Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont, locked in an Aug. 10 primary battle with former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, was sued in 2002 by a black former executive in his cable television company who claimed that he'd been mistreated on the basis of race, federal court records show.
Ronald Keene -- executive vice president in the Delaware corporate office of Lamont Digital Systems Inc. for less than two years ending in mid-2000 -- sought at least $1 million in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania. Keene claimed he was "maliciously" fired after being denied stock, bonuses and commissions from sales activity. The mistreatment was "because of plaintiff's race, which is African American," the suit said.
Lamont, a Greenwich multimillioniare entrepreneur, denied Keene's allegation of bias as well as other claims, such as eligibility for sales commissions. The case was settled in September 2003, months after a judge denied Lamont's motion to dismiss the suit and moved it toward trial, documents show.