Physical and sexual abuse allegations
In 1987, Berry was charged with assaulting a woman at
New York's Gramercy Park Hotel. He was accused of causing "lacerations of the mouth, requiring five stitches, two loose teeth, [and] contusions of the face." He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harassment and paid a $250 fine.
[76] In 1990, he was sued by several women who claimed that he had installed a
video camera in the bathroom of his restaurant. Berry claimed that he had had the camera installed to catch a worker who was suspected of stealing from the restaurant. Although his guilt was never proven in court, Berry opted for a
class action settlement. One of his biographers, Bruce Pegg, estimated that it cost Berry over $1.2 million plus legal fees.
[15] His lawyers said he had been the victim of a conspiracy to profit from his wealth.
[15] During this time, Berry began using Wayne T. Schoeneberg as his legal counsel. Reportedly, a police raid on his house found intimate videotapes of women, one of whom was apparently a minor. Also found in the raid were 62 grams of
marijuana. Felony drug and
child abuse charges were filed. The child abuse charges were eventually dropped, and Berry agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He was given a six month suspended jail sentence, placed on two years unsupervised probation, and was ordered to donate $5,000 to a local hospital.
[77] Later, videos Berry recorded of himself
urinating on a woman and another of her
defecating on him would surface.
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