WASHINGTON - A former associate of Rudy Giuliani sued him Monday for alleged abuse of power and harassment, claiming he hired her off-the-books for sexual favors.
Noelle Dunphy, who said she began working for Giuliani in 2019, said in a lawsuit filed in New York state court that she has tapes of the former Donald Trump attorney making sexist, racist and anti-Semitic remarks.
Ted Goodman, an adviser to Giuliani, said the 78-year-old former New York City mayor and Trump adviser “unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms. Dunphy and every news outlet covering this story must include the fact that an ex-partner accused her of being, ‘an escort that fleeces wealthy men.’”“Mayor Giuliani's lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” Goodman said.
In her filings, Dunphy said Giuliani hired her as "Director of Business Development" at a salary of $1 million plus expenses.
At the time, she said, Giuliani asked Dunphy to keep her hiring a secret and defer her salary because he was going through an acrimonious divorce, and his wife and her attorneys were keeping a sharp eye on his cash flow.
"Unfortunately, Giuliani’s seemingly generous offers were a sham motivated by his secret desire to pursue a sexual relationship with Ms. Dunphy - in total disregard for the restraint that should have protected her as his employee and client," the lawsuit said.
Giuliani lawsuit: 'Sexual demands' and 'alcohol-drenched rants'
In a lawsuit filled with salacious allegations, Dunphy said Giuliani would request sexual favors from Dunphy while he was on the phone because it made him "feel like Bill Clinton."
"In addition to his sexual demands, Giuliani went on alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks, which made the work environment unbearable," the lawsuit said. "Many of these comments were recorded."
Listing some of the comments, Dunphy quoted Giuliani as saying that “black guys hit women more than anybody else does… and so do Hispanic guys – it is in their culture.”
Dunphy also claimed that Giuliani mocked Jews over Passover celebrations: "Jews want to go through their freaking Passover all the time, man oh man. Get over the Passover. It was like 3,000 years ago. The red sea parted, big deal. It’s not the first time that happened.”
While she continued to perform the work, Dunphy claimed that Giuliani "callously tossed Ms. Dunphy aside, never paying her for the work she performed, and leaving her traumatized by the abuse she had suffered."
In a written statement, Goodman said an ex-partner of the plaintiff “claimed she’s taken part in ‘prior schemes to defraud high net-worth men,’ according to a 2016 New York Post story."
The Dunphy lawsuit is not the only legal problem Giuliani faces.
He is also under investigation by Atlanta prosecutors over his role in Trump's efforts to overturn his loss of Georgia during the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani said he followed standard procedures in protesting an election.
Rudy Giuliani now a 'target' in Georgia election interference investigation
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