Manhattan- A Cristina Aguilera look-alike who has worked for Playboy and danced with ZZ Top is the latest former Hawaiian Tropic worker to accuse the midtown tourist trap of sex harassment.
Sarah Jo Lammers is expected to join a $600 million suit filed by four women who say they were sexually assaulted, groped and subjected to a hostile workplace at "The Hottest Place on Earth," her lawyer said Friday.
One former floor manager says fired general manager Anthony Rakis raped her in a taxi cab in 2006.
Lawyer Martha McBrayer told Manhattan Federal Judge Denise Cote that Lammers' claims will mirror those lodged by the others and will corroborate many of the lurid details in the suit.
Lammers, a Texas A&M finance grad who lives in her home state, apparently complained to her bosses about her treatment while working as a hostess.
Lammers' Web site includes the dozens of modeling gigs, pageants and contests that she's been involved in since hitting the circuit several years ago.
She was one of the Girls of Playboy Golf in 2006 and competed in Hawaiian Tropic contests dating back to 2003. She also has worked as a ring girl for Miller Lite and as a body-paint model.
Cote said the case will go to trial unless there's a last-minute settlement.
"The plaintiff says she was raped," Cote said. "The jury is going to have to decide whether she's telling the truth."
Former floor manager Giulietta Consalvo, 36, says Rakis raped her on a ride home after a pre-opening night party. Consalvo said Rakis told the cabbie, "Keep driving, buddy," when the hack became curious.
Hawaiian Tropic lawyer Martin Samson says the women's claims don't ring true and promised to attack their accounts if they go before a jury.
Samson said Consalvo didn't mention the rape when she first complained about harassment to her bosses.
And, he said, after the alleged attack, Consalvo recommended that her friend and co-defendant Jennifer Brooks go to work for Rakis as an executive assistant.
"There are significant questions about the veracity of all of the allegations," Samson said.
He added that former bartender Michelle Hasiuk went back to her $10-an-hour job the same night she says Rakis sexually assaulted her.
