NEWS & POLITICS ARCHIVES Here’s The Letter Shelly Silver Sent Assemblyman Vito Lopez Asking Him To Stop Being A Dirty Old Man
by James King
Democratic Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez apparently has a habit of shoving his hands up the skirts of young, female interns — and it’s costing him his leadership position in the Assembly.
The Assembly’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance ruled that Lopez basically has achieved dirty old man status — he sexually harassed the young interns on multiple occasions, which not only is against the law, but violates the Assembly’s sexual harassment/retaliation policy.
Subsequently, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has stripped Lopez of his chairmanship of the powerful Housing Committee, and banned him from employing people under the age of 21.
The committee found that the harassment started in June and ended in July, when one of the victims finally complained about the pol’s inappropriate behavior, which includes verbal harassment, an attempted (but unreciprocated) makeout sesh, and Lopez’s gettin’ a little grabby.
“There were multiple incidents of unwelcome physical conduct toward one complainant, wherein you put your hand on her leg, she removed your hand, and you then put your hand in between her upper thighs, putting your hand as far up between her legs as you could go,” the Committee found.
It’s all described in a fairly scathing letter Silver sent the disgraced lawmaker today, which you can read — in its entirety — below.