Housekeeper's lawsuit: Investor, wife abused help

A Polish housekeeper has accused wealthy Nassau County real estate investor Lawrence Kadish and his wife, Susan, of abusive treatment of their household help and wage violations in a federal lawsuit filed Friday.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn by Aleksandra Ciesielska says she and other workers were frequently referred to as "Polish idiot" and "moron" while working at the Kadish home in Old Westbury, and threatened with deportation if they complained.

"The Kadishes, who can easily afford to hire legal U.S. residents to serve as housekeepers, instead chose to hire a largely undocumented (and largely Polish) workforce because they are more vulnerable, easier to control and easier to abuse with impunity," said the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks damages for subjecting Ciesielska to a hostile and abusive work environment, failure to pay overtime and New York Labor Law violations.

The housekeeper's lawyer, Scott Lucas, declined to comment Friday.

Kadish is listed on the Republican National Committee website as a national committeeman, and is listed as a board member of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.

The website CampaignMoney.com lists him as having given more than $1 million to Republican political causes since 1999.

A spokesman for Lawrence Kadish, reached last night for response, said: "These false allegations will be answered in court."

With Dan Janison