Dawg Daze Afternoon
12-18-2004, 03:42 PM
County to settle sex assault case for $475,000
BY CELESTE HADRICK
STAFF WRITER
December 18, 2004
Nassau County has agreed to pay $475,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a female employee who claimed she was sexually assaulted by former Deputy County Executive Peter Sylver, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Under the settlement approved Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein, the county would pay $375,000 to the woman and $100,000 to her attorney Robert Calica to end the case.
"I think the county properly recognized that several county actors had committed very, very serious wrongs and that they had a financial responsibility to my client," said Calica, of Garden City. "It was also personally very important to my client to put a very very painful episode behind her."
It remains unclear whether the county legislature will approve the settlement. Indeed, Friday night it had already become a political football between County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat, and Peter Schmitt, the legislature's Republican minority leader, with each blaming the other for the cost.
Schmitt disclosed the woman's allegations earlier this year during hearings into spending abuses by Sylver, who had been Suozzi's economic development czar until he resigned late last year.
Schmitt said the woman claimed Sylver had sexually assaulted her and then fired her when she resisted. In return for signing a confidentiality agreement, Human Resources Director John Donnelly gave her a different job at a higher salary.
The woman then sued the county, Sylver, Suozzi, Donnelly and Schmitt, who she claimed violated her privacy. Last month, Feuerstein dismissed everyone but Sylver from the case, but did not address new civil rights claims against Sylver and Schmitt included in an amended complaint.
Sylver this summer pleaded guilty to two criminal misdemeanor charges, including coercing the woman into his county car on Election Day, 2003. He also pleaded guilty to inappropriate physical contact with the woman and was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
Sylver's attorney, Thomas Foley, could not be reached Friday, but he has denied the woman's allegations.
County Attorney Lorna Goodman said Friday she approved the settlement "to avoid the high cost of a civil trial, the strong potential for a negative verdict, and the possibility of a large cash judgment."
Goodman contended, "We were facing a large exposure for the misdeeds of the two 'Peters' -- Schmitt and Sylver. I note that the Plaintiff's lawyer will confirm that the lion's share of this settlement is due to the actions of Mr. Schmitt."
Calica said, "It was very clear that we were negotiating the county's liability not only for Sylver as an abusive employer, but for Schmitt as an abusive legislator."
But Schmitt's lawyer, Paul F. Millus of Manhattan, hotly dismissed such a comparison as outrageous and accused the county of settling to prevent embarrassing disclosures.
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BY CELESTE HADRICK
STAFF WRITER
December 18, 2004
Nassau County has agreed to pay $475,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a female employee who claimed she was sexually assaulted by former Deputy County Executive Peter Sylver, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Under the settlement approved Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein, the county would pay $375,000 to the woman and $100,000 to her attorney Robert Calica to end the case.
"I think the county properly recognized that several county actors had committed very, very serious wrongs and that they had a financial responsibility to my client," said Calica, of Garden City. "It was also personally very important to my client to put a very very painful episode behind her."
It remains unclear whether the county legislature will approve the settlement. Indeed, Friday night it had already become a political football between County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat, and Peter Schmitt, the legislature's Republican minority leader, with each blaming the other for the cost.
Schmitt disclosed the woman's allegations earlier this year during hearings into spending abuses by Sylver, who had been Suozzi's economic development czar until he resigned late last year.
Schmitt said the woman claimed Sylver had sexually assaulted her and then fired her when she resisted. In return for signing a confidentiality agreement, Human Resources Director John Donnelly gave her a different job at a higher salary.
The woman then sued the county, Sylver, Suozzi, Donnelly and Schmitt, who she claimed violated her privacy. Last month, Feuerstein dismissed everyone but Sylver from the case, but did not address new civil rights claims against Sylver and Schmitt included in an amended complaint.
Sylver this summer pleaded guilty to two criminal misdemeanor charges, including coercing the woman into his county car on Election Day, 2003. He also pleaded guilty to inappropriate physical contact with the woman and was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
Sylver's attorney, Thomas Foley, could not be reached Friday, but he has denied the woman's allegations.
County Attorney Lorna Goodman said Friday she approved the settlement "to avoid the high cost of a civil trial, the strong potential for a negative verdict, and the possibility of a large cash judgment."
Goodman contended, "We were facing a large exposure for the misdeeds of the two 'Peters' -- Schmitt and Sylver. I note that the Plaintiff's lawyer will confirm that the lion's share of this settlement is due to the actions of Mr. Schmitt."
Calica said, "It was very clear that we were negotiating the county's liability not only for Sylver as an abusive employer, but for Schmitt as an abusive legislator."
But Schmitt's lawyer, Paul F. Millus of Manhattan, hotly dismissed such a comparison as outrageous and accused the county of settling to prevent embarrassing disclosures.
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