A 'gold digger' embroiled in legal and financial difficulties who has always lived above her station and will do anything to never have to work again. This is the portrait that has started to emerge of the fourth woman to accuse Herman Cain of sexual harassment - the first to come out publicly. Though her lawyer Gloria Allred painted a respectable and prestigious education and employment history for Sharon Bialek, 50, just a day later it has been revealed that she has not held a job for more than two years and has filed for bankruptcy twice.
The 50-year-old is a single mother and suburban homemaker who lives in a large five bedroom house with her fiance - who said he first heard about the 'shocking' allegations on Friday.
A former employee of the National Restaurant Association Education Fund, Ms Bialek told a press conference in New York yesterday that when she went to Mr Cain for advice on finding a new job in July 1997, he 'put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals. He also grabbed my head and brought it towards his crotch'.
Meanwhile, a friend of Ms Bialek, from Chicago, told the New York Post: 'She has a very infectious personality. It’s easy to see how she won [Cain] over. But the reality of her situation is -- she’s a complete gold digger. It’s all about the money.'
Adding that she was from a middle-income family but lives in a posh house while running from bill collectors, the source said: 'Most of her jobs ended in termination. It’s always the employer’s fault, not hers.
'This is a lady who lives off the system. She is hellbent on finding a way of never having to work and living the lifestyle she wants to live, a very affluent lifestyle.'
Details of a number of legal and financial difficulties belonging to Ms Bialek also emerged today, with the Chicago Tribune listing a long history with tax evasion and late or missed credit card payments. The paper reported that Ms Bialek has filed for personal bankruptcy twice, first in 1991 and then again in 2001.
In 2001, she claimed $5,700 in assets and more than $36,000 in liabilities. Among the creditors seeking payment was a management firm demanding back rent of $4,500, four credit card companies and a lawyer asking for his legal fees.
She is also said to have accused a former boyfriend of harassing her for money he had loaned her after she borrowed $4,500 from him.
The IRS filed a tax lien against her in 2009 for nearly $5,200. In August, the Illinois Department of Revenue claimed Ms Bialek owed the state more than $4,300, including penalties and interest, relating to income taxes from 2004, according to county records.
Court records also show creditors took legal action against her during the past decade, including at least one lawsuit filed in Cook County.
A Fox News reporter confronted Ms Bialek during an interview today about living in the same building as Obama top aid David Axelrod.
She was asked: 'One of the things is that you lived at a 505 North Lake Shore Drive apartment, right? This is the same building, it happens to be the same building David Axelrod lives in. Do you know David Axelrod? Ever have any interaction with him at all?'
