June 10, 2014

Assemblyman Micah Kellner

1365 First Avenue
New York, New York 10021

Dear Assemblyman Kellner:

On December 30, 2013 you were issued a Letter of Admonition. I have been advised by letter, a
copy of which is enclosed, that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance has concluded an
investigation into allegations that you violated the terms of the Letter of Admonition. The
investigation concludes that:
An intern has been working in your office;
you attempted to obstruct the required climate survey of your office; and
you engaged in additional sexual harassment beyond the matters that were the subject of
the 2013 investigation.

The Committee on Ethics and Guidance unanimously found as follows:

1. An independent investigator conducted a climate survey of your staff on May 14, 2014, and
learned that subsequent to my directive to you of December 30, 2013, and through May 9, 2014,
you had an intern working in your district office.
2. Although you denied willfully having an intern, the evidence does not support your claim.
You admitted telling a staffer that you thought you needed to remove the intern from the office, but
claimed you allowed yourself to be persuaded otherwise by the staffer in a conversation that the
staffer did not describe in the staffers own interview. In addition, you had legal counsel whom
you chose not to consult on the subject. Moreover, you had easy access to website information that
would have confirmed your suspicion, but you did not make that simple inquiry. Finally, you did
not seek clarification from me. These facts led the Ethics Committee to conclude that, at the very
least, you deliberately and willfully remained ignorant.
3. Finally, aware that the discovery of the intern would demonstrate your violation of the
admonition against having interns in your office, there is irrefutable evidence that you attempted to
cover up the interns existence by telling your staff not to reveal that information during the
climate survey. You thereby attempted to obstruct a second directive contained in the December
30, 2013, letter, namely the climate survey.
4. As a result of the investigation, it was learned that you engaged in unwanted and
inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature toward two female members of your staff, in addition to
the incidents that were brought to the Ethics Committees attention in 2013.

SHELDON SILVER
Speaker of the Assembly
THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK
ALBANY
Room 932
Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12248
(518) 455-3791
5. Your disregard for the December 30, 2013, admonition warrants a serious and severe
response that is designed to sanction you and to send a clear message to all Assembly Members
that when the Speaker issues punishment for violation of the Assemblys sexual harassment
policies, that punishment will be carried out in its entirety and shall be fully respected by the
Members.

The Committee offered its considered judgment that you brought shame on the Assembly of the
State of New York in that you violated the December 30, 2013, admonition against having interns
in your office, that you obstructed the investigation, and that you engaged in inappropriate conduct
of a sexual nature and that your conduct warrants a response that impresses upon you and the
Assemblys employees and other Members the importance of abiding by restrictions imposed as
punishment for sexual harassment. The Committee recommended the following actions:

1. That your district and LOB offices be closed;
2. That the Speaker issue a letter of further admonition and severe reprimand; and
3. That your staff be afforded all due consideration consistent with the law, policies, and
guidelines and past practices in these circumstances.

I accept the recommendations of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance in full. As a result, please
be advised that I am immediately directing that your LOB and district offices be secured and
closed; you and your staff should complete all necessary actions to remove your personal
possessions, complete tasks, and store files and materials by June 30, 2014. If you need access to
either office for any reason after that date, please contact John Wellspeak, who also will make
arrangements either for the phones that currently serve your offices to be forwarded to your
personal phones or for answering services to be provided, for your mail to be forwarded to you,
and for you to have access to Assembly e-mail and internet from your residence. In addition, I am
reducing your staff allocation to zero, effective close of business on June 30, 2014.

Finally, based on the foregoing and on the unanimous recommendation of the Committee on Ethics
and Guidance, I hereby admonish and severely reprimand you on behalf of the New York State
Assembly and its members and declare that your conduct with respect to these matters violates the
Assemblys policies on sexual harassment and is inconsistent with the standards of conduct to
which Members of the Assembly should be held.

Very truly yours,

Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the New York State Assembly

Cc: Arnold Kriss, Esq.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine

Enc.