Woman says she traded sexual harassment for job security

I like to think if a woman has been sexually harassed 200 times by her bosses over eight years, she'd quit. I like to think if she'd been asked to spread her butt cheeks for viewing, asked to play tennis without panties or had been spanked, she'd decide enough's enough.

However, dignity and self-respect lost out to money and job security. Perhaps in this economy, that's easier to understand.

Leslie Culler swears that it happened and that she did not report it because she believed she would lose her $80,000-a-year job as art director for N-M Ventures. Then she lost her job anyway.

N-M Ventures is a joint venture between George Maloof of the Palms and Michael Morton of the N9NE Group, operators of bars and restaurants. The two men are suing each other in state court, with Morton claiming Maloof was interfering in N9NE operations and Maloof claiming Morton was ripping him off through their joint venture.

Last week in federal court, Culler, now 32, sued Morton, his partner, Scott Degraff, and company executive Bronson Olimpieri and alleged sexual harassment.

Culler alleged the following:

■ Morton grabbed her at a company party, bent her over and spanked her so hard it left welts on her buttocks. At another party he tried to kiss her. Another time she said he said he wanted to know what it would feel like to have sex with her. Another time, he grabbed her breasts while another man held her wrists behind her.

■ Degraff told her, at various times, she should play tennis with him and wear a skirt but no panties, touched her breasts and said he wanted to snort cocaine off her breasts.

■ Olimpieri, vice president of brand marketing and Culler's immediate supervisor, is accused of repeatedly asking her to pull her pants down, bend over and spread her butt cheeks and hold it for 30 seconds. She said he would collect money from other staff to encourage her to do this, but she refused.

The lawsuit was filed by Las Vegas attorney Andre Lagomarsino. The documents state there are witnesses. Some are former employees who presumably might be willing to speak up. An unidentified supervisor admitted in the state case Culler was subject to a hostile work environment. The proof seems to rise above "she said, he said."

Las Vegas attorney Richard Segerblom is not involved in this case but has handled about 100 sex harassment cases over 30 years. He explained why women often don't sue until after they're fired. "They don't want to lose their job, and if they complain, they know that's what's going to happen."

With the economy the way it is, women are more likely to put up with harassment, knowing that even if they win, it will be years before they recover anything, Segerblom said. They might be blackballed by other employers.

Culler has been unable to get a job since she was fired in July.

"The reality is, it starts small, some banter back and forth, and you think you can handle it," Segerblom said, putting himself in a woman's place. "It seems like everybody is having fun, and the employer thinks it's consensual."

Culler believes she was fired because two years earlier she began dressing more conservatively after she married and sought to have a child.

N-M Ventures' attorney Justin Jones said, "We're familiar with the allegations made, and we strenuously disagree with the allegations."

If Culler's claims are not true, these men's reputations are damaged simply through the allegations.

If they are true, what kind of fools would do such things in the workplace and think it's OK?

Oh, that's right, this is Las Vegas. Never mind.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.