WFAN midday host Joe Benigno, a Mahwah resident, has been accused of sexual harassment, according to a shocking lawsuit filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court.
Longtime WFAN midday host Joe Benigno has been accused of sexual harassment and having “propositioned” a former CBS Radio advertising executive for “threesomes” involving him, his wife and “prostitutes,” according to a shocking lawsuit filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court.
The allegations and lawsuit were first reported by The New York Post. NJ Advance Media has since obtained a copy of the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, the former ad executive, Lauren Lockwood, alleges WFAN and CBS Radio had an alcohol-fueled “Animal House” culture in its offices that resulted in “flagrant sexual harassment, gender bias, unequal pay, unequal terms of commission, targeting of complainants and retaliation as well as protection and concealment of favored male talent’s sexual misconduct.”
The lawsuit also alleges Benigno, a 64-year-old Mahwah resident, “often came over to plaintiff’s cubicle to flirt with her and ask her personal questions” and “commented inappropriately about plaintiff’s physical appearance, he hair, jewelry and clothing.”
The lawsuit then specifically alleges Benigno of seeking “threesomes” with Lockwood, who sold ads for CBS Radio and the Yankees Radio Network:
On these various occasions, Defendant Benigno rubbed plaintiff’s back and whispered in her ear about having ‘threesomes’ with him and his wife and prostitutes as well as having ‘threesomes with him and his wife’ and other females in the office.
Defendant Benigno described to plaintiff in detail about the ‘threesomes’ he had with a prostitute and his wife in Las Vegas.
Defendant Benigno showed plaintiff a nude photo of his wife with a prostitute and propositioned plaintiff to join him, his wife and a prostitute in sexual intercourse.
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The lawsuit also alleges Benigno made sexually-charged comments about other women in the office and had a two-year affair with a female subordinate.
CBS Radio, CBS Sports Radio and Entercom Communications (the parent company of the two latter parties) are also named as defendants in the suit, as are two other CBS advertising executives – Sean Argaman and Mark Zukerman – as well as 10 unnamed “John Doe” defendants and five unnamed “ABC Corporations.”
Lockwood, who was fired in 2017 in what the lawsuit alleges was a retaliatory measure, also alleges misconduct by the other named defendants and others.
Benigno’s agent did not respond to a request for comment, according to The Post. An Entercom spokesperson told The Post the company would not comment on ongoing litigation, but “we do intend to defend the company vigorously.”
Lockwood is seeking over $5 million in damages, according to the lawsuit.
James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/07/wfans_joe_benigno_accused_of_sexual_harassment_see.html