Strauss-Kahn, maid agree to settle suit

The ex-international banking chief and New York hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault agreed to settle her civil suit, an insider said. A person knowledgeable about the case said former International Monetary Fund head Dominque Strauss-Kahn and Nafissatou Diallo reached a "settlement in principle" in her civil suit in which she claimed she suffered a "violent and sadistic attack" by Strauss-Kahn, The New York Times reported Thursday. French media reported Friday Straus-Kahn, 63, would pay $6 million to the housekeeper who accused him of attacking her last year in an upscale hotel in Manhattan. Lawyers for Diallo and Strauss-Kahn have been meeting on weekly in recent months with Bronx County Supreme Court Judge Douglas McKeon, who has been pushing for a settlement "to avoid a long, drawn-out public spectacle," the person told the Times. The source said the two sides have reached "a settlement in principle," warning "nothing has been finalized yet." Lawyers were expected to appear before McKeon next week or soon after, the person said. Once considered a leading French presidential candidate, Strauss-Kahn was arrested May 14, 2011, after Diallo told police that he attacked her when she entered his room at the Sofitel Hotel. Six days later, Mr. Strauss-Kahn resigned his IMF post. Strauss-Kahn was indicted and placed under house arrest in a tony townhome he rented in New York until the prosecution's case began to fall apart as prosecutors questioned Diallo's credibility. The case was dismissed in August. Strauss-Kahn faces legal troubles in France, where he was charged with participating in an organized prostitution ring because he attended sex parties in northern France. Eight other men were also charged. French prosecutors said the ring organized sex parties in Paris, Brussels, Washington and elsewhere.