Klein accuser: I kept mum in Albany pig sty

ALBANY — A former state Senate staffer who accused Bronx state Sen. Jeffrey Klein of forcibly kissing her said Albany’s “insidious” culture of sexual harassment kept her from reporting the incident.

Erica Vladimer’s public accusation however, is not enough for the Senate to investigate, Majority Leader John Flanagan said Thursday. “At this point, this is an allegation in which no formal complaint was ever made,” Flanagan, a Republican allied with Klein, said. “While it may be within the scope of other entities, an investigation into this matter is not within the jurisdiction of the Senate.”

In a Facebook post Thursday, Vladimer (photo) said Klein, the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, “abused his power by violating my body, and ultimately my mind and soul.”

She said it was not the only time she faced sexual harassment in Albany.

“Sadly, my experience with sexual harassment in Albany was more insidious than this one moment in time with this one man,” Vladimer wrote in the post. “As a result, the Erica that instinctually protects others forgot how to do the same for herself, and was silenced: driven into darkness, confusion and – most horrifically – self-doubt. I didn’t speak my mind. I didn’t put him in his place. I didn’t come forward and say, ‘Not me, not anyone, not anymore.’ ”

Vladimer, in a HuffPost story published Wednesday, said Klein “shoved his tongue” down her throat outside an Albany bar as lawmakers and staff celebrated completion of the 2015 state budget.

Klein has denied the accusation, saying “this alleged incident never happened.”

Klein did say a day after the alleged incident a different staffer told him there wa a “rumor” that he kissed Vladimer. He denied it, but did not refer the issue for investigation, which might have violated the Senate sexual harassment policy.

A rep for the IDC leader, Candice Giove, said he “welcomes any investigation.”