Charmed, I'm Sure

You might want to watch what you say to state Senator Ada L. Smith of Queens. The police are investigating an allegation that Smith threw hot coffee in the face of a member of her staff and then pulled the woman's "hairpiece" off her head. (Is Ada also a pro wrestler?)

The alleged attack happened Tuesday morning after the senator returned from a Weight Watchers meeting and announced that she had lost about 4 pounds. The staffer responded she thought Smith would have lost more given Smith's active lifestyle. BAM! Across the room came the scalding hot coffee followed by a hair pull for good measure (I wonder how many calories she burned off doing this). The alleged victim went to St. Peter's Hospital on Tuesday, a source said, complaining of damage to her eyes and abrasions on her neck.

Smith quickly dismissed the claim as "politically motivated" (partisan fat cracks?), but a quick search of her name shows that the accusation is not Smith's first brush with the law -- or her own staff.:

In 1996, she was accused by a former staff member of threatening the employee with a knife.

In 1998 she was accused of biting a police officer in Brooklyn.

In 2004, Smith was found guilty of failing to obey a direct order from a police officer in May 2003 when she refused to hand over her government ID and drove through a security checkpoint at a parking garage in Albany. The state police trooper involved said Smith refused to take her ID out and give it to him, then spewed profanities, put her car in drive and "sped'' off, refusing his order to stop. The trooper said he had to step back to prevent Smith from driving over his feet. She was later convicted and stripped of her party leadership position in the Senate.

In 2005, a former chief of staff for Smith asked Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to investigate the senator for misusing state funds and resources by providing no-show and semi-show jobs and putting her office staff to work on political business.

In 2005, she was accused by a former chief of staff who said he was terminated because he is homosexual.

It's too bad Stephen Colbert doesn't do a "Better Know Your State Senator" segment on his show. I'd love to see them go head to head.