Accusations of mid-level bribery and corruption have spurred a shakeup at Burlington Coat Factory, as well as a lawsuit from an ousted supplier.
Liberty Apparel, a New York-based pants manufacturer, charges that its reputation and business prospects have taken a hit because a Burlington executive this summer accused it of bribing one of the off-price retailer’s merchants.
James “Jim” Weinberg, an executive at Burlington’s purchasing department, allegedly told other employees that he had fired a worker “for taking money from Liberty,” according to a suit filed yesterday in New York County Supreme Court.
Liberty also claims Weinberg told execs at competing retailers that Liberty was “corrupt” and “paid bribes” to Burlington employees, spurring cancelled contracts worth millions of dollars.
The suit, which seeks more than $200 million in lost business and punitive damages, was filed against Weinberg rather than Burlington. While Weinberg didn’t respond to a request for comment, a Burlington executive rebuffed the suit yesterday.
“In fact, [Liberty] did pay bribes to a buyer of ours,” Stacy Haigney, assistant general counsel for Burlington, told The Post. “That can be shown and will be shown.”
People close to the situation said Burlington fired several of its merchandise buyers in recent weeks, amid allegations over unauthorized payments in everything from cash to lavish dinners to theater tickets.
One New York apparel executive claimed that, in past years, Burlington “had a reputation for hiring pretty young girls without a lot of experience as buyers, and paid them next to nothing,” thereby increasing the risk of corruption.
“A lot of these girls usually had older men as clients,” the source added. Sources said Burlington has worked to clean up its act since Bain Capital took it private in 2006 for $2.1 billion.
“We are endeavoring to run a clean and good shop,” Burlington’s Haigney said.