Coverup must end in Vito Lopez sexual harassment cases (NYDN Ed) Speaker Sheldon Silver and others in Albany need to release all relevant info
The News demands Silver release all public information relating to Lopez’s sexual harassment settlement and any similar deals:The Vito Lopez scandal is getting, well, grosser by the minute. The Times spoke to five women who say they were harassed by Lopez while working for him. Among their allegations: He asked some women not to wear bras, referred to others as “well-endowed” and urged another to break up with her boyfriend. Lopez has denied the allegations.
Albany Pigs Go Way Beyond Member Item Pork
Disgraced pol Vito Lopez's fmr. chief-of-staff ID'd as sex-harass settler(NYP) Leah Hebert, 29, worked for more than a year in Lopez’s Brooklyn office
until she was terminated June 7 — the same day that an invoice for that
settlement was submitted to the Assembly, records show. One of the alleged victims who received
a share of the settlement is Lopez’s former chief of staff who worked
in his Brooklyn office for more than a year and whose salary was slashed
for unknown reasons in January *Women who worked for Vito Lopez are talkingCapital New York * One Vito Lopez aide left and went to work against him | Capital New York *E-mails: Vito Lopez sex harass accusers sought $1.2M(NYP)
For Aide Claims Lopez Was Sexually Hostile
“Vito doesn’t hire ugly girls,” Ms. Friot said
Women Employed by Lawmaker Describe Sexually Hostile Office(NYT) Lopez told some women not to wear bras to work. He requested they wear short skirts and high heels. He gave them cash to buy jewelry and complimented them on their figures, giving special attention to those he called “well endowed.” Five women who worked for Lopez said he made frequent sexual advances, requested they dress provocatively, and asked invasive personal questions in his office, and they feared reprisals if they complained * AP: Vito Lopez sex harassment accusers sought $1.2M (NewsDay) The records also show that Silver, accused by some of a cover-up to protect Lopez, had extensive help from outside the chamber in crafting the legal settlement that had been cloaked in a confidentiality agreement until Thursday. The records show Silver's counsel worked through three drafts of the settlement with staff from the Attorney General's Office and state Comptroller's Office.
The documents appear to show a larger role in the Assembly sex harassment settlement by the Attorney General's and Comptroller's offices than those offices previously stated. Spokesmen for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have said lower-level workers had little say in the settlement and no power to question or stop it.
Everyday Was No Bra Day At Lopez's Office
Ms. Friot, 28, said that Mr. Lopez never directly harassed her but that
“there was a certain culture where behaviors like that were
permissible.” Another woman described “an atmosphere of intimidation,” an environment
where she and other former staff members said Mr. Lopez veered between
crude jokes and fierce tirades.* 2 Women Received $32,000 From Assemblyman, Beyond Money From State
Vito's Sock Puppet Seddio "What Harassment" " Changing of the Guard of What?
Lopez protégé Frank Seddio — the favorite to replace Lopez as Brooklyn
Democratic leader — yesterday expressed doubt that the alleged
harassment occurred, despite the settlement payout and the Assembly
committee’s censure vote. Frontrunner to take over Brooklyn Democratic Party Frank(NYDN) * Frank Seddio pitched himself as a changing of the guard. * “It’s kind of like running a marathon, where I’m coming in number one and she’s number 6,367,” he said of one of his rivals, Jo Anne Simon. * One pro-Seddio district leader was not amused by the Draft Karim Camara movement. * An anonymous Lopez foe connected Steve Levin to the issue.* No Consensus for Camara; Seddio Seems Set to Replace Vito Lopez (NYO) * Frank Seddio hired George Arzt to handle his communications effort. It’s an interesting contrast with Vito Lopez, who genuinely did not believe in the press.Even the local TV News is covering
Will Vito take Silver down with him?(WCBS) Female Employees of State Assemblyman Describe Harassment (NBC) The women's description
of a hostile and sexualized workplace comes amid outrage over a secret
$103,000 tax-payer funded settlement
Maloney Focusing On Silvers Reforms Not On What Happen
Silver the Bully? Where is the Woman Legislators Outrage Over the Sexual Harassment Payoffs
Feminist 'trailblazer' Maloney backs Silver's coverup(NYDN)'Feminist
trailblazer'
Carolyn Maloney praises Sheldon Silver for acting 'decisively' to punish
Vito Lopez, but makes no mention of $103G payout to make sexual
harassment case against Brooklyn Democrat go away Maloney’s endorsement
of Silver stands in contrast to her record as an advocate for women’s
issues * Carolyn Maloney Praises Sheldon Silver?(Artist) * NY Pols Walk Fine Line In Criticizing Shelly Silver Over Vito Lopez Scandal(NYDN)Silver's Damage Control BS
Silver the Payments Where "Both Legal and Ethical" . . . Legal? For sure. The Legislature writes all the rules — especially those that protect legislators
DiNapoli's "Legal Services" Bag Money
The Bear Mountain Pack Is Dead . . What Happens In Albany No Longer Stays in Albany
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
clarified the role the state’s top lawyer played in the six-figure
settlement. The spokesman said the office “received unsolicited
drafts of a settlement agreement, made one recommendation clarifying
that the Assembly was the employer, and provided a model prelitigation
settlement agreement, which included neither a confidentiality agreement
nor any monetary terms.” . . . Indeed, both Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller
Tom DiNapoli have had to answer questions over their own roles in the
burgeoning mess regarding the hush money secretly paid to Assemblyman
Vito Lopez’s first sexual-harassment victim. * DiNapoli’s Office Distances Itself From Lopez Scandal(YNN)* Bill Hammond
@NYDNHammond According to emails, DiNapoli's general counsel, Nancy Groenwegen, also received copies of the draft Lopez agreements.
Will the Investigates Limit Their Scope?
Which is why Cuomo set up JCOPE in the first place. He has clear operational control of the body — which, The Post reports, plans an investigation that will “focus on the process” by which the money was paid. That’s not nearly enough, of course. But such a probe would crack open Albany’s notoriously closed doors. Silver. Schneiderman. DiNapoli. What did they know, when did they know it and what did they do about it? * Two groups filed a formal complaint on Wednesday asking for the state ethics commission to investigate Speaker Shelly Silver’s handling of sexual harassment complaints against Lopez, the Wall Street Journal reports: * JCOPE called a “special meeting” on Sept. 4. No additional details were available, but speculation is this will mark the start of the investigation into the Assemblyman Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal.
Albany Pigs Go Way Beyond Member Items Pork
Campaign 2012 Assembly candidate says Bayside civic group poll is race-baiting Nily Rozic says Bayside group, which strongly supports her opponent Jerry Iannece, is focused on her ethnicity * New district lines help spark a spirited Democratic primary in the 38th Assembly District (NYDN) Assemblyman Mike Miller faces challenge from Etienne David Adorno, who is focused on untapped Latino and young voters* Murphy Campaign On Why Romney ‘Dumped’ Grimm(YNN) * Op-Ed: Greco has no attachments to big businesses (Town and Village) *
For the Daily News Albany is the Pork of All Evil
JCOPE named names as to which candidates haven’t properly filed disclosure reports.
Is Education the Civil Rights Issue of Our Day? http://wp.me/p2odLa-1Dm *
Diane Ravitch
there’s been no reasonable advance made in the process designed to begin weeding out inferior teachers in city schools. Still unsatisfactory(NYP Ed)
New Success Charter Academy school opens in Cobble Hill(NYDN)
Barclays Center will be mecca for basketbooze (NYDN) * Some Neighbors of the Nets Worry About Drinking Hours That Last Longer Than the Game
Frontrunner to take over Brooklyn Democratic Party Frank(NYDN)
Levi Aron sentenced to 40 years to life for murder of Orthodox Jewish boy Leiby Kletzky (NYP) * Man Who Killed and Dismembered a Lost Boy, 8, Gets 40 Years to Life(NYT) * Child's Killer Is Sentenced(WSJ) * Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Boy's Killing (WSJ) * Brooklyn Boy's Confessed Killer Gets Max Plea Deal Sentence(NY1)
