Working for billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn was like living in the Lindsay Lohan flick “Mean Girls” — with Icahn’s wife Gail in a starring role, two former employees claim.
Gail Golden and another high-level employee at Icahn Enterprises ruled the roost, deciding who belonged in an exclusive clique dubbed “the circle” that included top executives for Icahn and their assistants.
Members of the circle drank together after work and hung out with each other on the weekends — and knowing how to send an e-mail was apparently all it took to fall out of favor with Golden, 59, and her buddy, Jackie Randone, court papers charge.
Sandra Silva, of Cliffside Park, NJ, and Valerie Romano of Ridgewood, Queens, both in their mid 30s, allege they were targeted both by Golden and Randone — who were jealous of the younger, tech-savvy women — and randy execs who commented on their bodies and groped one of them, it is charged.
“Randone and Golden clearly did not want [Silva and Romano] at Icahn, or in their clique,” according to a lawsuit filed by Silva and Romano in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Golden once allegedly told Silva’s boss: “Why is she still here? If it’s the t-ts, I can get you another pair to answer the phone,” the women claim in their Aug. 4 court papers.
Golden, who is, according to the lawsuit “unable even to use e-mail,” was once Carl Icahn’s assistant. The 73-year-old Queens native divorced his first wife, Liba, in 1999 and then married Golden.
Silva and Romano were criticized for everything from the way they sat, to having drinks with an unpopular coworker and trying to be friendly with the man who sold office supplies.
The pair was so gossiped about, they claim, that Carl Icahn, himself once told Silva: “So you are the one everyone is talking about.” When the women complained, their bosses and human resources said nothing could be done and were told “you just have to kiss their [Randone and Golden’s] ass.”
Romano and Silva were fired in late 2008 — without an explanation, they maintain. They are seeking $1.5 million in damages.
Icahn Enterprises refuted the women’s claims in a statement. “We think the allegations in this complaint have absolutely no merit whatsoever and intend to vigorously defend against the lawsuit,” said assistant general counsel Nancy Axilrod.