Nanny Sues Imus Over Ranch Wrangle (Toy gun, tiny knife triggered woman's firing by radio star)

The Smoking Gun ^ | NOVEMBER 30

[new cruelty]

NOVEMBER 30--A New York woman who briefly worked as a nanny for Don Imus has sued the radio host for wrongful termination, claiming she was canned for bringing a harmless cap gun and pocketknife with her during a trip last Thanksgiving to the family's sprawling New Mexico ranch.

Nichole Mallette, 24, also claimed in her New York State Supreme Court lawsuit, a copy of which you'll find below, that she was defamed when Imus later announced on his program that he had been forced to "disarm" his nanny, whom he labeled as dangerous and a "terrorist." In her complaint, filed yesterday by the lawyer who represented the woman who recently accused Bill O'Reilly of various improprieties, Mallette claimed that she brought the cap gun with her so that she and Imus's five-year-old son could "play cowboys" at the 4000-acre ranch.

As for the pocketknife, Mallette noted that the 1-1/2-inch item was never unsheathed from a leather harness affixed to her belt. In her lawsuit, Mallette alleged that she endured "frenzied questioning" by Imus and his wife Deirdre, who woke her at 1 AM to grill her about the pocketknife and the cap gun, which Mallette said she did not use nor show to Imus's son. After Deirdre Imus told her, "Pack your things, you're terminated," Mallette was escorted off the property at 4:15 AM by a ranch employee and the radio host.

Mallette, a Brooklyn resident, was hired by Imus last October 23 and cared for the star's son at homes in Manhattan and Connecticut, as well as the New Mexico property (according to its mission statement, the "sole purpose" of the so-called Imus Ranch is "to provide the experience of the great American cowboy" to seriously ill boys and girls and children who have lost siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Mallette noted that during two separate stays at the ranch, which features a 14,000-square-foot adobe hacienda, "neither sick children nor children who had lost brothers and sisters to SIDS were present," just Imus, his family, and ranch employees.

Along with Imus and his wife, Mallete named as defendants the radio syndicator Westwood One and NBC, which simulcasts Imus's show on its MSNBC cable network.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**I recall him remarking on his show once that he fired 21 different nannys in a 12 or 18 month period**

Makes you wonder...

[OldFriend]

LOLOL.....the very thought of following the values espoused by imus and his yuppie wife just brings a smile to my face!!!!

One of the reasons imus supported ketchup boy was because dizzy tizzy funded imus' wife on some projects.

[af_vet_1981]

He may be an idiot and his wife a clueless fool obsessed with demonizing guns, but they also have the right to fire a nanny who doesn't demonstrate the values they espouse.

He does not have a right to defame her on his radio show without giving citizens a right to reallocate his wealth to her in court.

[Final Authority]

Last I heard, Imus entertains about 100 kids a year at a cost of about $1.5 million. That is $15,000 per kid, or about $2,500 per kid per day for a six day week. It is just a matter of time before contributors get wind of the scam and the so-called ranch goes to auction or whatever happens to charitable property when the suckers wise up.

I think the ranch used to hire Fred Imus and several of the cousins and nephews. Imus doesn't talk about that anymore. Do you think the IRS had anything to say about that?

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**Hospital rooms were "decorated to look like a bordello," Deirdre says, chuckling. **

How thoughtful, considering it's for children. ugh.

[Safetgiver]

Where'd she runway to?

[skikvt]

Imus Ranch:

If you look carefully you can see the sick kids outside the window shoveling poop.

I'm currently accepting tax-deductable charitable donations for my Ranch for Nymphomaniac Unwed Mothers. Please give generously. Think of the children.

[paleocon patriarch]

I'd really like to see the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Imus scams 501 C-3 corporation, as well as the officers and board members. When they are done with their token kiddie front, I'd bet it reverts to Don Imus private guest ranch.

This guy is living proof that an uneducated, no talent individual can rise if he kisses the right ass.

[new cruelty]

wow. Nice digs.

[RippleFire]

The dynamic duo

[skaterboy]

Doesnt Imus run around with a real gun strapped to him?

So he's bitchin bout a cap gun?

Why did she have the thing..Maybe she just had it in his purse and forgot it? Who knows

[Thebaddog]

Imus mentioned having to make good on a multimillion dollar loan that Fred ran into the ground running the Auto Body Express. Methinks that Don is not fun to be around when you burn through his wallet.

And from my experience with nannies, I bet there is another side to this story that will sound a lot different than the filing on TSG.

[pabianice]

Imus better get his check book warmed up...

[skaterboy]

Get a pic of her and the wife side by side and see if thats why wifey had her fired at 415 am

[Wolfstar]

...the "sole purpose" of the...Imus Ranch is "to provide the experience of the great American cowboy" to seriously ill boys and girls and children who have lost siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Mallette noted that during two separate stays at the ranch, which features a 14,000-square-foot adobe hacienda, "neither sick children nor children who had lost brothers and sisters to SIDS were present...

I have always had a gut instinct that this ranch thing was a scam from the get-go. He raised all sorts of donations to help buy the land and build the facilities, but I always had the sense that it was really for his private use, not for the charitable purpose stated to raise donations.

[Gondring]

Yeah, that bordello line jumped out at me, too. "ugh" is right.

[hershey]

A pyramid scheme? He's been selling billboard space on the side of barns. If kids aren't there most of the year, this is dishonest.

[jimbo123]

I think an IRS audit would be in order for the Imus ranch.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Yeah. I once employed a nanny from France. Her sister was a runway model. That didn't last long.

Nice teaser line. Tell us more.