By Dan Mangan
New York Post
January 2, 2006
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/59742.htm/
January 1, 2006 -- An ironclad contract is keeping the Catholic church from firing the sexy secretary who was caught visiting a hot-sheets hotel with the former top priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Post has learned.
The four year-deal that pays Laura DeFilippo around $100,000 yearly was negotiated by her former boss, Monsignor Eugene Clark.
DeFilippo is still getting paid even though she hasn't gone into work since the scandal broke last summer over her Hamptons visit with Clark.
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| Laura DeFilippo Four-year ironclad pact. |
Catholic Church officials have been trying to persuade Clark, 80, to talk his leggy longtime assistant into quitting — but he's so far refused, the sources said.
Clark recently asked for a meeting with Edward Cardinal Egan to reiterate his denial that he behaved inappropriately with DeFilippo, 46.
But instead of setting up a confab with the cardinal, the archdiocese assigned a lawyer to meet Clark — and, a source said, the lawyer asked the priest, "Can you convince her to basically bow out of the contract?"
Clark did not act on the archdiocese's request, and feels it is unfair the church is linking the hotel incident with DeFilippo's contract, another source said.
DeFilippo has consulted with a top sex discrimination lawyer in New York — raising concern she'd sue if she's fired, a source said.
"They don't want her there anymore," said the source. "They would have fired her but for the contract."
Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said, "I can tell you that the cathedral has an attorney working to try to resolve this particular situation, but it has not yet been finalized."
Clark's lawyer, Laura Brevetti, and DeFilippo's lawyer, Michael Berger, declined to comment.
dan.mangan@nypost.com
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