested for allegedly physically assaulting a moving truck driver.

In fact, Brown was suspended for the first 8 games of the 2020 NFL season due to his off-the-field behavior.

Brown officially signed with the Tampa Bucs on Oct. 27 and made his debut with the team in Week 9 against the Saints.

Our Bucs sources tell us the team is aware of the alleged incident and is looking into it.