(NY) Assembly Paid $103,000 in Harassment Case
Source: NY Times
By DANNY HAKIM
ALBANY — Sheldon Silver, the New York State Assembly speaker, authorized a secret payment of $103,080 to settle sexual harassment claims against Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez this year, according to records released by the Assembly on Monday night.
Mr. Lopez, 71, was censured by the Assembly on Friday after an internal investigation substantiated sexual harassment allegations brought by two female employees in his office. But The New York Times reported over the weekend that a previous sexual harassment claim was quietly settled by the Assembly earlier this year, in an arrangement that included public money, a confidentiality agreement and mandatory attendance by Mr. Lopez at a sexual harassment workshop.
The revelation about the amount of money that the Assembly paid to quietly settle a harassment case is sure to further stoke debate about the handling of harassment cases by Mr. Silver, the Legislature’s most powerful Democrat for the last 15 years. Officials familiar with the Assembly said they knew of no precedent for such a secret payment, and government watchdog groups called for an investigation.
The previous claim was brought by at least one other woman who worked for Mr. Lopez — and possibly more than one — and who was represented by Gloria Allred, the prominent Los Angeles lawyer. The $103,080 does not represent the full size of the settlement, because money controlled by Mr. Lopez was used as well, people with knowledge of the deal said — though it was not clear if it was from his personal finances, campaign money or money affiliated with his nonprofit group. Mr. Lopez also spent $46,000 on legal fees in March and April, according to state records.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/nyregion/claims-vito-lopez-harassed-staff-cost-state-103000.html?_r=1&partner=EXCITE&ei=5043
Angel Valentin for The New York Times
Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez
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