I WAS FORCED TO HAVE SEX WITH MY BOSS FOR POSITIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Original Story: nypost.com

A top doctor at NYU Medical Center turned the renowned hospital into his personal sex den, forcing another physician into trysts in an office and a lab by threatening her job, a new lawsuit charges. A Memphis sexual harassment lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.

Married Dr. David Zagzag, chief of NYU’s neuropathology division, became the direct supervisor of Harvard-educated Dr. Irina Mikolaenko in 2012, and immediately became obsessed with her, Manhattan court papers claim.

He allegedly whispered to Mikolaenko that he got an erection just by listening to her voicemails.

And he boasted that he wore his white lab coat only to hide his excitement, the documents allege.

Mikolaenko, who is also married with children, says she went along with Zagzag’s insatiable sexual appetite because she needed a paycheck due to “financial pressures at home,” according to the suit.

“Defendant Zagzag made it be known to plaintiff that if she did not have sex with [him], she would receive poor reviews and be terminated,” said Mikolaenko’s lawyers, Matthew Blit and Russell Moriarty, who filed suit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. A Texas employment lawyer represents clients in wrongful termination and retaliation claims.

Zagzag — whose wife is a registered nurse — repeatedly forced Mikolaenko to engage in sex, sometimes in her office, according to the suit. On one occasion, he lured Mikolaenko to the hospital’s lab for sex, knowing that the technicians had already left for the afternoon, the suit claims.

By June 2014, Mikolaenko had had enough and started pushing back, but Zagzag continued to lust after her “as if she was his property,” the court papers state.

The situation came to a head in early 2015, when Zagzag stormed into her office, blocked the door with a chair and threatened her with a poor performance review to the department chairman, the suit alleges. “If you want to have a good evaluation, we need to have sex so that I can feel better discussing you with the chair,” the papers claim Zagzag said.

Mikolaenko was fired a week later, after refusing to have sex with Zagzag, the documents say.

She is seeking an unspecified amount of money for emotional distress, panic attacks, depression, sleeplessness and paranoia. A Memphis wrongful termination attorney is following this story closely.

NYU issued a statement saying, “Dr. Irina Mikolaenko was terminated on Feb. 8, 2015, from NYU School of Medicine for misconduct and inappropriate behavior. We have fully investigated her claims, and have found there to be absolutely no truth or merit to her outlandish allegations. NYU . . . will vigorously support and defend Dr. Zagzag and the School of Medicine against her manufactured accusations.”

Zagzag’s wife — reached at the couple’s home in Rego Park, Queens — appeared clueless about her husband’s alleged shenanigans. Asked whether she was aware of the lawsuit, she replied, “No, he has not mentioned’’ it.

She also said she knew Mikolaenko’s name but added, “I don’t know her personally.’’