Sex Suit Could Be Problem for Bloomberg
By SARA KUGLER
Associated Press
July 30, 2007
Page 3 of 3
The public got a glimpse of this in 2003, when he told a pair of disc jockeys on a radio program that he would ''really want to have'' actress-singer Jennifer Lopez. A day later, Bloomberg backpedaled a bit and told reporters, as his face reddened, that he would want to ''have dinner'' with her.
The 65-year-old divorced bachelor had a reputation as a womanizer during the years he was building his financial empire. He began dating his girlfriend, investment firm executive and former state banking superintendent Diana Taylor, before his first run for mayor.
''I like theater, dining and chasing women,'' he once told a reporter. ''Let me put it this way: I am a single, straight billionaire in Manhattan. What do you think? It's a wet dream.''
In his 1997 autobiography, he boasted of keeping ''a girlfriend in every city'' during his years as a young Wall Street up-and-comer in the 1960s and 1970s.
A less-restrained Bloomberg was also portrayed in a book of quips, quotes and anecdotes attributed to him and put together by employees for a birthday present in 1990. It contains such statements as: ''If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they'd go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale's.''
Or, as he is quoted as saying about his invention, the Bloomberg computer terminal that made him rich, ''It will do everything, including give you (oral sex). I guess that puts a lot of you girls out of business.''
A former longtime Bloomberg employee who was familiar with the book confirmed the authenticity of the quotes to the AP and said Bloomberg regularly made similar offensive remarks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that Bloomberg would retaliate.
During Bloomberg's 2001 campaign, he dismissed the book as ''Borscht Belt jokes'' and said he did not recall saying those things.
Lee Miringoff, head of the Marist College poll that tracks New York politics, said the allegations had little impact on public opinion at the time, but that a presidential run would draw more scrutiny.
''He doesn't have a defined national persona at this point,'' Miringoff said. ''Certainly as a presidential candidate there might be a resurfacing of this -- it gets a second airing if he does decide to run.''
>> Back -- Page 1 2 3
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
++ Discuss this topic in The Forum
Current rating:  5.0 out of 5.0 (1 total votes)
| 
