Posted on 08/30/2004 4:42:00 PM PDT by Liz
NEW YORK -- A former aide who claims New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey sexually harassed him will not file a lawsuit against the governor, the man's lawyer said Monday.
The governor's resignation announcement was sufficient admission of his wrongdoing and the issue was never about money, said lawyer Rachel Yosevitz, attorney for Golan Cipel.
McGreevey announced Aug. 12 that he was gay and would resign from office because he had an extramarital affair with a man. Administration sources identified the other man in the relationship as Cipel.
But the former McGreevey homeland security adviser denied that he was gay or had an affair with McGreevey. Cipel countered that he had been sexually harassed by the governor from the time he went to work for him soon after McGreevey was elected in 2001.
"Had the governor not resigned and admitted his wrongdoings, Mr. Cipel emphatically stated that he would have sued," said Yosevitz, who just returned from visiting Cipel in Israel, where he has been in seclusion with his family.
Cipel, in a statement written in Hebrew and released Monday by an Israeli public relations agency, said he had no doubt that he would have won a lawsuit and that the governor's resignation had vindicated him.
SLIDESHOW N.J. Gov. James McGreevey Reveals He's Gay, Announces Resignation (Aug. 12)
"Despite my strong desire to prove my case in a court of law, I have decided not to proceed with my suit. The main reason is the governor's resignation and his admission of his acts. It's clear to all that McGreevey resigned because he sexually harassed me and that a man of his standing would not have resigned because of sexual orientation or have had an extramarital affair," the statement said.
Yosevitz said Cipel "has no desire to have the taxpayers of New Jersey pay for Mr. McGreevey's reprehensible conduct."
A spokesman for the governor said Monday's announcement was not a surprise.
"The governor made clear that he did not want to put the people of New Jersey at risk, he did not want to expose the state to the threat of a lawsuit," said spokesman Micah Rasmussen.
When asked if the threat of the lawsuit was why the governor gave up his office, Rasmussen referred to the reasons given by McGreevey in the resignation speech. Rasmussen dismissed as "nonsense" Cipel's claim that he would have won if a lawsuit had gone to court.
Another Cipel lawyer, Allen Lowy, said that he had notified attorneys for the governor in July that he intended to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey on behalf of Cipel.
A series of negotiations between another Cipel lawyer, Allen Lowy, and McGreevey's attorneys took place over the next several weeks, but no settlement could be reached and the governor eventually made his resignation announcement.
Legal experts said Lowy had until Monday to file a sexual harassment lawsuit because the state statute of limitations for such complaints is two years and Cipel left the state payroll at the end of August 2002.
At Monday's news conference, Cipel's lawyers also addressed a claim by McGreevey administration officials that Cipel was attempting to extort money from McGreevey.
"There was never any extortion. It was merely negotiations between attorneys," Yosevitz said. Lowy said Cipel has agreed to talk to the FBI, which has been investigating the extortion claim, but has not yet talked with the agency.
"Golan Cipel has made it clear that this matter is not now, nor has it ever been, about money," she said.
Lowy said that negotiations with McGreevey's camp ended "five minutes before the governor resigned" and that there have been none since.
The sexual harassment took an emotion and physical toll on her client, Yosevitz claimed, saying that Cipel suffered from intestinal pain, migraine headaches, heart palpitations and sleeplessness.
ROTFLMCO........ not about money.........that's a riot. Who knew leech, and professional parasite, Cipel had a sense of humor?
A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
News From GovernorJames E. McGreevey
August 15, 2002
MCGREEVEY'S RECLUSIVE ISRAELI AIDE STEPS DOWN
BY JOSH MARGOLIN STAR LEDGER
Golan Cipel, the reticent and controversial aide to Gov. James E. McGreevey who stepped down under pressure as the state's homeland security adviser five months ago, resigned from state government yesterday without explanation.
The 33-year-old native of Israel and published poet will take a job in the private sector, said Paul Aronsohn, a spokesman for the Governor. Officials said Cipel has several job options.
With a salary of $110,000 a year, Cipel was one of the highest-paid officials on the Governor's staff.
"He decided he wanted to leave. ... It's up to Mr. Cipel," Aronsohn said when asked why Cipel resigned. McGreevey "accepted his resignation with regret," the spokesman said.
Cipel's resignation came 10 days after the latest of several media reports questioning his job responsibilities and background. Sources close to the Governor said there has been an ongoing discussion -- and, until this week, a difference of opinion -- on how much of an embarrassment Cipel had become to the McGreevey administration.
"It should have happened a lot sooner," one knowledgeable McGreevey adviser said, "but it's someone's career and reputation here."
From the start, the Cipel hiring created problems for the Governor.
Initially hired as McGreevey's special counsel on homeland security, Cipel quickly encountered stumbling blocks. Federal officials told The Star-Ledger that because Cipel was an Israeli national -- a foreigner who does not have top- secret security clearance -- they would refuse to share sensitive information with him.
McGreevey transferred Cipel only after Republican leaders in the state Senate threatened to hold up key appointments by the Governor's office until Cipel sat for questioning.
McGreevey refused to make Cipel available for any interviews with legislators or with the media and instead stripped him -- "reluctantly," the Governor said -- of his security duties.
But Cipel kept his title as special counsel to the Governor and his salary. Mystery still surrounded him. Gannett New Jersey spent four months trying to learn about his job as adviser. A reporter called almost daily to ask about Cipel's whereabouts.
Since the controversy first erupted, Cipel steadfastly refused to comment, citing orders from McGreevey. Yesterday, when reached by phone, Cipel maintained that posture, saying: "I can't speak with you.'Bye."
In a two-sentence statement released later by the Governor's office, Cipel said: "I have received employment offers from private companies which I have decided to pursue. I thank the Governor for his support and the opportunity to work for New Jersey."
The Governor's office has released little information about Cipel's work history or his current responsibilities. However, it is known that he planned McGreevey's recent trip to Ireland and upcoming visits to Israel and the Dominican Republic. Cipel also conducted a study of the New Jersey-Israel Commission.
Because of security concerns, McGreevey's visit to Israel next week has been cut short and scaled back to include only a handful of companions. Cipel is not expected to be among them.
Those familiar with Cipel's resignation said it was offered voluntarily after McGreevey's recent return from a family vacation.
"Golan came to that decision. He just saw the pressure and made a decision for himself and for the administration," said one source familiar with the situation. "The Governor continued to show his strong support for him throughout.
"It's fair to say he is going to stay in America and it's fair to say he's going to continue to maintain a strong relationship with the Governor."
A man with a taste for American living, Cipel met McGreevey in Israel two years ago. The aide was then a spokesman for his hometown mayor in Israel, having previously served as chief information officer in the Israeli Consulate in New York.
Six months later, McGreevey brought Cipel to New Jersey, where he was assigned to handle Jewish outreach for McGreevey's gubernatorial campaign. The job paid only $10,000, so the candidate recommended Cipel for a $30,000-a-year public relations job with top campaign donor Charles Kushner, a major real-estate developer.
Cipel continued working for Kushner through the end of last year. Kushner was recently appointed by McGreevey to the board that runs the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and was the Governor's choice to become the agency's chairman.
Cipel has always enjoyed a close relationship with the Governor.
When Cipel first arrived in New Jersey to work on the campaign, McGreevey assigned campaign staffers to arrange for a Woodbridge apartment a tenth of a mile from McGreevey's own condominium.
Then, late last year, McGreevey took time out from his transition plans to accompany Cipel on a last- minute walk-through of the West Windsor townhouse
Cipel was about to purchase. McGreevey's unannounced inspection caught the seller, Elaine Dietrich, by surprise.
According to Dietrich, she had listed the place at $189,900. Cipel saw it only once and offered $190,000 provided it was taken off the market immediately. Cipel explained "he wanted to have a place that was in close proximity to where the Governor was because he was a personal adviser on call 24 hours a day."
Before Cipel would sign the contract, Dietrich said, he wanted to make sure McGreevey saw it, too.
"I thought it was highly unusual," she said. "I'm counsel to the administrative director of the courts, and I'm not going to ask (the director) to come look at my place and approve a purchase ... You've got to admit, it's a little bizarre."
The sale was closed Feb. 15.
The Governor had named Cipel to the homeland-security job shortly after being sworn in Jan. 15, citing Cipel's experience in the Israeli military and government.
But Israeli parliament member Colette Avital, who had hired Cipel when she served as Israel's consul general in New York, said in March she was surprised to learn of Cipel's security job.
"It seemed unusual to me. When he worked for me, he did plain public relations work. We used to issue bulletins. I don't know that he has any qualifications on the issues of terrorism," she said.
© 2002, The Star-Ledger
I just read that McGreevey still hasn't delivered his signed resignation letter.
I wonder if he will renege?
It still makes me mad that the gay activists treat McGreevey like a hero, when he was nothing but an arrogant and corrupt jerk who put his loverboy on the state payroll in a position for which he was not qualified.
Check, my a**! This is Jersey! McGreevey asked Vito, Guido, Guisepe and Vincenso to say howdy to Cipel and show him their vacation pictures of the waste storage pools at the pig farms in Seacacus. That much pig s**t would disolve stainless steel in days. It would take even less time for a tinkerbell.
LRocco was also on hand to show samples of his lanscaping handiwork from Better Homes and Gardens .........including the man-sized wood chipper which makes such fine (ahem) lawn fertilizer.
I heard that many gays were angry at McGreevey since he was basically coming out of the closet only because he was under pressure.
I heard that many gays were angry at McGreevey since the only reason he came out of the closet was because he was under pressure.
When McG went to Israel and met him, Cipel ---a rank opportunist and professional parasite---saw McG was smitten with him, and wanted him for his sex playmate, so he figured he'd make the most of it.
But Golan was a major screwup and f/u his NJ state HomeSec job, his sex playmate duties, and his Mossad mission.
On the other hand, McG fellated Cipel, his voter base and his big-buck donor list, all at the same time.
But Golan's lawyer explained it all to him, so Cipel became a "victim," started whined about McG, and was prepared to loot the NJ state Treasury to obtain justice.
If you find out ping me.
I was wondering the same thing.
There's no dough for Cipel because the initial stages of the relationship were consensual, and McG can likely prove it. Cipel will get his $$$ from some other player.
Do I really have to explain this?
Well, OK.
Back in 2000, on an open mike, Bush called NYT reporter Adam Clymer an a**hole.
FReepers used the "C" to commemorate that moment.
What kills me is that last week, Cipel said he would drop the lawsuit ONLY if McGreedy would appologize. He wouldn't and Cipel still dropped the suit.
See post #14.
Thanks. I wasn't here back then.
Ut, oh.
ping
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