Vintage beau demanded sex up to 10 times a day: lawsuit

This old timer has a libido bigger than his bank account.

A former Wilhelmina model claims her octogenarian beau persuaded her to give up her career, stabilize rent in Chelsea and move into his sprawling home in Rye – where he sometimes demanded sex a staggering 10 times a day, according to a lawsuit before the Manhattan Supreme Court.

Janet Bedin, 68, claims Vito Verni, 84, pulled an emotional bait “when they lived together as a couple” between early 2019 and late 2021 at the 5,000-square-foot Westchester mansion, the suit said.

Bedin is now suing Verni for $80 million, laying down a laundry list that includes defamation, fraudulent incitement, harassment and illegal eviction, according to court documents.

The civil lawsuit paints a picture of an accomplished career woman who has been betrayed by a man who swept her off her feet with promises of love and luxury he didn’t keep.

Bedin even gave up her dog — because Verni had a cat — and she worked like a horse, the complaint says.

“The plaintiff should be 100% his caregiver. He said he was available for the plaintiff
all his sexual needs, to be his escort, to do his laundry, to cook his meals. (Turns out it meant
Sexual intercourse, sometimes up to 10 times a day),” it says in the suit.

Over the years, Bedin has “developed an exciting career that is deeply respected by many
Executives and heads of government traveling back and forth from New York to Italy,” the suit reads. From 1991 to 1995, she was executive director of the New York State Economic Office for Italy and Spain under former Governor Mario Cuomo. From 2015 to 2018 she was again active in this office.

“In this capacity, the plaintiff had the honor of meeting Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, the President and Prime Minister of Italy, the US Ambassador to the Vatican and many others… [who she] continues to count as her friends,” the complaint reads.

The duo have been “on and off” lovers for decades, according to the Oct. 26 filing.

In 1976, a 21-year-old Bedin from Rockford, Illinois, came to New York “hoping to pursue her dream of modeling and acting,” the suit reads. She started out as a model for Wilhelmina before evolving into a business development executive.

That same year, Bedin became a tenant in the building on West 22nd Street, the then 38-year-old Verni, court records show.

The ex-model claims the seed for the horny relationship was planted when, according to the suit, Verni kept calling her to “inspect” the apartment.

Verni “never wore a wedding ring and began kissing Bedin in her apartment,” “which led to a long, intimate relationship” that’s been on and off since 1976, the suit reads.

Bedin “broke up” with Verni several times, but the married man “followed her up,” according to the ad.

In late 2018, Verni called Bedin to tell her his wife had died and that he was “single now” and asked her out, the lawsuit states. “Soon after, [Verni] pressured, persuaded, “causing” Bedin to leave New York City and move into his six-bedroom, six-bathroom estate with him “and no longer be part of the workforce,” the lawsuit alleges.

Verni told Bedin he wanted her to be with him “100% of the time” and that she “just focus on him,” the lawsuit states. Verni reportedly promised to pay Bedin’s sick brother’s bills, vowing, “We will travel, be [at] his club, to meet his friends, to go
Museums, take wine classes together.”

But when Bedin moved in, “the relationship changed,” the suit says, and the charge against Verni became controlling and verbally and physically abusive.

According to the explosive lawsuit, the “savvy, experienced New York landlord for over 65 years” drove Bedin away.

Verni owns “many” apartment buildings in Manhattan, the Bronx, Connecticut and a new development in Harrison, NY, the complaint said.

The lawsuit alleges that Verni initially showered her with cards and letters and an emerald and diamond engagement ring and “fraudulently tricked her into giving up her career.”

In court filings on the eviction, Verni called Bedin’s claims a “shakedown,” saying, “We socialized a few days a week and no more.”

Verni’s attorney, Eric Grayson, said: “Ms. Bedin’s baseless lawsuit is just another attempt to harass Mr. Verni. Ms. Bedin filed much of the same lawsuit in Westchester County Superior Court that was dismissed on all counts by Judge Zuckerman last month. Mr. Verni obtained 4 protective orders against Ms. Bedin and at the last hearing Judge Horowitz stated: “Madame, you really must understand that you are going to end up in prison and I am shocked that you have done so.” It has to stop.” The court has now issued Ms Bedin a comprehensive warning and if she ends up in jail she will have no one to blame but herself.”