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By: Nick Carraway
A former longtime employee of New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office has leveled explosive claims about a toxic and sexually charged workplace culture — including a “balloon penis” at an office party and coworkers sharing explicit cartoons — in a lawsuit that was ultimately settled, the New York Post has reported.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020 by ex-staffer Evan Harris, who spent 16 years working in the comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds, paints a disturbing picture of everyday conduct inside one of the state’s key fiscal watchdog agencies, the NY Post reported. According to the complaint, inappropriate and lewd behavior from supervisors and colleagues went unchecked for years, making the office an uncomfortable — and at times humiliating — place to work.
Among the bizarre episodes described in the suit was a balloon shaped like male genitalia that allegedly appeared during an office retirement party, a detail that quickly grabbed attention when the case re-emerged this week, the NY Post reported. Harris also claimed that coworkers regularly circulated sexually explicit cartoons and joked about graphic sexual scenarios during work hours.
The lawsuit accuses several supervisors by name — including Lawrence Schantz, director of the unclaimed funds office, and Robert Tambini, audits director — of contributing to the hostile environment. Harris alleged that when he complained about the conduct, instead of support from management, he was marginalized and ultimately fired in retaliation for threatening legal action, the NY Post reported.
In one instance detailed in the complaint, a supervisor reportedly sent Harris repeated lewd text messages, including one featuring a cartoon depicting oral sex on a microphone, the NY Post reported. Other graphic images described in court papers allegedly showed a man receiving a prostate exam and another with an exposed penis captioned with a crude joke — all sent in the context of workplace chatter.
After years of legal back-and-forth, the comptroller’s office agreed to a settlement of $350,000 in April 2024, resolving the dispute without admitting fault or liability, the NY Post reported. However, court records show that taxpayers footed more than $900,000 in legal bills for the comptroller’s defense, including to private law firms that represented the agency.
A judge refused to dismiss the case in 2023, allowing the suit to proceed before the eventual settlement, signaling that the allegations had at least survived early legal scrutiny, according to the NY Post. Neither the comptroller nor his office publicly responded to requests for comment when the story first broke.
Harris’ lawyer had argued in filings that the environment he endured was hostile and degrading, asserting that the behavior went far beyond harmless office pranks. He maintained that being subjected to repeated sexual jokes, inappropriate images and retaliatory treatment took a toll on Harris’ career and dignity, the NY Post reported.
Supporters of the lawsuit have said the episode raises broader questions about workplace culture in government offices and how senior managers handle complaints of inappropriate conduct. Critics have noted that New York state agencies have struggled with morale and retention, with some former employees posting online about micromanagement, bullying and other issues in divisions overseen by the comptroller, though these comments were not part of the legal case.
