NYPD Confirms Investigation Into Mario Batali
During Sunday's 60 Minutes episode about the restaurant The Spotted Pig-and the culture of harassment and assault allegedly fostered there by celebrity chef Mario Batali-Anderson Cooper confirmed that the NYPD has an ongoing criminal investigation into Batali.
While Cooper did not say what the NYPD is investigating, the episode featured numerous accounts of restaurant workers who said they were sexually harassed or assaulted at The Spotted Pig or at one of Batali's restaurants.
This past December, Batali announced he was stepping away from his business after several women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him.
In one instance, described in the 60 Minutes episode, a woman, who worked at Batali's restaurant Babbo at the time, alleges Batali assaulted her in 2005 on the second floor of The Spotted Pig while she was unconscious. Afterwards, she called a crisis hotline and went to the police, but she did not file a report. Batali has since denied the allegation. She told 60 Minutes, "I woke up by myself on the floor, I don’t know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, 'I’ve been drugged.' That was the first thing I thought is, 'I’ve been - I’ve been assaulted.'"
Jamie Seet, a former manager at The Spotted Pig, told Cooper she saw Batali assault another woman three years later via one of the restaurant's security cameras. Seet also said Batali grabbed her breasts while she was serving him.
In a statement to 60 Minutes, Batali said, "I am not attempting a professional comeback. My only focus is finding a personal path forward - a path where I can continue in my charitable endeavors - helping the underprivileged and those in need."
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