New York attorney general files suit against Weinstein Co.

New York's attorney generalfiled a suit Sunday against longtime Hollywood producerHarvey Weinstein,his brother Robert Weinsteinand the Weinstein Company for "egregious violations" of the state's civil rights, human rights and business laws.

In the court papers filed in Manhattan, EricSchneidermanalleges executives from the company and itsboard consistently failed to protect employees fromHarvey Weinstein, who was CEO at the time.

The suit, which is the result of a four-month investigation,includes "new and extensive allegations" about HarveyWeinstein's"vicious and exploitative mistreatment of company employees."

Groups of women allegedly facilitated sexactivity

Numerous accountsof sexual harassment, intimidationand other misconduct have been gathered.

You don't know what I can do.- Threat allegedly made by Harvey Weinsteinto employees, according to court documents

Among them are claimsthatWeinsteinused threatening language, such as "I will kill your family" and "you don't know what I can do," telling employees he had connections in high positions to take care of problems.

The suit also states thatWeinsteinhad three separate groups of predominantly female employees: one to "facilitate" his "sexual conquests," and another made up ofassistants to maintain space on his calendar for "regular sexual activity.

A third group of women, mainlyfemale executives, wasrequired "to meet with prospective sexual conquests" and to follow through onWeinstein's"promise of employment opportunities to women" who met with his favour.

"This compelled service demeaned and humiliated them, contributing to the hostile work environment," the lawsuit said.

The statements have not been proven in court.

The 'bible,' 'personals' and a 'bonus'

The 38-page complaint, filed in New York's Supreme Court, seeks to "remedy a years-long gender-based hostile work environment, a pattern of quid pro quo sexual harassment, and routine misuse of corporate resources for unlawful ends" between 2005 and October 2017.

The suit claims a document known to assistants as the "bible" contained specific directions on how to arrange frequent sexual activity, known as "personals." Expenses associated with the encounterswere oftencoded as business-related if, for example, a woman had previously auditioned for a Weinsteinproject.

In addition, Weinstein's drivers in Los Angeles and New York were allegedly "required to keep condoms and erectile dysfunction injections in the car at all times." In addition, an employee was given a "bonus" for helping procure the drugs for him, which were often charged to the company.

Grievances to human resources were not investigated or treated confidentially, according tocourt documents, whichalso allegethe company took steps to remove vocal employees or insist on non-disclosure agreements.

'Hostile'environmentcould continue under new name

The attorney general saidthe investigation is ongoing, however the suit was introduced nowbecause of the imminentsale of the company, which could "leave victims without adequate redress, including a lack of a sufficient victims compensation fund."

Any sale of theWeinsteinCompany must ensure that employees are protected going forward, the attorney general said. A potential sale could allow top officials who were allegedly aware of the misconduct to continue occupying key positions under a newly formed entity.

Weinstein has been accused by dozens of women, including several high-profile actresses, of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The disgraced media mogulinitially apologized for his behaviour but has denied accusations of rape.

The allegations, first reported by the New York Times in October of 2017,led to mass movements supporting women including #MeTooand Time's Up.

Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, told Deadline in a statement Sunday after the filing: "While Mr. Weinstein's behaviour was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality."