As State Assemblyman Vito Lopez denies charges he inappropriately harassed members of his staff, the Assembly is confirming it used $103,000 of taxpayer money to settle a claim against an unnamed official. The New York Times reports that official was Lopez and the secret payment was authorized by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

A spokesman for Silver says the settlement complied with the chamber’s policy for handling harassment and was not a cover-up of any incident.

Lopez says he has no intention of stepping down in the wake of the allegations and is calling the charges against him unfair and untrue.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for Lopez to step down.

When asked in a conference call Monday about whether taxpayer money should be used to settle cases like Lopez, Cuomo skirted the issue.

“You have to know the facts and I just don’t know the facts on this situation. Okay. And, it is the kind of situation where you DO need to know all the facts,” Cuomo said.

Lopez was censured on Friday, stripped of his privileges and removed as the chairman of the Assembly’s committee on housing.

(Source: NY1)