Attorney for man allegedly threatened by Spitzer vows to file complaint, lawsuit
Attorney for man allegedly threatened by Spitzer vows to file complaint, lawsuit
Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer allegedly threatened to stab a man in the crotch on Jan. 2, 2018. His spokeswoman, Lisa Linden, said no threats were made.
(Reuters)
The lawyer for a man who says Eliot Spitzer crudely threatened him in a Manhattan restaurant plans to file a formal complaint with New York police investigators as well as a lawsuit against the disgraced ex-governor.
Jamie Antolini has alleged the former New York governor confronted him at a restaurant after he praised a longtime Spitzer enemy. According to The New York Post, he says Spitzer told him “I’ll get a f–king knife and stab you right in your f—–g c–k!”
Attorney Joe Murray, who also represented former escort Svetlana Travis Zakharova whom Spitzer also allegedly threatened, confirmed to Fox News that he wants an investigation.
He suggested others are coming forward, saying another man called him with a complaint similar to Antolini’s.
“I’m calling this the Eliot Spitzer ‘Me Too’ movement,” Murray told Fox News on Thursday. “He has, so far, escaped criminal prosecution. He thinks he’s untouchable and above the law and that he can get away with anything he wants. We’re hoping this will be the thing to bring him down.”
Murray told Fox News that he has requested to have the same NYPD investigators who probed the Zakharova case investigate Antolini’s incident.
“I don’t want two separate investigators—I want them to be investigated by the same people. He would then be charged on the same docket for both of these cases,” Murray said.
Spitzer’s spokeswoman Lisa Linden said the allegations are “absurd.”
“Mr. Spitzer is a private citizen whom various people seek to harass for money or attention,” Linden said in a statement to Fox News. “Now it appears that a lawyer is making absurd allegations against law enforcement. Mr. Spitzer has been fully cooperative with law enforcement and has the highest respect for their integrity and fairness.”
Linden was apparently referring to a claim made by Murray that the Bronx DA committed “prosecutorial misconduct.”
The Jan. 2 incident took place at the restaurant Avra Madison Estiatorio, where Antolini was dining with potential business partners.
Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 amid revelations of being a high-priced prostitution patron, allegedly walked by Antolini’s table and overheard him call his so-called archenemy Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone an “amazing guy” and say Langone “should have been president.”
The comments reportedly enraged Spitzer, who allegedly leaned into Antolini’s face and yelled “I don’t know who the f—k you think you are! I’ll f—g have you killed!”
Spitzer then, allegedly, left the table, but returned minutes later with more threats.
Murray told Fox News that Spitzer returned a third time.
“My client was in definite fear of his safety. Mr. Spitzer threatened to stab in him in the penis, saying different things each time he returned to the table,” Murray said. “This guy [Spitzer] has lost it.”
But Spitzer’s spokeswoman claimed Antolini provoked the incident.
“There was an argument started and provoked by an Avra patron. Mr. Spitzer was at a dinner celebrating his mother’s 90th birthday,” Linden said in a statement to Fox News. “The patron persisted in making aggressive remarks, which Mr. Spitzer initially ignored. An argument ensued, but at no time did he make any threats.”
The incident occurred just days before Zakharova, who accused Spitzer of choking her, gave the police a recording where Spitzer is reportedly heard threatening her.
“You know what’s going to happen to you? You’re going to be f—g dead,” Spitzer allegedly says in the recording. “You’re going to die a slow painful death and your family is going to look at you and laugh because you’re a f—g b—h.”
Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.
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