Another Wage Theft Lawsuit Against Bernie Moreno Comes to Light
In 2012, a Porsche dealership owned by Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bernie Moreno recruited a general manager from Virginia with decades of experience selling the German sports cars. A year and a half later they cut ties with the salesman, and pretty soon he was in court claiming Moreno hadn’t delivered on the pay package that lured him to Ohio.
Before agreeing to take the job, Michael Falcone’s complaint states, he wanted assurance that the move to Ohio would make financial sense. The offer on the table was $80,000 in base pay as well as a commission of 5% of the dealership’s “total variable gross profit.”
In a follow-up email exchange, Falcone pressed Moreno on the terms and according to court documents, Moreno wrote back, “Just so we are clear, you will get paid on ALL VARIABLE gross profit.”
Falcone signed the offer sheet the following day and began work shorty after. His complaint describes working for several months before asking for documentation so he could double check his commission. “Despite multiple requests,” Falcone argued, the company didn’t provide the kind of sales information that would help him calculate what he was owed.
In a statement, Ohio AFL-CIO president Tim Burga argued “the choice for Senate in Ohio is easy. While Sherrod Brown looks out for Ohio workers, Bernie Moreno continues to show them that he only cares about himself. With working people your word is your bond,” he added. “Sherrod Brown’s word is good while Moreno has proven he can’t be trusted.”