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Bethenny Frankel enjoys a Miami Beach vacation with her new friend Michael Cerussi, who was accused of rape while a student at Union College, though no official charges were ever filed.
Bethenny Frankel’s new man is “outraged” that the media is interested in him–and Confidenti@l has found out why.
Michael Cerussi III, was accused of rape while a student at Union College in Schenectady, but to be clear, the alleged victim never filed a police report and no charges were ever filed outside of the victim’s complaint to the school.
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According to court papers, the alleged victim accused Cerussi and another fraternity brother of raping her at a fraternity house, but Cerussi claimed the sexual relations were consensual.
Cerussi filed a lawsuit in 2001 against Union College and the alleged victim, after he was expelled from the school in 2000 after a female student he partied with accused him and a fellow fraternity brother of having sex with her against her will. The case dragged out for two years, before a settlement was reached and the case was voluntarily dismissed.
According to one of Cerussi’s former lawyers, the school agreed to reverse the expulsion and reinstate him as part of the settlement, though Cerussi never returned to UC. Confidenti@l is withholding the name of the alleged victim out of respect for her privacy.
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Frankel and her new friend enjoy New Year’s Day on Miami Beach.
According to court papers, the alleged victim accused Cerussi and another fraternity brother of raping her at a fraternity house, while Cerussi admitted to engaging in consensual sexual relations with her but denied that he raped her.
Cerussi, 34, who works in finance is nine years younger than Frankel. He lived at home with his parents in Riverside, CT., while the hearings went on.
Courtesy photo
A yearbook photo of Michael A. Cerussi, who has been linked to Bethenny Frankel.
After pictures of Frankel and Cerussi emerged after New Year’s Eve Frankel got her hired guns on the case, with her publicist making the rounds of calls on Cerussi’s behalf, a source tells us. The duo knew press was sniffing around about the lawsuit, in which Cerussi insisted the girl’s claims were false and that the school had no right to expel him.
