To: DMaA who wrote (11543 ) 10/29/1998 9:56:00 AM From: Les H Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 67261
Talk-show host sued over $10,000 offer NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer filed a civil suit against Geraldo Rivera on Tuesday, claiming $10,000 that he said the talk show host promised anyone who could show a criminal prosecution had been brought for lying about sex. Attorney Marc Bogatin said he filed the lawsuit after Rivera made the offer on his nightly ''Rivera Live'' on CNBC last month. The offer was made during a lively on-air discussion about the investigation into the conduct of President Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the lawyer said. Bogatin said he did research in a law library, where he found five cases in which people had been criminally prosecuted for lies about sex. The lawyer said he contacted Rivera on October 6 about the cases he found. So far, he said, he had received no response from the talk show host despite sending repeated letters and making telephone calls. A spokesman said Rivera had been referring to federal prosecution for lying about sex and said a few people had come forward with cases. ''We are looking into this claim as we are with the others,'' said the spokesman, John Brine. ''To date, no one has collected any money,'' Brine said. ''The spirit of the challenge has always been to inspire debate and discussion on the show.'' Also named in the suit, which claims breach of contract and fraud, is CNBC Inc. Neither Rivera nor the show has been formally served with the lawsuit, and Brine said he could not comment further. Rivera was trained as a lawyer. He passed the state bar exam in New York in 1969 after attending Brooklyn College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.