Sex-harass Blaz aide pushed out, but got sweet gig

A top aide to Mayor de Blasio who sexually harassed two women landed a cushy spot at a politically connected firm after he was quietly push out of City Hall , the mayor admitted Thursday — nearly a year after the top lieutenant’s ouster.

Kevin O’Brien, who had served as de Blasio’s acting chief of staff in 2017 and was then a senior adviser, was found by the Law Department to have harassed two coworkers — but was able to quietly resign in early 2018 and land a consulting job, with his pervy behavior remaining under wraps until now.

“The misconduct in this case literally makes me sick to my stomach. Angry does not describe my view. I am livid, I am disgusted by what happened. I am deeply disappointed in this individual,” de Blasio said.

But the mayor said nothing about the misconduct for nearly a year — during which O’Brien was hired by Hilltop Public Solutions, a consulting firm with deep ties to de Blasio and whose founder, Nick Baldick, was a close enough adviser to be deemed one of his socalled “agents of the city.”

The lascivious behavior came to light Thursday with the release of a Law Department report that found the complaints substantiated. The report was first reported by The New York Times.

“I know today must be a difficult one for the women who came forward and reported this harassment. I want to thank them and commend them for their courage,” de Blasio said. “And let me say to them that I am deeply sorry. I am deeply sorry this happened on our team.”

The heavily redacted report, dated February 13, 2018, does not disclose the nature of the harassment, but does say that the equal opportunity office believed the two women, but not O’Brien.

“EEO finds the respondent’s statement to not be credible,” the report, authored by First Assistant Corporation Counsel Georgia Pestana, said. “After investigation, the allegations of sexual harassment are substantiated,” the report reads. “Recommendation: It is recommended that the respondent be terminated from employment at the Mayor’s Office.”

But O’Brien was not fired — he asked to resign, and was allowed to collect months worth of pay in the form of accrued vacation time.

But the quiet departure also meant O’Brien’s bad behavior was unknown to his future employers, who Pestana said never called City Hall.

O’Brien — who had been paid $220,652 a year as one of the most senior officials in the mayor’s office — admitted he’d gotten outof-hand at an after-workevent.

“There’s no excuse for what I’ve done - I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he said. “At an after-work event, I drank too much and acted inappropriately. No one deserves to be treated that way. I’ve apologized to the people I’ve hurt and will continue to do so because I am truly sorry.”

He said he was seeking professional help. “My use of alcohol has led me to make horrible decisions. I’m working every day to be a better person and getting the professional help I need to live a healthier life,” he said.

O’Brien was hired by Hilltop in April 2018, the firm said — but is no longer an employee.

"Our firm had no knowledge of Kevin’s behavior when he was hired in April of 2018. We only learned about it recently as a result of the Times reporting. Kevin is no longer with Hilltop Public Solutions,” Hilltop Public Solutions said in a statement.