During that time, he has been the focus of several lawsuits alleging sexual harassment. In 2002, he settled a $6.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit filed by another former employee, with the terms undisclosed. Two years later, he settled another suit with $12 million, The Post said, but the terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. In May 2004, as he sought to get on the state Senate Judiciary Committee and was up for appointment to the powerful Finance Committee, Boccone agreed to pay $12 million to settle allegations by two Democratic state senators, then-Sen. Joseph Bruno and then-Sen. Michael Cusack, that he tried to get them to commit an unspecified sex act. He denied doing anything wrong in that case as well. In 2008, he had to pay $1.3 million to a woman after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1990, the Post said. Most recently, Boccone in 2010 settled a $22 million sexual harassment suit against him from a former employee with the terms not disclosed, The Post said. He denied any wrongdoing in that case, too. In a statement, New York State Senator Liz Krueger said, "I'm sure that as elected officials, we all face a lot of criticism, some deserved, and some not. But this is beyond the pale." In 2008, Senator Krueger chaired a joint Senate-Assembly committee on sexual harassment and assault in New York. She declined to comment further. This article tagged under: Robert Johnson Albany New York State Senate Christine C. Quinn