NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The father of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in penalties for discriminating against four black employees.

A state court jury took in New York took about four hours to decide that racism prompted Bernard Spitzer, 84, to improperly fire a doorman and three porters in 1999 from a building he owned in Manhattan, the New York Post reported Saturday.


The jurors Friday ordered him to pay a total of $1.3 million to Anthony Haydenn, 34, Akim Rodriguez, 38, Leanard Boyce, 71, and Treavor Morris, 32.

The men filed suit nearly a decade ago. They were seeking $8 million in damages, the newspaper said. The elder Spitzer was not in court.

"We are more than disappointed," said Spitzer spokesman Lloyd Kaplan. "There was no evidence showing any discriminatory behavior by Mr. Spitzer."