Former Trump lawyer and Lawrence native Michael Cohen is back in custody

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Michael Cohen, Lawrence native and former lawyer for President Donald Trump, was taken back into custody, according to a well-placed source. 

Cohen, 53, who was released from upstate Otisville in May because of the coronavirus pandemic, violated the rules of his release after he was seen seated at a sidewalk table outside Le Bilboquet, a French restaurant in Manhattan on July 2.

Cohen was serving a three-year prison sentence for breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress, among other charges in 2018. He was also ordered to pay $1.39 million in restitution, forfeit $500,000 and pay a $50,000 fine. The guilty pleas to the federal felony charges resulted in his disbarment as a lawyer in New York state.  
 
He is currently in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting reassignment.
 
Serving as Trump's personal attorney, Cohen arranged six-figure payments to a porn star known as Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to buy their silence about their one-time affairs with the president.