An Assemblywoman from Western New York has been sanctioned by the Assembly ethics committee on charges she sexually harassed a male staffer.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who released the news of the punishments after the Assembly had left for the week, says Angela Wozniak, a freshman Democrat who represents Cheektowaga, will be issued a public letter saying she violated the Assembly’s Policy Prohibiting Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation.
Wozniak is ordered to “cease publicizing details of the investigation” and to stop “making disparaging statements “against the former staffer who accused her of harassment. The staff member will be placed in a comparable job in the Assembly, at the same rate of pay.
Wozniak is also prohibited from having any interns in her office.
Wozniak replaced Dennis Gabryszak, who was also accused of sexual harassment by several female staffers, and resigned.
WBFO placed calls to Wozniak's offices in Cheektowaga and Albany for comment. Our calls went directly to voice mail. A call to the attorney representing her in the ethics case, Steven Cohen, was not returned as of early Wednesday evening.
Ironically, Wozniak was elected to replace former Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, who resigned in January 2014 after he was charged with inappropriate conduct by several female staff members. Wozniak declared her candidacy for the vacant seat the following April.
"In the last three months, three Assembly members have been kicked out of the Assembly after being convicted of felonies or ethical violations. If we want to really change Albany, we need to start electing people who aren't afraid to stand up to the status quo," she said at the time.
News of sanctions against Wozniak drew a quick response from Monica Wallace, a Democratic candidate running against the incumbent this November.
"Angela Wozniak's misconduct as determined by the Assembly Ethics Committee is inexcusable and a textbook reminder of what is wrong with Albany," Wallace wrote on her campaign's official Facebook page. "It is especially shocking that a legislator who ran on a platform of family values and personal ethics should be sanctioned for precisely the behavior she once condemned. This wasn't just bad judgment: it was unethical and illegal."
(NOTE: Assemblywoman Wozniak is not related to WBFO program host Mark Wozniak.)
