Astoria-based insurance broker Ibrahim Mansi tries to take care of his employees, and when one of his favorite subordinates, Silvia Olveira, celebrated her 33rd birthday in October 2009, he wanted give her the gift of unparalleled pleasure. But everything went terribly wrong as soon as Olveira opened up the present Mansi had put so much thought and effort into selecting. "When I opened it, I saw this thing," Olveira tells the Post. "I was like, what is this?" That "this" was a vibrating dildo. And unbeknownst to Mansi, this sort of gift is frowned upon in today's modern workplace.
"I didn't know what to do in that moment," says Olveira. "I went outside and took the bag and threw it in the garbage. I called him and said, 'Don't do that anymore.'" Trying to salvage the awkward situation, Mansi explained that he usually gets a cake for his employees, but he thought Olveira had earned special treatment. Olveira recalls him saying, "Come on, girl. You don't know how to enjoy your life." And when Mansi asked what became of his gift, Olveira tactlessly told him, "I threw it in the garbage." Couldn't she have at least re-gifted it?
It just doesn't pay to reward your employees—especially not if your idea of "reward" is telling them all about your sexual exploits with your wife and mistress. Mansi has not returned our call requesting comment, but the lawsuit also alleges that his ill-advised gift was the culmination of a series of inappropriate office incidents. According to the lawsuit (below), Mansi repeatedly asked Olveira to tell him about her sex life, overshared about his, commented often about her breasts and buttocks, asked her to sit on his lap, slapped her buttocks, frequently tried to kiss her, and attempted to slide her paycheck into her pants pocket. So perhaps that "large skin colored vibrating dildo" gift wasn't so innocent after all.
Olveira's attorney Matthew Blit tells us he "hopes this lawsuit carries a message to other woman that sexual harassment in the workplace must not be tolerated." Other women fed up with sexual harassment should give Blit a call—these lawsuits are his bread and butter!
