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Sharpton Lawyer Allegedly Pops Viagra, Dresses Like A Hipster
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 7, 2014
Modified Oct 7, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 7, 2014
Modified Oct 7, 2014
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Over the weekend, it was revealed that prominent attorney Sanford Rubenstein was under investigation for allegedly raping a woman after his friend Rev. Al Sharpton's 60th birthday party. Investigators from the NYPD were seen removing evidence—including a mattress—from Rubenstein's Upper East Side apartment as his accuser's lawyer said, "There’s a lot of new information that will be devastating to Mr. Rubenstein. We want to give the district attorney a chance to take this information and do the right thing.... We expected the district attorney to do the right thing."
Rubenstein is known for representing victims of police brutality, such as Abner Louima, Sandra Amezquita, and the families of Sean Bell and Eric Garner, and is often at Sharpton's press conferences. The victim is, according to the NY Post, "a 42-year-old retail company executive and longtime top aide to Sharpton at the National Action Network." A source said, "She is scared and embarrassed."
There are many "sources" providing sordid quotes to the tabloids. The Post has these details about Rubenstein:
“The guy’s hung like a cashew,” a source said Monday of Rubenstein, with a neighbor adding that the 70-year-old lawyer relies on amenities such as stretch limos to attract women...
He is frequently seen squiring around women barely out of their teens, the longtime neighbor said.
“Not the kind of women you’d expect. He uses the penthouse and the limo to [attract] them,” said the neighbor outside Rubenstein’s East 64th Street building.
“Every time I see him, he wants to tell me about his latest ménage à trois. It’s all about sex with this guy. He’s a real p- - -y hound.”
..While Rubenstein is frequently seen at news conferences in flashy, peaked-lapel suits, he usually wears tight jeans and T-shirts in his off-hours, his neighbor said.
“He dresses like a hipster kid, like the [women] he’s trying to [attract],” the neighbor added.
Others claim he pops Viagra and frequents strip clubs regularly ("Every girl would be like, ‘Hi Sandy!’") and likes tall women. And from the Daily News:
The woman allegedly raped by Sanford Rubenstein awoke the next morning and had sex with him again, a source close to the powerhouse attorney told the Daily News.
That version of events, in which the pair had consensual sex, conflicted with one presented by a police source, who said the 42-year-old victim awoke from a booze-filled haze to find she was having sex with the 70-year-old lawyer.
“It’s a classic he said, she said. She’s claiming she was attacked. He said it was consensual,” a police source said of the incident following the Rev. Al Sharpton’s 60th birthday bash Wednesday.
A colleague for the victim's attorney pointed out that Rubenstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, represented Dominique Strauss-Kahn, "They’re trying to demonize this woman in the process,. Her world has turned upside down. This is a mother, someone who’s gainfully employed. She’s a pillar of the community, a board member. This is a horrible situation for her, almost surreal."
Sharpton said on Sunday, "I don’t care how close we are. If he’s wrong, he’s wrong. If he’s right, we’ll see."
Tagged
al sharpton
rape accusation
rape investigation
sanford rubenstein
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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