Wide coverup by Harv biz: AG

Management ‘complicit’ in abuse

NEW YORK’S attorney general doubled down Monday on his lawsuit against the Weinstein Co., saying his four-month investigation found a “pervasive pattern” of abuse and “extensive coverup.”

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman spoke a day after his legal maneuver reportedly collapsed a $500 million sale of the Weinstein Co. — and after a lawyer for disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein (photo right) denied the allegations.

“Our investigation, as demonstrated by the petition filed yesterday, uncovered a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment, intimidation, discrimination and abuse at the Weinstein Co.,” Schneiderman said. “It is clear to us that the company’s management was complicit in this pattern of misconduct.”

The AG said it’s “critically important” that any deal to sell the company’s assets come with assurances that victims are “adequately compensated.”

Such a deal should also protect employees and guarantee that any executives “who perpetuated or enabled the pervasive sexual misconduct at (the Weinstein Co.) will not be rewarded.”

Schneiderman called the outcome of his office’s investigation “just really astonishing.” The lawsuit scuttled the deal to sell the Weinstein Co. to a group led by businesswoman Maria Contreras-Sweet, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report said Contreras-Sweet and her investors were “about to consummate” the sale but got cold feet when the suit dropped, even though the complaint did not seek a restraining order halting the sale.

Contreras-Sweet was President Barack Obama's head of the Small Business Administration. One of her co-investors was Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies.

The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court claimed Weinstein, his brother Robert and other company officials were complicit in the mogul’s alleged abuse of scores of women, including actresses and female employees.