An administrator at the private Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn took two students on a trip to Cuba and purchased them booze, cigars and a hooker, according to a recent lawsuit filed in Brooklyn state Supreme Court.
The suit, filed by employee and alumna Lisa Della Pietra, claims that Poly's Head of Development, Steven Andersen, used school funds to take two senior boys and another alumnus to Cuba in March 2013, first calling the jaunt a "wrestling trip" and later claiming it was part of the students' senior project.
And from the sound of things, this was no typical school trip—the suit alleges that Anderson "paid a prostitute to entertain the students as a ‘rite of passage,’ and drank alcohol to excess and smoked Cuban cigars with them.” Della Pietra also claims Andersen, who was her boss, admitted to her that he went on the trip to invest in a "nest egg," and that he and the two boys had "fun" with a hooker who came to his room looking for tampons.
Though the students' identities have not been revealed, one is reportedly the son of a famous musician who "became a generous supporter of the school via his charity concerts." The Daily News believes that musician may be Jon Bon Jovi, whose son Jesse Bongiovi graduated from Poly Prep in 2013. Bongiovi was close friends with Andersen's son Sebastian, who the News says was on the trip in question. Bon Jovi's rep had no comment for the tabloid.
Della Pietra has accused the school of trying to cover up the trip in order to protect the aforementioned musician. She also claims Andersen intimidated and threatened her, and took bribes from other alumni.
The suit seeks undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages.
