First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan is facing questions regarding his knowledge of a sexual assault case involving a former Assembly staffer that occurred during his tenure in Albany. Attorney Carrie Goldberg, representing alleged victim Elizabeth Crothers, stated her intention to question Fuleihan about his recollection of events from 2001, when he served as a top budget aide to then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Goldberg claims Fuleihan, who managed finances for the Assembly, may have been privy to strategy sessions concerning the handling of the investigation into the alleged assault and potential payouts to the alleged victim. Crothers filed a negligence lawsuit three years ago, utilizing the Adult Survivors Act which temporarily suspended statutes of limitations for sexual assault claims in New York.
Michael Boxley, then chief legal counsel to Sheldon Silver, is accused of sexually assaulting Crothers in 2001. Boxley has denied the allegations but pleaded guilty in December 2003 to one count of sexual misconduct following a separate accusation by another Assembly staffer, Rikki Shaw. He was sentenced to six years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Shaw, who has since identified herself in the civil lawsuit, stated that Fuleihan would have known if there was a strategy to silence Elizabeth Crothers. "If Fuleihan was in charge of the money, he would know what was going on," Shaw told The Post.
City Hall, through a spokesperson for Mayor Mamdani, asserted that Fuleihan had no involvement in handling the complaint against Boxley. "As Secretary of the Ways and Means Committee and Secretary to the Speaker for Program and Policy in the State Assembly, First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan had no involvement in the handling of these allegations or in any settlement discussions related to this matter," said spokesperson Dora Pekec. The administration also stated a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and assault.
Fuleihan is not accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the case and was not required to provide a deposition or statement during the legal proceedings. A State Court of Claims judge has allowed major claims in Crothers' lawsuit, including those alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation, to proceed. Some claims, such as negligence related to state Assembly training and supervision at the time, were dismissed.