Emails and documents obtained through a Freedom of Information law request from the state Comptroller’s Office are providing some new details on the ongoing Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal, including the terms of the more than $130,000 settlement.

The emails and documents show that negotiators had agreed to terms that included a $20,000 breach of confidentiality clause in the contract should any of those involved in the deal go back on the settlement terms.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said he regrets keeping the settlement a secret and vowed to change how future cases are handled.

The contract also stipulates that the women who accused Lopez of unwanted groping and sexual harassment could not publicly provide any “disparaging remarks” about Lopez or the state Assembly.

According to the comptroller’s FOIL office, the doucments show the Assembly counsel contacted the comptroller’s general counsel seeking advice on processing the payments.

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s counsel assigned staff to deal with issue and on June 4, staff attorney Anne Tommaney provided technical language to be included in the final agreement.

The doucments also show communication between staff for the comptroller, the Assembly and the state attorney general.

Legal staff for the comptrolled reviewed the payement and determined that it was best to disberse the money to the alleged victims as classified damages, not salary.

The comptroller’s general counsel, Nancy Groenwegen and John Dalton, a staff attorney who provided technical assistance, have been subpoenaed by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, though DiNapoli’s office stressed that the staffers had already vowed to cooperate with the investigation.

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