Here is a representative sample of stories outlining the events surrounding the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal and its fallout. This list of articles will be supplemented as events continue to unfold.
Lopez Resigns from Assembly and Unsuccessfully Seeks NYC Council Seat
- Disgraced Assemblyman Loses Bid for Council Seat, New York Times (Sept. 10, 2013)
JCOPE Substantial Basis Investigation Report and Disposition
- Lopez Substantial Basis Investigation Report
- Lopez Disposition
- Vito Lopez Fined $330,000 in Harassment Case, New York Times (June 11, 2013)
Richmond County District Attorney Investigation into Lopez and Settlement
Sexual Harassment Allegations Against NY State Assemblyman and (former) Kings County Democratic Leader Vito Lopez
- Lawmaker is Censured over Sexual Harassment, New York Times (Aug. 24, 2012)
- Women Employed by Lawmaker Describe Sexually Hostile Office, New York Times (Aug. 29, 2012)
Secret Settlements Engineered by NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
- Before Censure, a Hushed Settlement Against Assemblyman, New York Times (Aug. 25, 2012)
- Assembly Paid $103,000 in Harassment Case, New York Times (Aug. 27, 2012)
- Two Women Received $32,000 from Assemblyman, Beyond Money From the State, New York Times (Aug. 29, 2012)
NY State Comptroller & NY Attorney General Reviewed & Approved Secret Lopez Settlement
- Officials Briefed on Lopez Settlement, Wall Street Journal (Aug. 30, 2012)
- The Lopez Stain Spreads, New York Daily News (Aug. 30, 2012)
- AG-Assembly Emails on Lopez Settlement, Albany Times-Union (Aug. 30, 2012)
- Special Prosecutor to Investigate Lawmaker in Harassment Case, New York Times (Aug. 31, 2012)
- NY AG Slams Assembly for Secret Settlement, Wall Street Journal (Aug. 31, 2012)
- GropeGate Grows, New York Post (Sept. 1, 2012)
- Attorney General and Comptroller Play Down their Role in Settlement, New York Times (Sept. 9, 2012)
- State Comptroller Office Wrote Part of Settlement, Documents Show, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2012)
Below is the email string showing that Speaker Silver’s Office ran the settlement agreement by lawyers in both the NY Attorney General’s Office and the Comptroller’s Office:
Ethics and Criminal Investigations Stall
- New York Ethics Inquiry Won’t Look at Speaker’s Actions, New York Times (Sept. 6, 2012) [Reporting that JCOPE would not look into Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s approval of a secret settlement deal because “some of the legislative appointees, from both political parties, had concerns about having a commission dominated by a governor’s appointees look into the internal workings of the Legislature.”]
- NY Payoff Pols Off the Hook, New York Post (Sept. 6, 2012) [Reporting that Dan Donovan, the Special Prosecutor, “will limit his probe of the powerful Brooklyn Democratic leader to alleged sexual harassment of young female Assembly aides” because he claims that his “office doesn’t have ‘the resources to do a full-scale forensic investigation of all the other players’ with potential involvement in the Lopez scandal.”]
Criminal and Ethics Investigations Widen to Include Silver and Others
- GOP to Feds: Probe Silver, New York Post (Sept. 9, 2012)
- Cuomo Tightens the Screws, New York Post (Sept. 11, 2012)
- Ethics Panel Adds Silver to Ethics Probe, New York Post (Sept. 11, 2012) [Reporting that JCOPE “voted yesterday to launch a massive investigation into the actions of everyone involved in the Vito Lopez sex scandal — including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.”]
- Judge Orders Wider Assembly Sex Harassment Probe, Wall Street Journal (Sept. 7, 2012) [Reporting that Administrative Judge Fern A. Fisher — who appointed Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan as Special Prosecutor — issued an order compelling Donovan to investigate any criminal wrongdoing arising from the Settlement as well as the underlying allegations against Lopez]
- Judge Widens Scope of Prosecutor’s Investigation in Lopez Case, New York Times (Sept. 7, 2012)
- Ethics Panel Issues Subpoenas, Eyeing State Bigs, New York Post (Sept. 12, 2012)
The Political Fallout/Blowback [So far . . . ]
- Vito Lopez Announces Resignation from Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Position, New York Post (Aug. 28, 2012)
- Longtime Lopez Colleague Chosen to Lead Brooklyn Democrats, New York Times (Sept. 19, 2012)
- Outspoken NY Ethics Board Member Quits in Protest, Wall Street Journal (Sept. 7, 2012)