Klein’s challenger wants sexual harassment probe made public

By Anna Sanders
New York Post
June 10, 2018

https://nypost.com/2018/06/10/kleins-challenger-wants-sexual-harassment-probe-made-public/

Photo by Richard Harbus

Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein’s Democratic challenger wants Albany to make public the status of a probe into allegations the lawmaker forcibly kissed a staffer.

Alessandra Biaggi called on Republican and Democratic legislators to amend state law to allow the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) to be transparent about the status of its investigations.

Former policy analyst Erica Vladimir told the Huffington Post five months ago that she stopped working for Klein after he “shoved his tongue” down her throat at an Albany bar on March 31, 2015.

Klein denied the allegations. His lawyer said in mid-January the case was being investigated by JCOPE.

But JCOPE is barred from commenting on anything that may or may not be under investigation, or if it has completed a probe or decided not to investigate at all. Only a substantiated allegation would be made public eventually.

Biaggi wants JCOPE – whose 14 members are appointed by the governor and leaders in the state Senate and Assembly – to be able to vote on making probes public if no legal violation occurred or if the commission decides not to investigate.

“The wheels of justice often turn slowly,” Biaggi wrote in letters to state leaders. “In cases of sexual assault and harassment, New Yorkers should not have to worry that they are not turning at all.”