Weinstein Miramax pal Fabrizio Lombardo accused of rape in 2001

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By Priscilla DeGregory

April 7, 2023 | 1:05 p.m

An ex-model is suing former Miramax exec and Harvey Weinstein sidekick Fabrizio Lombardo, claiming he lured her right into a faux assembly at a fancy New York lodge and raped her when she was simply 19.

Sara Ziff, 40, claims that Lombardo – who ran Miramax in Italy and Europe – tricked her into attending a mock assembly with Weinstein and his brother Bob on the Mercer Lodge in 2001, when she was a mannequin and aspiring actress, in keeping with one she has Manhattan Supreme Court docket lawsuit late Thursday sexually assaulted.

Earlier within the night, Lombardo invited the New Yorker — about 20 years his junior — to a screening of “Black Hawk Down” at Miramax’s Tribeca workplace, the place Weinstein and one other younger girl had been additionally current, the submitting says .

The disgraced film mogul barely acknowledged Ziff apart from to ask her to eat one thing that was there, the swimsuit claims.

When the movie ended, Lombardo invited Ziff to a drink on the SoHo Lodge and instructed Ziff that Weinstein, the opposite girl, and presumably Bob Weinstein could be becoming a member of them, courtroom information allege.

Ziff agreed, pondering it will be a very good profession alternative to satisfy and communicate to the highly effective movie exec brothers, the swimsuit claims.

Former mannequin and aspiring actress Sara Ziff claims she was raped by Fabrizio Lombardo in a NYC lodge in 2001. FilmMagic

However Lombardo led Ziff straight to the lodge’s penthouse, the place an uncomfortable Ziff was “conserving his distance” and smoking cigarettes by the window, in keeping with courtroom paperwork.

The Italian, who was round 40 on the time, rubbed her thigh and Ziff pushed his hand away, telling him she had a boyfriend, the submitting says.

“However Mr. Lombardo didn’t wish to cease,” the swimsuit complains.

Lombardo (left) was the previous head of Miramax in Italy and Europe and was a detailed buddy of Harvey Weinstein (proper).WireImage

He pulled Ziff onto the mattress, sat on her, and raped her — with no condom — although Ziff mentioned “no” a number of occasions, courtroom information allege.

Ziff “was so traumatized that she was unable to talk about the rape for a number of years afterward,” the submitting says.

She subsequently attended different conferences with Lombardo as a result of “she feared that if she didn’t, Mr. Lombardo would retaliate towards her by utilizing his highly effective connections within the modeling and appearing industries — together with with Mr. Weinstein.” to refuse to work early of their careers,” the lawsuit alleges.

Lombardo invited Ziff on a visit to Rome, which she didn’t take him on, and he or she would by no means hear from him once more, the submitting claims.

The lawsuit – which additionally names Weinstein as a defendant – alleges that Lombardo and Weinstein had been so shut that Weinstein was finest man at Lombardo’s 2003 marriage ceremony.

“Among the many issues which have linked them seems to be the abuse of ladies,” the lawsuit alleges.

Ziff says Lombardo lured her to the Mercer Lodge, claiming they’d meet Weinstein and presumably his brother Bob Weinstein, however Lombardo raped her as an alternative, her swimsuit claims.Luiz C. Ribeiro/NY Publish

When ladies later introduced sexual assault allegations towards Weinstein, some claimed Lombardo helped lure ladies to Weinstein so he might abuse them, courtroom filings say.

And the circumstances of the night time of Ziff’s alleged rape “make it clear that the 2 males deliberate to make use of the screening of the movie as an excuse to have intercourse with their respective targets. This was a practiced operation,” the courtroom paperwork mentioned.

Ziff is suing Lombardo, Weinstein, Miramax and Buena Vista Worldwide, in addition to the manufacturing firms’ mum or dad firm, The Walt Disney Firm, for unspecified damages.

Ziff claims she was so traumatized by the alleged rape that she didn’t inform anybody till years later. the registration claims. Astrid Stawiarz

“At present I took an necessary step to be accountable and at last obtain therapeutic,” Ziff mentioned in a press release. “What occurred to me once I was 19 was a catastrophic second for my life’s work.”

Ziff, the founding father of mannequin advocacy Mannequin Alliance, filed her case below New York’s Grownup Survivors Act, which permits abuse victims to make claims for one 12 months, even when the claims are actually statute-barred.

“Because of the Grownup Survivors Act, it’s not too late for survivors like Sara Ziff to hunt justice,” Ziff’s attorneys Kevin Mintzer and Laura Edidin mentioned in a press release. “We wish to see that she will get it.”

Ziff claims Lombardo and Weinstein knew about one another’s conduct and coated one another up. Penske Media by way of Getty Photographs Ziff is suing Lombardo, Weinstein, Miramax and Buena Vista Worldwide, and the manufacturing firms’ mum or dad firm, The Walt Disney Firm, for unspecified damages. WireImage

“To be clear, Sara Ziff isn’t accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape, nor alleging that Mr. Weinstein dedicated sexual misconduct towards her,” mentioned Weinstein’s legal professional, Imran Ansari. “Your rape allegations are towards Fabrizio Lombardo.”

“Actually Mr. Weinstein had no management over any alleged conduct by Mr. Lombardo, nor would he have any motive to know what Mr. Lombardo was doing or the place Mr. Lombardo was when Ms. Ziff alleges she was raped,” Ansari mentioned . “As such, Mr. Weinstein strongly denies that he’s chargeable for anybody else’s alleged conduct.”

No working quantity may very well be discovered for Lombardo. The Walt Disney Firm didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday.

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