NYC Radio: Joe Benigno Takes 'Leave of Absence' From WFAN

Joe Benigno

Well, sports fans you can forget listening to Joe Benigno on WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM this Monday.  That's when he was expected to return from vacation.  On Thursday, a spox for Entercom Communications told the NY Post that Benigno would be back on-air as usual Monday.

But plans have changed.

WFAN's Benigno is now taking a 'leave of absence' from the station, two days after he was named in a salacious sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee, multiple sources familiar with Benigno’s employment confirmed to The NYPost.

Benigno had conversations with close associates about not returning immediately to WFAN to avoid having the conversation on talk radio become about him, rather than about baseball and the station’s Subway Series coverage, a source told The Post.

WFAN has launched an internal investigation into the sexual harassment claims against Benigno laid out in the lawsuit, according to a source. There is no set date for when the radio host will return to the air, a source said.

Benigno, 64, has been accused in a lawsuit sexually harassing a former female ad executive — allegedly pressuring her on several occasions into “threesomes” and then damaging her career after getting rebuffed.

Esther Mireya Tejeda, a spokeswoman for Entercom, which owns WFAN, declined to comment on Friday.