‘Lipstick bandit’ on the loose in NYC welfare office

In something straight out of “Benny Hill,” a New York City welfare office manager overseeing 21 Human Resources Administration (HRA) employees terrorized her female staff by chasing them around their desks, planting heavy lipstick smooches on their cheeks, smacking them on the buttocks and entreating them to “come to mama.”

On one occasion, the manager pulled down a woman’s blouse to show how great she’d be in a girlie calendar, the manager’s idea for an employee fundraiser.

Incredibly, the employees’ complaints did not draw a response from HRA until they filed a formal complaint in April 2006. An understated internal review later concluded the manager had “behaved inappropriately.”

The defendant still works in the same office as the plaintiffs, but on a different floor. The women seek unspecified damages.