A new lawsuit claims the children of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) drove the family’s personal assistant to suicide.
35-year-old Brandon O’Brien worked for Nancy Bass Wyden, the senator’s wife and owner of Manhattan’s Strand Bookstore, between June 2022 and September 2024. Part of his duties were watching after the couple’s young children, according to The New York Post.
The disturbing behavior began in September 2022 when the couple’s then-10-year-old daughter allegedly exposed herself to O’Brien, making “sexually explicit” comments and asking about his “intimate life” during school drop-offs, O’Brien’s husband, Thomas Maltezos, alleged in court papers he filed against Bass Wyden and her company, Bass Real Estate LLC.
But the mom — whose family founded the East Village book shop nearly a century ago — allegedly did nothing about the behavior, Maltezos contended.
Meanwhile, the Wydens’ teenage son berated O’Brien with homophobic slurs such as “f—-t” and “zest kitten,” and the boy said his “his football team ‘would rape him,”‘ the suit claimed.
The boy allegedly threw things at O’Brien and the mom once “maced her son to restrain him but inadvertently maced Mr. O’Brien,” according to the Manhattan Supreme Court papers.
Kids of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden drove assistant to suicide with ‘sexually explicit’ behavior, exposing herself to O'Brien, homophobic slurs: lawsuit https://t.co/FFf5C38Ico @RonWyden What kind of spoiled entitled kids are our leaders raising?!
— Dana (@sparkey909w) September 21, 2025
Thomas Maltezos, O’Brien’s significant other, stated in the lawsuit that some of the abuse happened during family trips to Disneyland. The mother allegedly did nothing to stop her children’s behavior.
In one instance, the Wydens’ son threw items at O’Brien. His mother once “maced her son to resrain him but inadvertently maced Mr. O’Brien,” the lawsuit said, according to The Post.
"The children of US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) relentlessly tormented their mom’s personal assistant, driving him to commit suicide, an explosive lawsuit claims.
— Linda Traitz (@LindaTraitz) September 21, 2025
Brandon O’Brien, 35, worked for the senator’s wife, Nancy Bass Wyden — owner of Manhattan’s famed Strand Bookstore —… pic.twitter.com/5iHbDQf1MV
Bass Wyden’s lawyers are trying to get the case dismissed. Her lawyers claimed the legal action is “baseless and deeply misguided” and “riddled with false accusations.” They further accused O’Brien of theft after he resigned in 2024, hired a private investigator, and spread pernicious rumors about him, according to the lawsuit.
Bass Wyden filed a report with law enforcement claiming he stole $650,000 in credit card and other thefts. She also hired the investigator to “probe into Mr. O’Brien’s perseonal life and business dealings.”
Despite the family’s denials, Maltezos’ attorneys issued a statement saying “The allegations against the senator’s wife are shocking, disturbing, and cruel — no person should ever be subject to this level of harassment, much less in the workplace.”
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