Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday called Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s decision to keep secret the details — even the existence — of a legal settlement with two alleged victims of sexual harassment by Assemblyman Vito Lopez “wholly inappropriate and contrary to the public interest.”

Schneiderman’s office and that of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli have become embroiled in the controversy surrounding the $103,080 settlement, which Silver admitted earlier this week was a bad idea “from the perspective of transparency.”

On Thursday, Schneiderman’s office released copies of its email communications with the Assembly’s lawyer — exchanges that include draft settlement documents that do not contain the sort of confidentiality requirement that eventually become part of the deal.

In a May 29 email, Assembly counsel William Collins noted the successful completion of the matter, and pointed out in a congratulatory tone that “the complainants initially sought $1.2M and reduced their settlement number only once (to $600,000) before we drew a hard-and-fast line” at paying the women’s salary and benefits, plus damages.

The attorney general said his office’s policy “requires that agreements of this kind do not include confidentiality provisions,” and said he had already been in contact with Ellen Biben, executive director of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. That panel has received a formal complaint asking it to look into the complaints against Lopez and the genesis of the secret June settlement.

The state Comptroller’s General Counsel Nancy Groenwegen was also part of the settlement review team, according to the emails provided by Schneiderman’s office. The official explanation from the OSC press office was that she was asked to assess the income tax implications of the deal. A press officer said Groenwegen was brought in to make sure the sum provided to the complainants comported with a back pay that was in keeping with the former Assembly employees’ salaries.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a veteran state lawyer — one familiar with settlement deals — said it would be uncommon for the top lawyer at the comptroller’s office to be involved in such an assignment.

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