'Perv' pol's return
'sex harass' ex-sen. shows up in Albany
Former state Senate power broker Jeff Klein was back in the Capitol on Wednesday, advocating in Albany on behalf of the “disabled” despite a years-long cloud of scandal hanging over his head, stoking outrage from a former staffer who accused him of sexual misconduct.
“Jeff Klein, who sexually harassed me while I worked for him, is at the Capitol today . . . Still under an ethics investigation, he’s allowed to stroll around the institution where he abused his power,” Erica Vladimer, who in 2018 accused Klein of forcibly kissing her three years earlier outside an Albany bar, tweeted in dismay Wednesday.
“I’m getting used to seeing folks ‘from back then’: The former colleague who helped cover it up, the ex-best friend who stopped speaking to me after I spoke publicly. But this is . . . different. This elicits the anger I know many others carry while trying to move on,” she added.
Klein, who has denied Vladimer’s accusation, told The Post as he left the Capitol that he had meetings in the building to discuss issues affecting “the disabled,” before hurrying off when asked about Vladimer’s comments.
Klein was once among the most powerful people in state politics while he led a breakaway group of Democratic senators — called the Independent Democratic Conference — that allied with Republicans to hold control of the state Senate.
But the accusation by Vladimer likely contributed to his defeat later that year after progressives targeted him and other Democrats who were part of the group.
5-year probe
Soon after Vladimer, who cofounded the Sexual Harassment Working Group that helped push Albany lawmakers to update state sexual-harassment laws, came forward, an ethics investigation was launched, but, five years later, no end to it is in sight.
A spokesperson for the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government did not respond to a request for comment about the progress of the probe.
Klein has established himself in the political-consulting business, with state filings showing him repping a range of clients for Allied Government Affairs, including Grubhub, medical facilities and landlords’ Community Housing Improvement Program.
It remains unclear whom Klein might have been working for while he lobbied Wednesday.
“Gov staffers are now subjected to his vitriol and potential harassment. I will forever hold my breath when I walk the same halls (which will be a lot). Meanwhile, Klein is dragging out the ethics investigation (5 f--king years), evading any level of accountability. I’m tired,” Vladimer tweeted.