Albany, NY - Senator Is Summoned to Court on Coffee-Throwing Charge

Albany, NY - A summons was issued for State Senator Ada L. Smith of Queens, ordering her to appear in criminal court here next month to answer charges that she threw hot coffee in the eyes of a member of her staff.

A staff member, charged in a complaint that the Senator threw the coffee and pulled a hairpiece from her head, causing injuries to her eyes, shoulder and back, according to court papers.
The complaint accused the Senator of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

Senator Smith, a nine-term Democrat, denounced the accusations as lies in a statement she issued, and suggested that they were politically motivated.