After being accused of sexually harassing female aides in August, State Assemblyman and former Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Vito Lopez reportedly tried an unconventional solution: Forcing female staffers to write fawning letters, e-mails, and text messages declaring that he’s a joy to work with. “Only a fool would believe any of these women would want to be within a mile of this pervert,” a source tells the Post. “It was an apparent attempt to create a paper trail to show they were ‘wanted’ advances.”
The notes were turned over as part of Lopez’s defense during an ethics probe, but that might be all we hear about the investigation for some time. The New York Times reports that the special prosecutor conducting a criminal investigation into the scandal has asked the New York State Legislature to postpone the release of the state ethics commission’s report, which is said to “eviscerate” Lopez. A source tells the Daily News, “I don’t think the report is going to be issued anytime soon.”
