ALBANY — Julia Salazar, the insurgent Democrat running for state Senate, claimed the ex-wife of Mets Legend Keith Hernandez falsely accused her of having an affair with the MVP in a bizarre libel lawsuit involving accusations of drug use, bank theft and pilfered Pottery Barn vouchers.
The 2011 Florida lawsuit, unearthed Thursday a week before the primary, stemmed from a criminal complaint against the 27-year-old self-identified Democratic Socialist — a next door neighbor of the baseball player — filed by the ex-wife — accusing Salazar of trying to access her bank account.
She also accused Salazar of stealing nearly $12,000 in cash and valuables from her while house-sitting in Jupiter, Fla., according to a police report filed at the time.
She was also accused of stealing $1,175 in Pottery Barn vouchers and $950 worth of wine.
“It was bad enough to have so much cash and other valuable items stolen from me, but this makes me feel violated, scared, and tremendously at risk,” Kai Hernandez told police at the time, according to a police report.
At the age of 19, Salazar was arrested on a felony identity theft charge on March 23, 2011, according to records. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case.
Ultimately, prosecutors did not bring a case against Salazar, a first-time candidate running against incumbent Sen. Martin Dilan.
Salazar fired back with a libel suit against Hernandez in 2013 accusing her of “character assassination” that was ultimately settled.
She in the court papers said she was “humiliated” after being handcuffed, finger-printed and forced to pose for a mug shot.
“The statement made by the defendant was false and without good motives,” the libel suit said.
The wannabe state legislator also claimed in court papers that Kai Hernandez told police Salazar was having an affair with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Keith Hernandez.
Salazar said that she found drug paraphernalia, including syringes, guns and about two dozen Pottery Barn gifts worth $1175 in the house.
Kai Hernandez, through her lawyer, said she never accused the candidate of sleeping with her husband.
“Ms. Hernandez never told police – or anyone else – that Ms. Salazar was having an affair with Keith Hernandez,” Lynne Ventry, a lawyer for the baseball player’s ex-wife, said. “They met because Ms. Salazar lived next door to Keith Hernandez and Ms. Hernandez moved into the home when she got married. At the time, Ms. Hernandez considered Ms. Salazar and her mother to be friends.”
Though the attorney said the suit was “baseless,” she said that Kai Hernandez’s insurance company paid for Salazar’s legal fees to make the case go away.
“While Ms. Hernandez did not want to settle, she agreed to it, recognizing that the matter was not as important as her health issues at the time. There was certainly no admission of liability,” Ventry said.
The former Met denied the allegations of an affair with Salazar through a spokeswoman for SNY, the sports network where Hernandez broadcasts Mets games.
The Salazar campaign released a statement from lawyer Adam Hecht, who handled the litigation on her behalf.
“Kai Hernandez’s bizarre and fraudulent attempts to defame and victimize Julia were recognized as baseless by the authorities, who declined to file charges, and this matter was resolved with a monetary settlement of $20,000 in Julia’s favor,” Hecht said. “Keith, Kai and Julia agree that there was no affair. We have no further comment on this.”
Salazar has taken heat for having been a registered Republican and heading a anti-abortion group while attending Columbia University.
She also has embellished her background, including having said she was an immigrant from Colombia even though she was born in Florida and also that her father had been Jewish, when he wasn’t.
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