The 20-page lawsuit alleges dozens of instances of un-fraternal conduct by the FOP's long-time lawyer. The police union lawyer maintains it is all being made up by his ex-secretary who is angry about being fired.
- Read the Lawsuit (WARNING: the contents of this lawsuit are graphic and may be offensive)
The attorney, Paul Geiger, has been on the frontline of numerous major cases, defending the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 in Chicago and its officers. Now, Geiger finds himself in the middle of a case brought by Marie Marrero, who from 2007 until last year worked as his secretary.
According to the lawsuit brought by Marrero against the union, on numerous occasions, Geiger made lewd descriptions of the human body to the secretary using blunt language not fit for broadcast.
Marrero claims Geiger frequently offered sexually suggestive invitations and repeatedly showed her pornography on his office computer.
Marrero claims to have an audio tape of her former boss coming onto her.
The response from the FOP and Paul Geiger: They deny all of her allegations and say that forensic tests show that tape was manufactured by Marrero. They maintain Marrero filed the lawsuit in retaliation for her being fired while on maternity leave when it was discovered she concocted the audio tape.
While Marrero worked for Geiger as a secretary, Marrero says she lodged complaints with FOP officials, the state human rights department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Geiger filed a defamation lawsuit against his former secretary in December. That case is pending.
This isn't the first time the police union has had to fight charges against its general counsel. In 2005 the FOP was sued by one of its female attorneys, who claimed that she was fired after Paul Geiger made sexist remarks about her pregnancy. That case ended up being settled out of court.
This article was modified on 3/26/13 to clarify that the Fraternal Order of Police is the sole defendant in the lawsuit brought by Marie Marrero.
