Albany NY – Embattled New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez has broken his silence about accusations he harassed women staffers and says voters should decide his future.
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The Brooklyn Democrat calls the charges against him politically motivated and unethical, aimed at destroying his credibility and “election options.”
He says Tuesday he won’t give in to demands for his resignation.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is one of those who’ve asked him to quit after 28 years in the Assembly.
Silver approved using $103,000 in public money to settle two claims against Lopez in June. The Assembly ethics committee censured him Aug. 24 for claims by two other women made in July.
Lopez denies harassing anyone.
He’s campaigning for re-election this fall.
Sheldon, you misappropriated (stolen) our hard-earned, heavily taxed money. Please: 1. Refund ALL monies you’ve “diverted” over the years. 2. Be transparent, as you’ve claimed you should be. 3. Hire a lawyer and pay for him out of YOUR money to defend your criminal actions. 4. Resign.
I am no fan of Vito who clearly is a bully. But the first set of complaints that were settled are of really no great moment. He uses staff to work on his campaigns. He wants staff to dress sexually for events and stroke his ego.and would not have gotten those employees one cent in court-in my opinion. The second set= force-able sexual touching- are a different matter. They are criminal and not swept under the rug either. As I said I don’t like Vito and I am sure he doesn’t like me either but there have not been rumors of his doing this before. there are rumors about others in the political field. It seems that these are of recent origin. Vito as most people know has had a recent bout of cancer. The medication he has been given has been known to cause personality changes before to others. it doesn’t excuse it but it may explain it.